Lawrence's Two Sons: Archaeology and Military Genius

        Lawrence, a true example of a man of desert, experiences much of the sandy wasteland, not only physically but the harsh yet tempering effects of following his calling.  Similar to the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Lawrence takes action in order to find his calling in life and pursue his personal legend.  However unlike Santiago, Lawrence while famous for his actions ends up giving up his dream in order to aid others.   Lawrence began life in a rather interesting position of being a bastard child of a baron who gave up his title to run off with one of their servants.  Lawrence himself seems to know what he wants from an early age as he pursued architecture in ancient buildings seriously.  After graduating from college in England he sets off in his adventure to study the castles in Arabia and compare them to the European ones he has already studied.  Whether one believes in omens or not, it is this first journey to the East that whets Lawrence’s appetite for this area and puts him on course to pursue his legend in this section of the world. 

                While Lawrence starts off on the right foot, he ends up tangled up by a quite large obstacle; World War I.  The tension between the Turks foreigners was already present but even in this tense situation Lawrence was able to find his calling.  Lawrence, now well networked in the area of archaeology is offered a job to work in Syria after having been involved for awhile on other digs.  “He sailed on December 10, 1909, for Beruit, and what would be the happiest years of his life” (Korda 179).  Here he was content as he balanced his life of adventure with archaeology.  Yet Lawrence is known as a Hero of War in the Arab Nations not as the world famous archaeologist.  Regardless of having accomplished his dream, Lawrence was to be part of World War I.  This is not to say Lawrence was ill suited for the task, in fact his work in the desert made him the perfect candidate with his mapping skills, and familiarity with the area and customs of the people.  In fact this whole situation bears a close resemblance with Santiago’s run in with crystal merchant, just reversed in terms of order.  Like Santiago, Lawrence is quite good at his job and profits tremendously in terms of his fame.  However similar to how Santiago feels driven to complete his quest, Lawrence feels remorse for not having the chance to go back to his real calling.  Another example in the Alchemist is the time where Santiago after reading the Desert has to decide to whether to stay in the oasis as a sear, but regret never pursuing his legend, or to go.  Lawrence after the war does try to go back to his life before the war, but “neither the British nor the French government would tolerate the presence of Colonel Lawrence, a magnet for Arab nationalism and discontent, digging among the ruins of Carchemish, or anywhere else in the Middle East” (Korda 490).  Unfortunately for Lawrence, he has become the Crystal merchant or desert sear and ends his days wishing he had kept with his dream.

               

        Even though he was at war, Lawrence never gave up trying to find his place in a way that he could potentially find a personal legend amid this strife.  Lawrence, having grown fond of the Arabs after spending so much time with them, felt the need to give them the freedom he believed they deserve.  Hoping to find his calling this way he engrossed his entire self into their cause, but it was all in vain.  “In essence this was the feeling that would motivate Lawrence throughout the rest of his life: the belief not just that he had failed the Arabs by not getting them the state and the independence they had fought for, but that was rendered, by what he had done, seen, and experienced, permanently unclean, unfit for the society of decent people” (Korda 435).  No matter how much Lawrence fought, he had no ability to prevent the entire nation of the Arabs from being subject to the Imperial powers.  Instead of feeling exuberance from his work in the Middle East he simply felt guilt and regret as he spent so much time and effort but receiving no joy from his work.  There are many people who are willing to put up with setbacks in the pursuit of their calling, such as when Santiago is left without money after being robbed numerous times.  However for Lawrence, more guilt comes from the fact that the work he has done is to satisfy others without any benefit from his work.  Not that he did not receive anything for his accomplishments, in fact he became world famous, but he himself did not feel spiritually fulfilled.  This sad tale is similar to the story the Alchemist tells to Santiago about how people sometimes change the world without knowing it.  Lawrence I feel embodies all three characters in the story of the Emperor Tiberius and his three sons.  Lawrence’s personal legend of being an archaeologist, who researched the past, is like the son who wrote poems; his work was soon forgotten.  Lawrence’s role in the Middle East is the son in the military who ends up causing great lasting change.  And Lawrence himself is the Emperor Tiberius, who believes that his personal legend, or son’s poetry will be the one remembered and is surprised when he finds out that people really only remember him for his military success.

Works Cited

Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Print.

Korda, Michael. Hero The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print