Lostpedia
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Lostpedia
Lostpedia
7,457
pages
in: Storyline

Themes

Revision as of 22:29, 22 April 2006 by LOST-Gonzalo84 (talk | contribs) (→‎Deceptions and Cons)
Sign in to edit

LOST is full of many themes that weave nicely together and make the storyline compelling.

The Numbers

The Next Life

  • Nadia leaves a message to Sayid saying "You'll find me in the next life, if not in this one."
  • Desmond tells Jack "I'll see you in another life, yeah?"
  • Charlie was hung by Ethan, died and was apparently brought back to life by Jack. He appears to have no memory of anything that he may have experienced while dead.
  • Jack also resuscitated Rose at the crash site in the first pilot episode
  • Dave says also says "See you in another life" to Hurley before jumping off the cliff

Parent Issues

  • Jack has many conflicts with his father at the hospital.
  • Kate kills her biological father, Wayne.
  • Kate's mother tells the police about it. She shouts for help when Kate appears in the hospital.
  • Sawyer's father killed his mother, then committed suicide.
  • Charlie's father disapproved of Drive Shaft.
  • Walt was estranged from Michael for most of his life.
  • Locke's father cons Locke for one of his kidneys, then abandons him and is then stalked by him.
    • He later uses him to retrieve money taken in another con.
  • Shannon's father and Shannon presumably had a good relationship, yet he leaves her nothing in his will.
    • Her step-mother refuses to help her.
  • Jin is ashamed of his father although he eventually reconciles with him.
  • Sun is distressed over the work Jin does for her father.
  • Boone's mother/Shannon's stepmother is a coldblooded manipulative social-climbing bitch.
  • Sun's mother is the Korean version of Boone's mother.
  • Jack's mother may not be a social climber but the rest definitely applies.
  • Hurley's mother is psychologically abusive.
  • Locke's mother is mentally unstable, abandoned him and helped set him up for his father.
  • Sawyer's mother cheated on her husband.
  • Claire thought her mother would "kill her" when she found out she was pregnant.
  • Walt's mother took him away from his father. His stepfather happily returned him to his true father Michael. Walt is learning to love Michael.
  • Sayid's father was considered a hero of Iraqi Republican Guard, Sayid's commanding officer claimed that his father would be ashamed of him if he discovered he was helping the Americans in the Gulf. It is possible Sayid's father fought in Saddam Hussein's coup that put him in power.
  • Kate's mother cheated on her husband with Wayne, ending up pregnant with Kate.
  • At the end of Maternity Leave Claire dedicates herself to being a good mother to Aaron
  • Jin and Sun are going to be parents.

Dreams and Visions

  • Charlie: Has dreams about needing to save Aaron which include images of his childhood and a painting by Verrocchio. (Charlie's dream)
  • Hurley: Has a dream about gorging down on food. In the same dream he speaks Korean to Jin and sees the mascot for Mr. Cluck's. Later he sees and speaks to Dave (Hurley's friend). This might be a manifestion of the island or might come under the classifiction of Hallucinations
  • Claire: Has a dream about looking for her baby, encountering Locke and finding an empty crib. (Claire's dream) from Raised by Another.
  • Locke: Has a vision of the Nigerian drug plane that crashing, his mother pointing skyward, he becomes wheelchair bound again and also sees a bloodied Boone repeating "Theresa falls up the stairs, Theresa falls down the stairs".
  • Jack has visions of his father that eventually leads him to water and the caves.
  • Shannon sees Walt twice, once in her tent and once while searching for him with Sayid. During this vision Walt said, backwards, "Push the button, Don’t push the button. Bad.".
  • Sayid also sees Walt when he's out searching for him with Shannon.
  • Boone has visions of Shannon dying in the jungle after being drugged by Locke.
  • Mr. Eko may have seen flashes from his past when he confronted The Security System

Animals

  • Kate: When she's first arrested by Edward Mars she is able to escape after a black horse runs in front of his car. Later she sees and touches what seems to be the same animal on the island.
  • Sawyer: Is plagued by a boar, which he thinks is controlled by the spirit of Frank Duckett.
    • Is also irritated by a tree frog, which won't let him sleep; and which he eventually kills.
    • He also encounters the horse in the company of Kate.
  • In the Dark Territory Hurley sees a huge bird of prey (Hawk? Eagle? Condor?) which convinces him that whoever came up with the name Dark Territory was "a genius".
  • The shark that attacked Michael and Sawyer.
  • The polar bears, who seem to have a particular connection with Walt.
  • Episode 1x07, The Moth, features moths when Charlie is on screen; also the name of this episode, obviously.
  • Charlie: Sees a flying dove in a dream vision.
    • Dogs
      • After Locke's foster sister Jeannie died, a golden retriever appeared, which her mother believed was the incarnation of her daughter. It stayed for five years, until the woman died then disappeared.
      • Sun and Jin had a dog, named Popo, which was a gift from the Health minister given in gratitude for not beating him up in Jin's first visit.
      • Vincent, Walt's dog who appears and disappears frequently at seemingly random but often crucial moments.

Religion and Ideologies

Religion

  • Shamanism & Pagan religions
    • The various animal appearances have totemic qualities.
    • Boone's vision of Shannon being killed by the Monster was very like a shamanic vision-quest.
    • Locke often acts in a quasi-shamanic fashion and claims to be "a man of faith".
    • Locke was planning on going on a walkabout. While the tour in the show was geared towards tourists, in Australian aboriginal beliefs a walkabout is a means of communing with the spirits and one's self.
    • The hieroglyphs on the timer are either red on black or black on red. In Egyptian mythology red is the color of chaos, destruction and evil.
    • The Apollo Candy Bar. Apollo was the Greek god of the sun, archery, medicine and music.
    • The name Cerberus is found on the Blast Door map. It may be the name for The Security System. Cerberus was the name of the three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the Greek underworld.
    • The publisher of Gary Troup's book Bad Twin is Hyperion. Hyperion was a Greek Titan, one of the race of gods that were overthrown by the Olympians.
    • Tai Soo owns and believes in a "destiny book", which is a book of predictions and omens probably rooted in traditional Korean beliefs.
  • Buddhism
    • Dharma and Namaste are terms relevant to Buddhism.
    • The number 108 has significance in Buddhism. [1]
    • Locke tells Sun that he didn't find what he was looking for until he stopped looking. There's a Zen Buddhist koan that goes "To find something stop looking for it."
  • Taoism
    • The Dharma logos feature symbols from the I Ching which is used as a divinatory method in Taoism.
    • Boone Carlyle wears a singlet featuring the number 84, which is a reference to Ying & Yang, a central tenet of Taoism.
  • Hinduism
    • "Dharma" and "Namaste" also have meaning in Hinduism.
  • Islam
    • Sayid is a Muslim, but seems only moderately devout.
  • Sayid opposed burning the bodies of those killed in the crash. Islam dictates that the dead must be buried.
    • When Sayid was caught in Rousseau's trap and thought he would die, he started uttering the Islamic testimony of faith, which is a preparation for death.
    • Sayid carried prayer beads, which he left at Shannon's grave.
    • Sayid stays an extra day in Sydney to arrange a proper Muslim funeral for Essam.
  • Christianity
    • General
      • Rose is definitely a "woman of faith" and probably a Christian (albeit of as yet undefined denomination).
      • The flashes in the Black Smoke during its confrontation with Mr. Eko include several Christian images (a church, a cross, a crucified Christ).
    • Catholicism
      • A common theory, repeatedly denied by the show's producers, is that the castaways have died and are in Purgatory.
      • Hurley's mother is a devout Catholic, as are Charlie and Mr. Eko.
      • Charlie's dreams both featured Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in which his mother and Claire appeared as angels and Hurley as John the Baptist.
      • Eko's brother, Yemi was a priest, something Eko himself became later.
      • Aaron and Claire have both been baptised by Mr. Eko and thus, according to Catholic doctrine, accepted the Catholic faith.
      • The Virgin Mary Statues
      • Christian Shephard and Jack both work at St. Sebastian Hospital named after a Catholic saint. [2]
      • Before switching on the repaired computer, Desmond makes the "Sign of the Cross". (Catholic practice when praying)
      • "Sursum corda" found on the map on the Blast Door means lift up your hearts and is a ritual phrase used in the Catholic mass.
      • Eko and Charlie are building a church.
      • There was a Catholic priest presiding at Anthony Cooper's "funeral".
    • Orthodox
      • Fyodor Dostoesky was an intensely faithful member of the Russian Orthodox Church and his work, including "The Brothers Karamazov" reflects this.


Ideologies

  • New Age
    • The Dharma Initiative has a New Age taint to it
      • They combine parts of eastern philosophies and religions to shamanic ones
      • It was supposedly formed in the eighties, when New Age reached its peak
    • The hypnotic/meditative regression technique Libby used to help Claire regain her memories had a definite New Age look and feel to it.
  • Philosophy
    • Locke and Rousseau are deliberately named after two Enlightenment philosophers [3] [4]
    • "Cogito ergo doleo", meaning "I think therefore I suffer" is a play on Rene Descartes famous phrase "Cogito ergo sum", "I think therefore I am". Like Locke and Rousseau he was an Enlightenment philosopher.

Black and White

Red

  • The Hieroglyphs are either black on red or red on black.
  • The caduceus symbol on the Medical Station is red.
  • The Swan logo is black on red on some occasions.

Missing Body Parts

  • Ray Mullen - right arm.
  • Sam Toomey's wife - leg.
  • Hibbs - 3rd finger on left hand, maybe.
  • Marvin Candle - left arm.
  • Locke sacrifices his kidney to save his father, Anthony Cooper.
  • Montand lost his arm in the Dark Territory.
  • Jack was going to cut off Boone's leg to save his life but opted not to.
  • Nathan was to lose his finger if he didn't talk in the pit.
  • Someone is probably missing an eye, as the tailenders found a glass eye at the Arrow station.
  • The guy in the Police Station who's listening to Boone when Sawyer cames along - Glass eye
  • During Boone's vision quest in Hearts and Minds, Shannon is killed by the monster and among her injuries, she's missing her right arm. (not real noticeable, but noted in the DVD commentary)

Eyes

  • The first episode, and many others, open on close-ups of people's eyes.
  • Glass eye found in The Arrow.
  • Sayid threatens to take Sawyer's eye.
  • Charlie's tattoo reads "Living is Easy with Eyes Closed".
  • Jack diagnoses Sawyer's headaches as a symptom of far-sightedness. Sawyer afterwards wears glasses whenever he reads.
  • Locke's eyes turn to black and white in Claire's dream.
  • Locke has a scar across his right eye from the crash which is still visible two months later.

Games

  • Backgammon appears to be a common pastime for the castaways.
  • Hurley owes Walt $83,000 dollars from losing to him at backgammon.
  • Hurley plays Connect 4 with Lenny in the psyche ward.
  • Locke is working at a toy store and trying to sell a kid a game of Mouse Trap when he sees his mother (but doesn't realise who she is).
  • When he and Jack are removing the dynamite, Locke compares what they're doing to the game Operation.
  • Golf.
  • Locke plays a war game (maybe Risk) at work.
  • Sawyer, Kate, Hurley and Jack play no limit Texas Hold'em with a Dharma/Swan deck of cards on the beach using assorted fruit as chips.
  • At the end of Dave there's an empty Mancala board in front of Libby

Life and Death

Fear

A lot on the island works with this major and very easily directed emotion:

Children

see Children

Pregnancies

see Pregnancies

Deceptions and Cons

  • Charlie attempts to con Lucy in order to get money for ######
  • Ethan and the Others were lying to Claire when they held her prisoner
  • Kate has several false identities.
    • Talked Sun into poisoning Jin.
    • Tried to conceal what she wanted from the Halliburton case
    • Deceived her partners in the bank robbery about the goal of the robbery then turned on them.
  • Locke hasn't told anyone about the Hieroglyphics.
    • Locke's Mother and Father conned him into giving away his kidney.
    • Locke's Father appears to be a professional con man.
  • Sawyer is a professional con man. See Confidence Man and The Long Con.
    • Sawyer is a false identity. His real name is James Ford.
    • Sawyer's namesake - the original Sawyer, seduced his mother and took all their money.
  • Sun may be lying to Jin about whether he's the father of her child.
  • Henry Gale is not who he says he is.
  • Hibbs, Gordy and Cassidy are all con artists
    • Hibbs conned Sawyer into killing a man for him.

Stashing

  • Hurley stashed food for his own consumption
  • Sawyer collects weapons, medicines, books and whatever that catches his interest
  • Charlie hid several Virgin Marys with heroin inside them
  • Jack is also gathering medicine

Brothers

Community content is available under CC BY-NC-ND unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Lostpedia