Sayid must be the most conflicted and enigmatic character on LOST.
I see his fate or life story being very much that of a 'righteous sword'. Sayid is the dark avenger, sometimes acting on his own, sometimes being used by others, but invariably acting to atone or correct transgressions in the world. As a child, he was criticized and ostracized by the little, rich girl he secretly adored, and by implication other children as well. Perhaps it was during those moments that he developed the need to take up for those that were unable to defend themselves, vowing that as he grew up, he would never allow people to take advantage of the innocent again.
As a young man he found himself in the Republican Guard where the wars in Iraq positioned him at the point in fighting terrorism and those who would harm the innocent.
On the island he falls prey to his violent reactions to perceived attacks on the weak by going after Sawyer. As a very ethical person, his own actions are distasteful to him, and yet he views them as necessary. He sometimes sees his own guilt and search for forgiveness and redemption in the eyes of his enemies and friends alike.
But his story remains powerfully consistent, and repetitive. He betrays his friend's trust at least partly to prevent innocent bloodshed. Ben takes advantage of the terrible death of his life long love (It is very unlikely that Widmore killed Nadia. Much more likely that Ben lied to Sayid to advance his own selfish agendas) to utilize Sayid's passionate talents. He kills the young Ben, and joins Faraday's potentially naive plan, all in an effort to correct transgressions against the O815 survivors.
Terrible events keep occurring in his life that put a deeply moral and conscientious man in the eye of the hurricane. Some people would shirk from the resultant hard decisions that must be faced. Sayid does not. He acts according to his conviction, even if it is abhorrent to him. But the resultant blood on his hands is a source of terrible guilt and self-loathing. He believes himself beyond redemption.
Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Power of Life Stories
One of the most foundational themes in LOST is the hugely powerful roles that stories play in our lives. That is not surprising, since it's true in real life, perhaps more than most people suspect. An entire branch of psychology has arisen and developed surrounding this phenomenon, including therapy and treatment approaches. There's another interesting characteristic of the survivors' stories on LOST. They all involve father figures.
Stories, good and bad, have characteristics. They tend to be generational, passed on from father and mother, to son and daughter. At the least our families heavily influence our stories; victims of abuse become abusers, doctors raise doctors, and alcoholics tend to raise alcoholics. It's also interesting that if the son or daughter chooses to break from a dominant family story, they tend to do so in a very strong and powerful, reactive fashion.
JACK'S STORY
In LOST for example, Jack becomes a doctor like his father, yet disdains his father's abuse of alcohol. One of Jack's most powerful stories is avoiding being like his father in that way. It is surprising then, that he abuses both alcohol and drugs later in S5. This is a questionable digression by the writers. But Jack's most powerful story is proving his father wrong about being weak, and not up to the hard choices in life. He's been told he doesn't have what it takes all his life. Jack works hard to measure up, and to be better than his father at everything he does. While that drive makes him a performer, it also leads to stridency, control, and dogmatism at times. To reach his potential, he must stop fighting his father's words, and develop enough self-confidence to listen. This affliction is a common story of leaders.
Some life stories are more popular than others. It has been researched and demonstrated that fairy tales are ageless because they are collections of the most popular life story lines. The story of Little Red Riding Hood, wherein the girl is attracted to the scary bad boy but then is saved by the hero, is argued to be one of the most common woman story in existence.
SAWYER'S STORY
Sawyer represents two stories. The first is more personal. As a boy, Sawyer watched his father gun down his mother and then shoot himself, after a con man cuckolded him and swindled his wife. Sawyer holds great rage for the con man, but then grows up to be the person he hates, playing the con man himself. Consequently he cares only for himself, feeds off others, and lies and steals until he is forced to run.
There is another very popular branch of the Little Red Hiding Hood story; girl falls in love with bad boy, who redeems himself (preferably with the girl's help) and they live happily ever after. This is clearly the story of Sawyer. The question on LOST has been which girl it will be. It had already played out with Juliet. At the end of S5, we don't know if she is dead.
STORY COLLECTIONS
Earlier we saw that fairy tales are collections of popular stories. Mythology is arguably an even stronger source, since the best stories include general life identities, such as good vs. evil. The story of Sobek is often the story of Cain and Abel, or even the origins of God vs. Satan. When we understand the power of stories, it is not surprising that we find popular stories mirrored across religions and philosophies. Almost everyone is aware of the story of Oedipus, who loved his mother. The term Oedipus Complex, in Freudian (another branch of psychology) derives from this popular boy story of penis envy on the way to man hood.
I believe the most astounding collection of life stories ever written is the Bible. Many non-believers denigrate the Bible by accusing it of being impossibly literal, unbelievable, or inconsistent. Wherever you are on the religious scale, the Bible teaches us the outcomes of a vast array of stories, and gives us examples of successful stories if we exercise our free will to live by them. And certainly Jesus, whether you believe in him or not, or his ability to perform miracles or rise from the dead, is one of the greatest life stories ever told.
Stories, good and bad, have characteristics. They tend to be generational, passed on from father and mother, to son and daughter. At the least our families heavily influence our stories; victims of abuse become abusers, doctors raise doctors, and alcoholics tend to raise alcoholics. It's also interesting that if the son or daughter chooses to break from a dominant family story, they tend to do so in a very strong and powerful, reactive fashion.
JACK'S STORY
In LOST for example, Jack becomes a doctor like his father, yet disdains his father's abuse of alcohol. One of Jack's most powerful stories is avoiding being like his father in that way. It is surprising then, that he abuses both alcohol and drugs later in S5. This is a questionable digression by the writers. But Jack's most powerful story is proving his father wrong about being weak, and not up to the hard choices in life. He's been told he doesn't have what it takes all his life. Jack works hard to measure up, and to be better than his father at everything he does. While that drive makes him a performer, it also leads to stridency, control, and dogmatism at times. To reach his potential, he must stop fighting his father's words, and develop enough self-confidence to listen. This affliction is a common story of leaders.
Some life stories are more popular than others. It has been researched and demonstrated that fairy tales are ageless because they are collections of the most popular life story lines. The story of Little Red Riding Hood, wherein the girl is attracted to the scary bad boy but then is saved by the hero, is argued to be one of the most common woman story in existence.
SAWYER'S STORY
Sawyer represents two stories. The first is more personal. As a boy, Sawyer watched his father gun down his mother and then shoot himself, after a con man cuckolded him and swindled his wife. Sawyer holds great rage for the con man, but then grows up to be the person he hates, playing the con man himself. Consequently he cares only for himself, feeds off others, and lies and steals until he is forced to run.
There is another very popular branch of the Little Red Hiding Hood story; girl falls in love with bad boy, who redeems himself (preferably with the girl's help) and they live happily ever after. This is clearly the story of Sawyer. The question on LOST has been which girl it will be. It had already played out with Juliet. At the end of S5, we don't know if she is dead.
STORY COLLECTIONS
Earlier we saw that fairy tales are collections of popular stories. Mythology is arguably an even stronger source, since the best stories include general life identities, such as good vs. evil. The story of Sobek is often the story of Cain and Abel, or even the origins of God vs. Satan. When we understand the power of stories, it is not surprising that we find popular stories mirrored across religions and philosophies. Almost everyone is aware of the story of Oedipus, who loved his mother. The term Oedipus Complex, in Freudian (another branch of psychology) derives from this popular boy story of penis envy on the way to man hood.
I believe the most astounding collection of life stories ever written is the Bible. Many non-believers denigrate the Bible by accusing it of being impossibly literal, unbelievable, or inconsistent. Wherever you are on the religious scale, the Bible teaches us the outcomes of a vast array of stories, and gives us examples of successful stories if we exercise our free will to live by them. And certainly Jesus, whether you believe in him or not, or his ability to perform miracles or rise from the dead, is one of the greatest life stories ever told.
Jacob and Dark | The Struggle
Find the Season 5.16 The Incident pt. 1 here.
Fine the Season 5.17 The Incident pt. 2 here.
In a nutshell, here's what I think I saw in the S5 Finale.
THE TWO ADVERSARIES
Two immortal adversaries, call them Enemy and Jacob. And as a ship which looks like the Black Rock floats offshore, but definitely puts us in the 1800s, perhaps the most important conversation yet in the series then enjoins:
JACOB: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
ENEMY: I am. How did they find the Island?
JACOB: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
ENEMY: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
JACOB: You are wrong.
ENEMY: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
ENEMY: Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
JACOB: Yes.
ENEMY: One of these days, sooner or later... I'm going to find a loophole, my friend.
JACOB: Well, when you do, I'll be right here.
Here is the first real glimpse at the secrets of LOST. Obviously this game between the two adversaries has been going on for a long, long time, even in the 1800s as dated by the ship. Enemy has grown weary of it because the ending is always the same; violence and corruption. The implication is that mankind is not worth saving. But the adversarial game is clearly a competition; Jacob is out to prove Enemy wrong; that mankind is better than that. All he has to do is prove it one time. For generations now, humans have failed.
The alternative endgame is that there is no relief from man's cycle of depravity. Either Jacob can admit it, and defeat, or Enemy can find a loophole, and kill him. It appears the loophole to kill Jacob is having someone else do it. Who better than the murderous, conniving, sociopath Ben. It's worth noting that it is not necessarily true that Enemy has always been intent on killing Jacob. It rather looks more likely that he is just horribly tired of the story that never ends, and is by now driven to kill Jacob to finally finish it.
RULES OF THE GAME
There are rules to the game they are playing. From the conversation, and later scenes, I believe they are as follows:
WHAT IS THE DOMINANT THEME OF LOST?
The two adversaries embody two sides of the same coin in their struggle. What is it? While I suspect the LOST series is really a multi-layered combination of dichotomies, and good vs. evil is too simplistic, here are some possibilities:
GOD vs. SATAN or GOOD vs. EVIL
Satan was God's right hand. The first conversation appears to be a bet about whether mankind is capable of governing on the island with virtue. Enemy doesn't think so. Jacob says they only have to do it once.
If indeed Jacob represents God, and the statue is Anubis, Guard of the Afterlife, then the island is Purgatory, and the humans there fighting for entry into either heaven or hell. It would also explain why no women can have children there.
It's interesting to note that the struggle to find virtue is also personified in the LOST crew as every main character struggles for redemption of their life stories. All are trying to overcome their pasts in their own way. All are growing and maturing towards it; especially the most spiritual Locke, who in his quest ironically opens himself to Enemy's manipulation and coercion, and dooms his life story to tragic, fatalistic repetition.
But the story is essentially about the O815, so we have reason to believe that at least one of them will be successful and suppress the killing and corruption. The explosion just gave them all a do over, arguably with their memories intact. Who will it be?
RA vs. APEP or GOOD vs. EVIL
An Egyptian variation on the Good vs. Evil theme would have Jacob represent Ra, god of Good and light, making his Enemy Apep, the Egyptian deification of evil and “Eater of Souls,” who is often portrayed as a snake not unlike the Smoke Monster.
FREE WILL: THE DOMINANT THEME
The intriguing thing about great stories is that they are multi-layered. There is no doubt that Enemy represents destiny and Jacob free will on its most basic level.
It is argued in many philosophies and virtually all religions that it is only man's free will that breaks the instinctual brain stem function of selfishness, violence and corruption. It is what sets us apart from animals (who kill each other all the time) and gives us our divinity or virtuosity. Free will is our most precious and holy attribute. It allows us to rise out of the savage muck and become good or virtuous, not because it's our nature, but like the gods, because we choose.
Jacob mentions, implies, or encourages free will in every conversation in the Finale. He says to Jack, "We all need a little push." Earlier in the operating room his father gave him a push in the right direction as well. Unfortunately Jack took his father's guidance in a knee jerk reaction (he didn't exert his free will) to the life long negativity of his father. Often in life the hardest lessons are those that come from people we have a hard time listening to. When Jack learns to appreciate at least some of the lessons his father taught him, he will be well and on his way to find his own redemption. Until then, Jack, like many of us, is caught in the never ending cycle of fighting against the demons of his life stories rather than realizing his potential.
In this same way, all the characters in LOST are fighting their pasts instead of exercising their free will and becoming who they could be. We thought Locke was the furthest along. It appears in the Finale that he is back at square one again.
With Hurley, Jacob's admonition of free will is even more direct. He expressly gives him the option of not going to the island, and encourages him to think of himself as blessed, rather than how others see him (crazy).
Finally, I believe that free will (and personal redemption) is the dominant theme of the story because of the powerful last scene; Jacob's death. The most illuminating point of the scene is what Jacob doesn't do; he doesn't plead for his life, the most logical thing for anyone to do. At the impending moment of is death, he addresses Ben, telling him he has a choice. When Ben asks Jacob who he is, Jacob replies, "Who are you?" There is never any attempt to sway Ben, only encouragement to avoid manipulation and act for himself. This scene, more than any other, convinces us that the story of LOST centers around free will and redemption (which leads to the end of violence and corruption) between the two ancient adversaries, but also on a personal level for our survivors.
THE DEATH SCENE
Enemy has finally won the age old struggle by finding a loophole to kill Jacob. That is, until Jack and his group blow up the Swan. Does that act give Jacob a new chance at life, as well as for each of the Losties?
Notice that the premise that Faraday / Jack's group worked under (that blowing up the Swan would erase the last months and land the plane in LA) is certainly not necessarily true. This reflects real life when we try to do the right thing but we often don't know all the facts...
Perhaps the LOST group will wake up on the island in much the same manner that Ecko, Des, and Locke did during the explosion at the Swan in S3, when they were thrown clear of the terrible blast. Maybe they flash to another time. Maybe they will just land on the island in a storm again. But I doubt they are going to LA, don't you?
Fine the Season 5.17 The Incident pt. 2 here.
In a nutshell, here's what I think I saw in the S5 Finale.
THE TWO ADVERSARIES
Two immortal adversaries, call them Enemy and Jacob. And as a ship which looks like the Black Rock floats offshore, but definitely puts us in the 1800s, perhaps the most important conversation yet in the series then enjoins:
JACOB: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
ENEMY: I am. How did they find the Island?
JACOB: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
ENEMY: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
JACOB: You are wrong.
ENEMY: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
ENEMY: Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
JACOB: Yes.
ENEMY: One of these days, sooner or later... I'm going to find a loophole, my friend.
JACOB: Well, when you do, I'll be right here.
Here is the first real glimpse at the secrets of LOST. Obviously this game between the two adversaries has been going on for a long, long time, even in the 1800s as dated by the ship. Enemy has grown weary of it because the ending is always the same; violence and corruption. The implication is that mankind is not worth saving. But the adversarial game is clearly a competition; Jacob is out to prove Enemy wrong; that mankind is better than that. All he has to do is prove it one time. For generations now, humans have failed.
The alternative endgame is that there is no relief from man's cycle of depravity. Either Jacob can admit it, and defeat, or Enemy can find a loophole, and kill him. It appears the loophole to kill Jacob is having someone else do it. Who better than the murderous, conniving, sociopath Ben. It's worth noting that it is not necessarily true that Enemy has always been intent on killing Jacob. It rather looks more likely that he is just horribly tired of the story that never ends, and is by now driven to kill Jacob to finally finish it.
RULES OF THE GAME
There are rules to the game they are playing. From the conversation, and later scenes, I believe they are as follows:
- Neither can directly kill each other.
- Neither can be direct actors on the island stage.
- Enemy influences the humans on the stage to bring about the violent end even he has no taste for anymore. Because he can not act directly, he uses dead bodies and perhaps smoke as substitute. It now becomes something more than interesting that the Others burn their dead bodies and send them out to sea. Enemy's side of the game does not prevent him from swaying humans. It was Enemy who was trapped in the cabin by ashes, but found a way to get out by coercing someone to break the ash barrier. Perhaps it was Jacob who trapped him there to limit his interference. It appears he has been using Christian and Alex as proxies, but for some time now has impersonated a dead Locke. Dead is dead, after all.
- Jacob does not act at all. His only role is to arrange people to come from the mainland. He chooses them. Beyond that, he makes no further interference. More on this later.
WHAT IS THE DOMINANT THEME OF LOST?
The two adversaries embody two sides of the same coin in their struggle. What is it? While I suspect the LOST series is really a multi-layered combination of dichotomies, and good vs. evil is too simplistic, here are some possibilities:
- Fate vs. Free will
- Good vs. evil
- Baseness vs. Virtue
- Animal vs. Spiritual
- Damned vs. Redemption
- Nature vs. Nurture
GOD vs. SATAN or GOOD vs. EVIL
Satan was God's right hand. The first conversation appears to be a bet about whether mankind is capable of governing on the island with virtue. Enemy doesn't think so. Jacob says they only have to do it once.
If indeed Jacob represents God, and the statue is Anubis, Guard of the Afterlife, then the island is Purgatory, and the humans there fighting for entry into either heaven or hell. It would also explain why no women can have children there.
It's interesting to note that the struggle to find virtue is also personified in the LOST crew as every main character struggles for redemption of their life stories. All are trying to overcome their pasts in their own way. All are growing and maturing towards it; especially the most spiritual Locke, who in his quest ironically opens himself to Enemy's manipulation and coercion, and dooms his life story to tragic, fatalistic repetition.
But the story is essentially about the O815, so we have reason to believe that at least one of them will be successful and suppress the killing and corruption. The explosion just gave them all a do over, arguably with their memories intact. Who will it be?
RA vs. APEP or GOOD vs. EVIL
An Egyptian variation on the Good vs. Evil theme would have Jacob represent Ra, god of Good and light, making his Enemy Apep, the Egyptian deification of evil and “Eater of Souls,” who is often portrayed as a snake not unlike the Smoke Monster.
Just as with the Devil scenario, Apep (Smoke Monster) confronts characters and consumes their soul, and absorbs their experiences if he finds that the character can not be used to his own evil ends. Ecko, perhaps the most tested and therefore self-actualized character on the series, was therefore one of the first to be consumed. Ben on the other hand, was already evil, and Locke the perfect patsy, making them both perfect for Apep’s grand plan to defeat Jacob (Ra).
Notice that in this analogy the imagery is somewhat richer, with only slightly less emphasis on Good and Evil, but the difference between this scenario and the one above is only slight. It matters little in the end.FREE WILL: THE DOMINANT THEME
The intriguing thing about great stories is that they are multi-layered. There is no doubt that Enemy represents destiny and Jacob free will on its most basic level.
It is argued in many philosophies and virtually all religions that it is only man's free will that breaks the instinctual brain stem function of selfishness, violence and corruption. It is what sets us apart from animals (who kill each other all the time) and gives us our divinity or virtuosity. Free will is our most precious and holy attribute. It allows us to rise out of the savage muck and become good or virtuous, not because it's our nature, but like the gods, because we choose.
Jacob mentions, implies, or encourages free will in every conversation in the Finale. He says to Jack, "We all need a little push." Earlier in the operating room his father gave him a push in the right direction as well. Unfortunately Jack took his father's guidance in a knee jerk reaction (he didn't exert his free will) to the life long negativity of his father. Often in life the hardest lessons are those that come from people we have a hard time listening to. When Jack learns to appreciate at least some of the lessons his father taught him, he will be well and on his way to find his own redemption. Until then, Jack, like many of us, is caught in the never ending cycle of fighting against the demons of his life stories rather than realizing his potential.
In this same way, all the characters in LOST are fighting their pasts instead of exercising their free will and becoming who they could be. We thought Locke was the furthest along. It appears in the Finale that he is back at square one again.
With Hurley, Jacob's admonition of free will is even more direct. He expressly gives him the option of not going to the island, and encourages him to think of himself as blessed, rather than how others see him (crazy).
Finally, I believe that free will (and personal redemption) is the dominant theme of the story because of the powerful last scene; Jacob's death. The most illuminating point of the scene is what Jacob doesn't do; he doesn't plead for his life, the most logical thing for anyone to do. At the impending moment of is death, he addresses Ben, telling him he has a choice. When Ben asks Jacob who he is, Jacob replies, "Who are you?" There is never any attempt to sway Ben, only encouragement to avoid manipulation and act for himself. This scene, more than any other, convinces us that the story of LOST centers around free will and redemption (which leads to the end of violence and corruption) between the two ancient adversaries, but also on a personal level for our survivors.
THE DEATH SCENE
Enemy has finally won the age old struggle by finding a loophole to kill Jacob. That is, until Jack and his group blow up the Swan. Does that act give Jacob a new chance at life, as well as for each of the Losties?
Notice that the premise that Faraday / Jack's group worked under (that blowing up the Swan would erase the last months and land the plane in LA) is certainly not necessarily true. This reflects real life when we try to do the right thing but we often don't know all the facts...
Perhaps the LOST group will wake up on the island in much the same manner that Ecko, Des, and Locke did during the explosion at the Swan in S3, when they were thrown clear of the terrible blast. Maybe they flash to another time. Maybe they will just land on the island in a storm again. But I doubt they are going to LA, don't you?
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