Was The Reason Each LOSTie Was
Brought To The Island Punishment?
There are two big thematic discussions in Exodus, Part 2.
The first occurs between Sun, Shannon and Claire while
they wait in the caves for the return of Charlie, Sayid and
Aaron as well as the A-Team who've gone to the Black Rock.
Sun: Do you think all this... all that we've been through...
do you think we're being punished?
Shannon: Punished for what?
Sun: Things we did before... the secrets we kept... the lies
we told.
Shannon: Who do you think is punishing us?
Sun: Fate.
Claire: No one's punishing us. There's no such thing as fate.
It's kind of odd that this huge thematic conversation occurs
between these three more minor characters. It's also weird
that Claire with her horoscopes and psychics is the one who
denies the existence of fate. I guess she and destiny denying
Jack are indeed related.
And speaking of destiny denying Jack, the second big
discussion occurs between Jack and Locke post-Smokey
encounter.
Locke tells Jack:
Do you really think all this is an accident that we, a group
of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries?
Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence...
especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose,
for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for
a reason.
So was Sun's speculation that the reason was punishment correct?
I wonder if those who died in the crash were the "normal" people,
the ones that didn't have some internal crisis that needed
fixing, that didn't keep secrets and tell lies. Did you only survive
with superficial injuries if your real injuries are the internal,
emotional ones?
Or could Sun be correct and the Island is a literal prison.
I just started watching The Prisoner (no spoilers please), and
the idea that the Island could be a place to put people who need
to be kept out of the way seems reasonable. Would you really
want Ben let loose on society? Or Juliet with her pregnant
male mice? Or OJ drugging Kate?
I know I've seen an intelligent blog post out there somewhere
about the idea of people being in a prison but not knowing it and
in fact mistaking it for a utopia type situation, but I don't
remember where. Is that what's going on?
Finally, Don't miss the other new post below this one. It's short.
Friday, September 07, 2007
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8 comments:
If it is a prison (or holding area) then the question remains: who is in charge here? Is Ben a representative of the Big Boss? Or is he another prisoner, an inmate running the asylum?
Good question, Memphish!
I agree - good question. It gives credence to the theory that everyone was manipulated onto the plane, and somehow the ones that were supposed to survive, did.
My first reponse would be, who in the world does not have any internal or personal issues that couldn't stand to be dealt with? Everyone on any plane could be a candidate for a possible psych experiment on the island, IMHO. :-) Especialy me! But it's interesting for TPTB to bring up the subject that any person has things in their life that could be judged, if not by society, then by God. Most likely anyone who got stuck on the island would wonder if they were being held accountable for something that they had done in their lives that they didn't make restitution for yet. And then they would begin questioning the possibility, like Sun does.
It is funny that Claire would say something about not believing in fate, since she went to the psychic, and was also reading a horoscope type book on the island as well. :-)
Good Qs Memphish!
P.S. Maybe you are thinking of the Panopticon prison? I'm currently writing something up on that for my blog.
I think that's it Capcom. It's linked to someone named Bentham, right? Which is close to Lantham of the newspaper article. I'll look forward to your post.
As for the "issues," there are issues and then there are ISSUES that make for good TV. Rose and Bernard have been the only flashback that shows people satisfied and accepting of their lives and their choices, with some minor regrets perhaps, but not in need of a do-over. The rest of them, sheesh. I'm sure its only because those are the stories that are interesting to tell and that there are probably log carriers that fit the more normal bill, but when Sun asks the question you can immediately think of why each of the characters we know in more detail would view this as punishment.
I like the idea that Dharma and Jacob might have created the Island for research to remove nutjob researchers from ever getting a chance to be mainstreamed. But then I don't like Juliet. :)
Heh, you're right about issues. I've always thought that Claire's issues were pretty tame and wondered why she might have been chosen over any other unwed mom. Then again, there's the "special Aaron" thing that still has not been explained, so you can't get the baby without getting the mom along with the deal. :-)
I don't think everyone was specially chosen by a person or group of people. Perhaps some were, but not at all. I think a big question, one which LOST will probably never answer, is the notion of fate. Is there a force greater than humanity guiding events, or is it all coincidence? I don't think LOST could ever really answer that question without devolving into TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL or something. I think it will come out on a more pro-spiritual side, but it will remain vague and leave the audience to define if for themselves.
Capcom,
You make a good point about astrology-obsessed Claire saying she doesn't believe in fate. I've always figured that, when she made that comment, it was merely because she was upset about Aaron's kidnapping and had lapsed briefly into nihilism. I bet, in the end, Claire's definitely a believer in destiny.
Claire meeting Malkin on the island would be AWESOME!!! If he showed up I think I would laugh for a long while.
=]
CF
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