TRAGIC RESOLUTIONS

The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. — Benjamin Mays

From a point blank, black or white, yes or no answer - - - - did the main characters attain what they were seeking when their LOST saga began?

JACK. His sole goal or mission when LOST started was to bring his father "home" for his funeral. 

In a roundabout way, Jack did have his father's funeral in O6 story arc and "another one" in the sideways world conclusion. It seems redundant that Jack "experiences" two funerals for his father, but we get the sense of no resolution within Jack.

KATE. Her sole goal or mission when LOST started was to get away from Marshal Mars and her criminal charges including murder.

In a sense, Kate got her wish when the marshal died with her secret, but she could not run away from it forever as in the O6 story arc, she was put on (a legally dubious) trial and received no punishment from her crimes. She re-lived her runaway nature in the sideways world when Flight 815 landed in LA. 

LOCKE. His sole goal was to become independent, to take charge of his own life (beyond his disabilities). 

As terrible as it sounds, Locke was crippled more by his mental fixation of abandonment and betrayal by his parents than his paralysis. The island gave him his miracle of being able to walk, and then his opportunity to become the man he never was . . . but the mental baggage of his own personality would doom him over and over again. He would get a second "miracle" in the sideways world by allowing Jack to do surgery, but we now know that was a meaningless fictional device to jump start the final reunion.

SAWYER. His sole goal in life was to avenge his parents death by killing Anthony Cooper. 

Sawyer was granted the opportunity to kill Cooper when Locke's "wish" was granted by the island's "magic box." In order to become the island leader, Locke needed to kill his father in order to become worthy (whether symbolic or real ritual is unclear). Locke could not do the deed, but he got Sawyer into the same locked room with Cooper knowing that Sawyer's rage would get the better of him. In the sideways world, Sawyer did not get any revenge on Cooper, who was a feeble old man being taken care of by Locke and Helen.

SAYID. His sole goal was to change his dark evil torturer past in order to find happiness with Nadia.

In all respects, Sayid failed in his goals. He really had nothing in common with the other main characters. The closest person to him from a purely mental background was Ben. Both had embraced the dark side of the force. But with all the pining for Nadia, including the O6 story arc, Sayid winds up as a reincarnated dark minion and with Shannon in the sideways reunion.

HURLEY.  His mission was to find the source of his problems, The Numbers, which he believed cursed his life by bringing him pain of people dying, people taking advantage of him (like his father in his return).

Hurley's blessing of winning the lottery added more mental pressure on his low self-esteem.  He could not see anyone liking him for himself because of the fame and money. At the most basic level, Hurley failed in his mission to find out what the Numbers truly meant. Even when his secret got out on the island, most people did not believe him. In the O6 story arc, Hurley was more comfortable voluntarily committing himself in a mental institution than dealing with the real world. And that fantasy escape seems to have transfixed his final resolution by ending up with Libby, a person he only "knew" for a few weeks on the island (and never had a first date until the sideways world.)

ROSE and BERNARD. To be together, until death do part.

Bernard wanted to find a miracle to cure Rose's cancer so he could spend more time with her. Rose was stoic and resolute that her cancer could not be cured so she only wanted to live out her life in peace with her husband. The island did give them that peace after they decided to get away from all the beach politics, leadership issues and dangerous battles with strangers like the Others or Widmore's men. It is interesting to note that they did not have to be "awakened" in the sideways world. One aspect of Rose's early introduction after the crash was that she knew her cancer was gone. Many assumed the island's healing powers, but a few of us thought that Rose knew then and there her cancer was gone because she was dead. Everything was going to be alright because she accepted her fate. 

JIN and SUN. Their confusion over their relationship was in part fueled by each individual's desire to run away (Jin from his poor fisherman past; and Sun from her domineering father). The open ended question was whether they had the personal resolve to run away from their past together.

Only in death on the island, did Jin and Sun truly sealed their bond (even though Jin's failure to take into consideration of their young child is a troublesome issue). They could never live "happily ever after" except in the fantasy sideways world.

CHARLIE. His pre-flight goal was to "get the band back together," but in some ways Charlie was looking for family to fill his drug induced void in his life.

Charlie never reached his goals. His overture was rejected by his brother, who suddenly had a nice family life in Australia. It was seeing that family life, and the rejection by his brother, that made Charlie "dream" of such life for himself. But he never got a chance to realize the full extent of any such relationship on the island, or really in the sideways church as he was engulfed by white light shortly after Aaron's "re-birth."

MICHAEL. His sole mission was to get his son, Walt, back into his life. 

Michael never succeeded in his goal. Walt was a stranger. Walt had issues on why his father let him go as a baby. Walt was also dealing with the death of his mother, and abandonment by his stepfather. Michael's desire to protect and save Walt from the island dangers clouded Michael's judgment so much that he turned into a killer and betrayer of his fellow survivors. As a result of his actions, Walt became bitter and estranged from his father. Michael, so despondent over his personal failures, tried to commit suicide on multiple occasions. In the end, he is literally a lost soul trapped in the spirit world of the island.

A summary of the main characters and their pre-crash goals being met:

YES: Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Rose & Bernard,

NO:  Locke, Sayid, Hurley, Jin & Sun, Charlie, Michael

There is no consistent story pattern from reviewing this simple pre-crash question. It is hard to pinpoint one critical pre-crash issue that was buried in the gut of each character. Maybe all the characters were looking for a way to say they were sorry to a parent. It also seems that the sideways world main unresolved issues were transfixed just before the plane crash (which gives some credence to the parallel purgatory theories). Maybe 40% of the characters attained some form of closure in their pre-island personal issues. But that means more of them did not.