ROUSSEAU

LOST was filled with vague references and illusions to philosophers.

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" said philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was born in Geneva in 1712.

Rousseau left home at 16 and wandered around Europe for the next 14 years. He moved to Paris when he was 30, and took up with a group of philosophers. He also took up with Thérèse Le Vasseur, a semi-literate laundry maid at his hostel; the two began a lifelong relationship that produced five children, according to Rousseau. He placed all of them into orphanages.

Rousseau was well versed in music, and wrote ballets and operas; he could easily have been successful as a composer, but the stage made his Swiss Calvinist sensibilities uneasy.

One day he was walking to visit his friend and fellow philosopher Denis Diderot, who was in jail, and he had an epiphany: modern progress had corrupted rather than improved mankind.

He became famous overnight upon publication of his essay "A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts" (1750). The essay informed nearly everything else he wrote, and eventually he would turn away completely from music and the theater to focus on literature. In "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality" (1755) he continued to explore the theme that civilization had led to most of what was wrong with people: living in a society led to envy and covetousness; owning property led to social inequality; possessions led to poverty.

Society exists to provide peace and protect those who owned property, and therefore government is unfairly weighted in favor of the rich.

In it, he wrote: "The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of listening to this imposter; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody."

His work would prove inspirational to the leaders of the French Revolution, and they adopted the slogan from The Social Contract: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

He grew increasingly paranoid in his later years, convinced that his friends were plotting against him. He spent some time in England with David Hume, but his persecution complex eventually alienated him from most of his associates.

Rousseau's character in LOST has some vague patterns to the 18th Century philosopher.
Rousseau came to the island as part of an exploration crew. She was pregnant. Her husband was an intellectual, a scientist. Their ship crashed on the island, which could only mean that Jacob brought them to it as candidates in his game with MIB. She is the second known candidate brought to the island as a pregnant woman. Jacob's own mother shipwrecked on the island centuries earlier, but she was killed by the guardian.

On the island, LOST's Rousseau lost her child to Ben's Others. In a sense, Alex was "an orphan" because Rousseau did not come back to get her bad (until it was too late). Instead, Rousseau abandoned society and lived on the island on her own. As a result, she grew increasingly paranoid in her plots to attack and counterattack against the Others. It was only after she failed to kill Sayid after capturing him did she begin to change her attitude toward her plight.

She began to work with the 815 survivors. Rousseau led the group up to the radio tower, and on the way met her daughter, Alex. She communicated with her for the first time, and Alex herself seemed curious about her. The two tied Ben up together, and headed on to the radio tower. Danielle stated earlier to Jack that she would help them find rescue, but would not be leaving herself. She said the Island is the only place she knows, and is her home.

At the native's darkest hour, when Widmore's soldiers were laying siege to the Dharma compound, did Rousseau come to terms with her motherhood. Ben was worried about Alex's safety so he begged Rousseau to take her to the safety of the Temple. On December 27, 2004, while she, Alex, and Karl were traveling from the Barracks to the Temple, they were ambushed by Keamy's mercenaries. Both Rousseau and Karl were shot dead. Alex was taken back as a hostage to be killed when Ben refused to surrender.

Rousseau was betrayed by the imposter, Ben, the faux father of Alex. She let her guard down in order to serve Ben's plan of survival. But in the end, it cost her and her daughter's lives. It was the battle of territory, the island, which philosopher Rousseau condemned as being the source of mankind's evil came to pass as Danielle and Alex's demise.

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

How canines became man's best friend is one of evolution's great mysteries. Dogs are essentially domesticated wild animals. But at some point, mankind and dogs connected at a family level.

There had to be a mutual benefit. For a small family unit of hunter-gatherers, a dog with its keen senses, could help with safety and security of the camp against other wild animals or attacks from other clans. A dog could also be useful in the hunt to gather food. A dog could also be a comforting companion in the camp when the men were aware foraging for food or shelter materials. Dogs could also give the children a sense of love and play that we often see in nature specials with various canine pups.

From a dog's perspective, becoming part of a human family had its benefits as well. Humans were the top predator and dogs have an innate sense of hierarchy structure. Canines also have the instinct to bond with other members of their pack in a family structure of mutual support and protection. Those values are similar to those in the human family unit. That is why dogs and humans get along so well.

They may be different but at some core level they are the same.

In today's modern society, dogs continue to play an important role in people's lives. Dogs do provide a sense of security against strange noises in the middle of the night (especially if you are a single woman). Dogs do provide owners with unconditional loyalty and affection. Dogs also provide their owners with a sense of balance in their daily lives; a diversion against the normal grind. People need to impart themselves in a tangible way in order to feel good about themselves. Dog owners are kind, giving, generous and supportive of their pet's needs. A dog gives in return a non-judgmental, pure and unconditional love that feeds a personal's emotional state (heart and soul).

Dog owners tend to live healthier lives. According to WebMD, households who have pets have less frequency of allergies or breathing ailments.  Pet owners tend to have more opportunity for social engagements as they walk their dogs in parks. From a physical standpoint, pets require their owners to exercise more (through walks and household play).

Pet owners are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets. The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets, according to several studies.

People in high stress positions or had high blood pressure who had pets had less stress and lower blood pressure than did people without pets. People in stress mode get a burst of harmful chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine can negatively affect the immune system. Some of these chemicals are linked to plaque buildup in arteries which is a precondition for heart disease.

Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine -- nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties. Therefore, dogs have a natural healing element with the relationship with their owners. Dogs allow owners to have a sense of balance, purpose and a better quality of life than those without pets.

Human beings are social animals. Men and women need relationships in order be complete and fulfilled in their lives. Dogs and pets are not a full substitute for a lasting pair bond, but dogs do elevate the happiness factor in a person's life.

In LOST, Vincent was Walt's dog but in reality he was everyone's dog. He was a wandering presence throughout the island who would attach himself to anyone who really needed an unspoken friend. He was there when Walt lost his mother. He was there when Shannon lost her brother. He was there to silently comfort Jack in the end when Jack closed his eyes in the bamboo field for the final time.

A dog is a valued member of a family. When we lose a pet, we lose a family member. There is sadness. There is grief. Perhaps that is another basic reason man brought dogs into their family was to teach their children the cycle of life and death since pets lived shorter lives than men and women. The takeaway is that pets enrich and fulfill people's lives in an uncompromising way. And when they are gone, they are never forgotten. Their inner strength, affection and friendship is what remains forever in a dog owner's heart.

KEY SYMBOL

This is an ancient Egyptian symbol that was found throughout the LOST series, including in the Temple where the original smoke monster hid and where the Others hid from it. The symbol, an ankh,  is called the Key of Life.

Originally, the Ankh was viewed as just meaning "life," but others believe it meant the creation of Life itself. In the context of LOST, the island was once called the place for life, death and rebirth which the latter two elements infer an afterlife then a new external life after death.

Many scholars believed that the Egyptians believed in a set of gods symbolized by various hybrid man-animal forms. But a newer approach believes that during the course of many different dynasties, modern interpretation clouded the real story of the ancient religions.

Inscriptions in the Hibis Temple shows that the Egyptians knew of one creator but acknowledge they had used several names and several stories but the one arose out of the primordial ocean.
Amun,  Atum,  Khepri, or Re were actually different names for a single god. This changes the view of the Egyptian culture and aligns it clearly with most modern religions.

Further, new theorists believe that the different names are merely elements of the god. The Ankh not only is a symbol of Life but the elements that create life. Wherever the Ankh is translated in Ancient Egypt Literature  it can be re-translated with the following insight:  The Ankh is the Life Code; The Egyptian’s so-called “Infinities or Chaos” Gods: Amen/Amenet, Nun/Nunet,Kuk,Kukhet, Heh/Hehet – the Ogdoad; The Meaning of Life is no longer just a flat definition but a multi-dimensional definition of the scientific and possibly spiritual definition of how life was created itself.

This is not that far off from some of LOST's formula themes, including the Valenzetti Equation which proposed the doom and destruction of mankind and the Numbers being symbolic of keeping the the island's electromagnetic properties in check in order to save mankind from destruction.

The new interpretation of the Ankh symbol representing 8 scientific and spiritual elements as the foundation of Life itself has merit to the understanding of the island symbolism. The island was not a normal island. It moved. It had supernatural and spiritual elements. It had unique properties. It had immortal beings and unusual smoke creators who could shape shift. It could recreate memories of people.

The Ankh takes the shape of a cross with a loop on top, resembling a key. In the ancient language of Egyptians, the ‘ankh’ meant ‘life.’ It is considered one of the earliest and most popular hieroglyphic symbols from ancient Egypt. It is said that the loop on the ankh symbolized the feminine or the womb, while the cross symbolized the masculine or the penis. When the two are put together, life is formed. Many believe that the Ankh is also a symbol for water and air, which are life-giving elements. Because of this, many water vessels were formed in the shape of an Ankh.

Used as an amulet, the Ankh was believed to be able to grant the wearer long life and health. Ancient Egyptians even put ankhs in tombs to give energy to the resurrected spirit. It is said that the symbol can even carry on its power to anyone within a certain proximity to it. As such, it is believed to be a conduit for life or power that stems from the universe. The Ankh can also be used as a strong protection against evil, decay and degeneration.

We can see various elements depicted: man + woman = life; water, air (life giving elements); health (immunities and spiritual energy); and power from the universe (nature).

But one modern theorist has a different formula which adds elements to science expressions:

 

This formula touches upon numerous LOST themes and elements. Some felt that the island was itself a wave, since it could travel through time and space (along with wormhole and event horizon applications). The dark and light theme was in the forefront of the Jacob-MIB plot. The separation of the light and dark creates an evolutionary train of events which some could consider the spiritual awakening of the soul to transform into an afterlife being.

Evolution was never a major theme in the series, but if truly the Big Question unanswered was "What if Life?" then one can think that since life itself is an evolutionary path (genetics, fertility, physical and mental traits) was LOST more a commentary on the current evolution of mankind? The main characters did have focal points on the sins of a modern industrial world. What was lacking in most of the series was a moral and spiritual link to a better life. It is a far stretch to try to get that lesson out of the conclusion of the show, but it is at least something new to think about.

SHANNON PORTRAIT

Shannon may have been one of the best characters to symbolize low self-esteem. All the money in the world, or even a doting parent, her father, could give her the independent character to survive on her own.

Shannon had a reverse daddy issue. Her father spoiled her. He gave her money. He protected her against the real world. He got her out of trouble. When he remarried, he was the buffer between his daughter and her step-mother. But when in the emergency room, Jack made the choice to "save" Sarah instead of Shannon's father (since both were critically injured), this set Shannon's life on a slow, downward deadspin.

It appears she never held a real job. Being a cute girlfriend, a rich bitch or a party girl were not lasting career choices. She did have the gift of flirtation and sexual promise. But as in the series itself, she was more a cardboard cut-out, a centerfold without a soul, a wasted opportunity to have an interesting life story.

After her father passed away, Shannon was left on a family island. Her stepmother treated her poorly. She was put down. She had no place in the family business. Shannon was not a hard worker because her old life had been handed to her. Without a drive, personal goals or dreams she would wander aimlessly from bad boyfriend to bad relationship.

Lostpedia summarized her as follows:

Before the (Flight 815) crash, her father had died in a car crash and she had been cut off by her stepmother, who also refused to give her any of her father's money. She used men, especially Boone, to get what she wanted, which eventually led to a one night-stand with Boone. After the crash, she was very selfish at times, refusing to help the other survivors, as she insisted they would be rescued. However, she assisted in trying to get a signal on the transceiver, and used her French skills to translate Rousseau's signal. She also had an asthma attack when her inhaler ran out, but Sun eased her symptoms. She eventually formed a romantic relationship with Sayid which helped her realize her selfishness and led to a change in attitude. As she and Sayid went for a picnic, Boone fell out of a plane and died of injuries. After Boone died, Shannon sought revenge on John Locke, attempting to shoot him, but Sayid interfered. She eventually forgave Sayid, but began to have strange visions of Walt who she thought was on the raft. On Day 48 she ran from camp with Sayid to search for Walt; however she collided with the Tailies and was unintentionally shot in the stomach and killed by Ana Lucia Cortez after chasing another image of Walt.  She died in Sayid's arms having finally gained his confidence and belief in her. 

Many viewers did not find Shannon's character compelling; many felt that the death scene was merely an actor's clip reel (since so many of the characters would succumb in the next episodes). She was a "taker" and not a giver. She had to rely on other people (Boone, Sun, Sayid) in order to cope with the very basic daily routines most people take for granted. Her loss was not taken as a great defining moment in the series. 

Even after her death, her character drew ire from some fans. Why would a week long island affair be more important to Sayid than his lifelong quest to find his true love, Nadia? When Sayid wound up with Shannon in the after life, most fans were disillusioned because it really made no sense. Shannon had made no great leap or redemption in the sideways world to merit "a reward" of companionship in the next world. Further, it upset people that Shannon got what she wanted (a man to care for her forever) while Boone sat alone in the sideways church. Boone, the guy who cared and loved Shannon, and who died trying to get her rescued, got nothing for his effort.

It is a sad commentary that Shannon, the spoiled rich girl can be the Cinderella in the end by not doing anything.

BUILDING ON THE PAST

It is a reoccurring theme in human civilizations. In today's modern world, it is playing out on the battlefields of the internet. For many early pioneers like the open source software developers, who believed their code should be open, free and easily modified by anyone. This was more a movement than a business plan. But the usefulness of the core concepts led to mass adoption in UNIX, Linux and GPU. So those early geniuses helped grow the massive internet communications platforms that everyone uses today.

But subsequent evil geniuses have quickly learned to exploit the exploits of their predecessors and use the openness of the internet protocols to hack into personal data and network administration commands. Instead of building upon the past's accomplishments, newcomers sometimes tend to twist and usurp the past's accomplishments into their own game.

Whether you consider this part of basic human behavior, one or more of the deadly sins in action, or the underemployed with too much time on their hands, it is a basic motivating factor that drives debates in society.

In LOST, we cannot go back to the show's first mythology beginnings. From what was shown in the series, we know that many different civilizations came to the island, left their monuments and cultural markers, but they were replaced by new arrivals. MIB opined it was a never ending cycle of corrupt humanity.

If we look back to the oldest artifact shown in the series, it would have been the Light Cave. It was the source of the unique energy, said to be "life, death and rebirth" powers. However, this cave contained ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs referring to, in part, to ancient death rituals. Whether the Egyptians were the first to arrive at the island is debatable; but at least they were the dominate group to explore and possibly attempt to control the light source.

But if the light source cave is the first historical feature, then who or what is the first historical person on the island?  We assume that it is Crazy Mother, who was apparently alone on the island when Claudia's Roman ship wrecked in a storm. But Crazy Mother referenced her own mother, so she was not the first being on the island, but merely the last surviving member of her kind. Based on this evidence, we could conclude that there is some bridge back to the very beginning of the light source, which is the beginning of life itself.

If we look at the remains of the past cultures that happened upon the island (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Americans), what do all these historical people have in common? All of them were culturally keen on trying to answer the Big Question: the creation of life.  This broils the science vs. faith debate. Religious people believe a god created humanity. Scientific people believe that the universe's forces unleashed the building blocks of life, and evolution of those components interacting and creating new compounds created life. Neither side can actually prove their thesis.

Another cultural theme expressed in most civilizations is the concept of good and evil. This is usually depicted in black and white terms. In the series, the yin-yang of black and white representation in Adam & Eve's stones, to the appearance of Jacob and MIB, led credence that LOST was attempting to symbolize this ancient philosophy.

Even in science, the expression of light energy, such as the sun's rays, will create dark shadows depending upon surrounding variables. If the island was the source of light (life force), then one could extrapolate that the island would also contain shadows (death forces). The latter could encompass the physical properties of aging or decay, but could also include the human emotional factors that lead to deadly consequences.

So all the elements of past civilizations are incorporated into the fabric of the island symbolism.

Every island civilization came to ask the Big Question, and failed to maintain its existence.

There has been only one island constant in the historical information. Under the temple, there is a depiction of the Smoke Monster opposite an image of Anubis, the Egyptian god of the underworld. As such, the smoke monster predates the earliest known people brought to the island. And those people viewed the smoke monster on par with its own gods.

Instead of building upon this past, subsequent leaders of the island, including Jacob, tended to put themselves above the smoke monster in status and control. The Others worshipped Jacob and not the smoke monster. The Others feared Ben's lethal leadership style, but they did not think Ben as a god. And even Ben was conflicted - - - he sought the approval of his demi-god, Jacob (as a possible missing approval he never got from his father), but in a fit of rage, he summoned the smoke monster to kill Widmore's men. In times of trouble, man often prays for intervention from their god to change the course of battle.

So the smoke monster is both a symbol of darkness and a state of deity. Every civilization on the island recognized the smoke monster as a powerful thing, but slowly removed it from centerpiece of island mythology. For arrogant men took the role of guarding the light away from the smoke monster. If the smoke monster, as an intelligent being, realizes that his sole purpose has been thwarted by newcomers, evil geniuses, hacking into its authority. No one wonder when it bonded with the memories of Jacob's brother, the smoke monster wanted to leave the island because it felt it was not needed or wanted as guardian. There was no respect to its past and its role in balancing the light and dark in the universe.

WIPE AWAY

We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are. — Sarah Dessen

The housekeeping analogy of wiping away one's mess does not make one's life any neater can be applied to LOST, at various levels.

First, the creators and writers of the show steadfast refusal to discuss or explain the meaning of their series to their fans is a swipe against their former viewers. Now that years have past since the show ended, and numerous fans have devoted a great deal of time, thought, resources and sweat equity into preserving their memories, wouldn't the show's inside people want to tell their viewpoint on the series? Because the open question genre of a drama and mystery show, which leaves major plot points hanging, is actually not a genre at all. If an inspector (viewers) come to a builder's new home construction site, the inspector should have the right to hear how the builder (show producers/writers) created their foundation and built their structure in order to pass inspection.

Second, as a character study, most of the characters made major messes in their lives. From failed parental relationships, to serious accidents, to failed love relationships, to criminal activity to murder - - - LOST ran the gambit on twisted character flaws. Now, most of the characters could have wiped the surface clean and continued on with their miserable little lives and secrets but for the Flight 815 flight crash on the island. Metaphorically, the flawed characters had to go through their own personal "hells" in order to a) recognize their personal faults; b) trust and believe in other people for support; c) take chances not just for themselves but for others; and d) accept change to create a new path to erase any regrets.

If you don't care on how or why the characters were put into this personal hell to work through their inner problems, then LOST can make sense. But if you want to know more than just symbolic personal character development or reaction to the mysterious events on the island, then LOST continues to be a frustrating exercise in logic and common sense.

ONE EQUALS THREE

In mathematics, it makes no sense. In religions and mystic studies, it makes all the sense.

1 = 3

The Number 3 is an ancient and powerful number.

Three represents the trinity, a perfect number. The triad or trinity is a symbol of the unity of body, mind and spirit. The symbol is of universal significance - it is found throughout history and all over the world.

In science, Atomic Number Three - Lithium deuteride is the explosive material of the hydrogen bomb and may eventually be the fuel of controlled fusion reactors. Three symbolizes great power.

Three is important in geometry, which is the basic understanding of nature and engineering.  Two straight lines cannot possibly enclose any space, or form a plane figure; neither can two plan surfaces form a solid. Three lines are necessary to form a plan figure; and three dimensions of length, breadth, and height, are necessary to form a solid. Hence three is the symbol of the cube--the simplest form of solid figure. As two is the symbol of the square, or plane contents (x²), so three is the symbol of the cube, or solid contents (x³).

The ancient Egyptians used the power of the pyramid, which is a triangle, to build great structures. It was believed that the Pythagorean theory was first used here.
 
Three, therefore, stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.
 

There are three great divisions completing time--past, present, and future.
 

Thought, word, and deed, complete the sum of human capability.
 
Three degrees of comparison complete our knowledge of qualities.
The simplest proposition requires three things to complete it; viz., the subject, the predicate, and the copula.
 
Three propositions are necessary to complete the simplest form of argument--the major premise, the minor, and the conclusion.
 
In nature, three kingdoms embrace our ideas of matter--mineral, vegetable, and animal.

In all cultures and societies, the number three represents the basic unit of family: father, mother, child. 
 
When we turn to the Scriptures, this completion becomes Divine, and marks Divine completeness or perfection.

The Divine completeness of the Shepherd's care (John 6:39), is seen in His revelations as--

• The "Good Shepherd" in death, John 10:14.
• The "Great Shepherd" in resurrection, Hebrews 13:20.
• The "Chief Shepherd" in glory, 1 Peter 4:5.

God's attributes are three: omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

Many people believe that man embodies three principles of life:  intellectual, moral, and spiritual.

Many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including:

In Christianity, the Trinity defines God as three Divine persons: the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". A nature is what one is, while a person is who one is.

In Hinduism, the Trimurti is the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu  the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.

In Hindu Tridevi, the three consorts of the Trimurti  (Great Trinity), that are personified by the forms of three Goddesses. Saraswati is the goddess of learning and arts, cultural fulfillment (consort to the creator). She is the cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness, cosmic knowledge. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and fertility, material fulfillment (consort of the maintainer or preserver). However, she does not mean mere material wealth like gold, cattle, etc. All kinds of prosperity, glory, magnificence, joy, exaltation, or greatness come under Lakshmi. Parvati is the goddess of power and love, spiritual fulfillment (consort of the destroyer or transformer). She also depicts transformative power of Divinity, the power that dissolves multiplicity in unity.

The Three Jewels of Buddhism, refer to the three things that Buddhists  take refuge in, and look toward for guidance. The Three Jewels are:

Buddha: the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings;
Dharma: the teachings of the Buddha, the path to Enlightenment; and
Sangha: the community of those who have attained enlightenment, who may help a practicing Buddhist to do the same. Also used more broadly to refer to the community of practicing Buddhists, or the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.

In the pagan world, the Wiccan Rule of Three (also Three-fold Law or Law of Return) is a religious tenet held by some Pagans that states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times

 It is clear that he number Three is intertwined in both science and faith.

Throughout history, religion and pagan societies found great meaning and power in the number three. Why would so many diverse people on the planet gravitate toward this number? In 1966, scientists found that the Number 3 was a critical component of humans, as our DNA is sequenced in sets of three proteins. Many people believe that this represents a key to understanding the universe since we have been encoded with the number three.

In LOST, we fixated on The Numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42).  We were told that the numbers only represented Jacob's final candidates, even though the Numbers had sew into the story at many times (lottery numbers, Hatch ID number, the Hatch alarm code, etc.).

But in the final candidates numbers, we can find an interesting solution to a math question. If the candidate's number represent the attributes of a person, can we distill a number from them.

If we take Jin minus Jack minus Sayid we can get a number.
42-23-16 = 3

If we take Sawyer minus Hurley minus Locke we can get the same number.
15-8-4 =3

When we take that to mean "33" as the solution to the Numbers Candidate equation, we look to the candidate's list to find that Candidate number 33 was "Novak."

Novak is the name is derived from the Slavic word for "new" meaning something similar to "new man", "newcomer" or "stranger" in English. The name was often given to someone who came to a new city, or a convert to Christianity.

In the  church, Christian explains their situation in a triad expression for time in the sideways world  that there is no past, present or future. 

CHRISTIAN: Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some...long after you.
JACK: But why are they all here now?
CHRISTIAN: Well there is no "now" here.
JACK: Where are we, dad?
CHRISTIAN: This is the place that you...that you all made together, so that you could find one another. The most...important part of your life, was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
JACK: For what?
CHRISTIAN: To remember...and to...let go.
 
We could make an argument that the Number 3 is a meaningful solution to the series. The concept of the past, present and future tied into one being or place or enlightenment is equivalent to any form of the  Trinity. Here, Jack was a stranger (man of science) in a strange land (the island, a place of spiritual faith). He had to release his intellectual self, control his emotional/moral feelings, in order to become aware of his spiritual existence in order to move on after his death.

BAD ALLEGORY TO HISTORY

LOST may have been an unintentional allegory to history. This is a new observation that I have not seen in print before now.

An allegory is a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.

Jacob has been the ruler of the Island for thousands of years. The island was filled with the symbolic debris of numerous ancient and modern civilizations. It could be said that Jacob actually represents a self-perceived Divine ruler as in the long line of historical leaders such as the Pharoahs, Odysseus. Alexander the Great, Augustus Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napolean, to Hitler. It is the latter that may be the hidden background of the series symbolism.

Jacob was the sole decision maker on the island. He decided who would come to the island, who would go, who would live, who would die. As a totalitarian, his will controlled his subjects. And the inhabitants of the island would learn to follow him like a cult. This parallels early Nazi Germany where highly educated people in tight economic times followed a charismatic leader towards their new destiny.

MIB is the configuration of the SS, who were the men in black during Hitler's reign. The purpose of the SS was to keep the people in line, gather intelligence, and destroy any opponents. MIB, as the smoke monster, had the vicious, cold and destructive behavior of an attacking SS unit. MIB had long worked side by side with Jacob in controlling the island. But as in actual history, many of Hitler's inner circle grew weary of their leader's actions and positions. They plotted to assassinate him. MIB, as Flocke, carried out a similar plan to kill Jacob in order to free itself from the bonds and duties to be Jacob's enforcer.

The island itself mirrors the Nazi Germany infrastructure toward Hitler's delusional principles. The Dharma Stations were scientific research facilities. Germany was pressing forward in all fields of science and the occult before and during World War II. The preparation of the conquest of the world included Hitler trying to find new super weapons and bred a superior Germanic race. The island contained an mysterious but powerful light source which could represent the untamed nuclear bomb technologies developed at the end of the war. The paranoia that Widmore's men would be coming to destroy the island was similar to the planning sessions in Berlin when the Allied Forces landed on Omaha Beach. The fertility issues on the island were symbolic of Hitler's grand plan for the perfect German race. The purge of Jewish populations was like Ben's toxic gas that killed all the Dharma people. The idea was to cleanse the world of allegedly bad genetic materials. But those mass murders was merely a cover-up of personal insecurity and a symbol of absolute rule. 

As in history, Jacob's rule on the island presumably ended when the 815 survivors (who were from Allied Nations) took down MIB and accepted Jacob's unconditional surrender (and his own end). The people who came to the island made numerous sacrifices like the families of the nations who fought in the great wars. Does it take essentially good people to go to war  to take down egotistical mad men?

In the end, a lone American, Hurley, was in charge in dismantling the island infrastructure like the Marshall Plan reorganized and stabilized Europe. Once Hurley completed his tasks, everyone in that world could move on.

Whether the writers were consciously aware of the patterns of this allegory is doubtful. It does contain generalized themes of war and conflict. And history does repeat itself over and over again.

A MAN NAMED FORD

James Ford took the name of his parents indirect killer, Sawyer.

Was his character based on any historical figure. There is an eerie similarity to an Illinois historical figure named James Ford.

In the 1800s, there were groups of river pirates who plundered along the Illinois-Kentucky border near Cave-in-Rock. One of these bands of counterfeiters, river pirates and serial killers was led by a man named James Ford.  Illinois historians believe  he led the life of a Mafia don, or the Sheriff of Nottingham, except no Robin Hood ever arose to challenge him.

Known as the Ford's Ferry gang, they took up where the older river bandits had left off. Ford led this group, although from well behind the scenes. For the most part of his life, he acted to be inside the law, when in fact, he actively pursued life outside of it. For the first third of the 1800s, he served as a civic leader in both southeastern Illinois and western Kentucky. At one point he operated a tavern in Illinois, another time one of the salt works.  He also served as a justice of the peace, sheriff and judge across the river. A ferry operator, he built and maintained long stretches of road on either side of his ferry just upstream from Cave-in-Rock. Even today, stretches of it can still be traveled in both states following county road signs that designate it "Ford's Ferry Road."

 Although some writers have described him as "Satan's Ferryman,"  Ford had ties to earlier bandit gangs, as well to kidnappers and slave traders who used the river as a means of travel or escape. Once the population around Elizabethtown, Illinois rose, so did the demand for law and order. Ford apparently transitioned from outlaw to semi-corrupt local leader, tavern owner and business man. For about ten years, ending in 1833, Ford apparently stood between the two, and kept in close touch with both sides of the law. However, he held power as the de facto law in the area. But in 1833,  Ford was killed by unknown vigilantes.

There are some common traits between the Illinois river bandit and LOST's Sawyer. First, they both made their living on the wrong side of the law. Both were con men and killers. Second, they both changed their outward stripes when the law was closing in. Ford turned into local civic leader (with his ties to the underworld hidden from view) while Sawyer turned into the sheriff of Dharma town during the time travel flash.

The label of being Satan's Ferryman is also interesting since the series was about life and death. Any assassin could be considered Satan's Ferryman (as legend has it the dead must cross the River Styx to hell and punishment; so it is best to pay the ferryman for safer passage.)

Was Sawyer truly a disgusting fraud? Probably not to that extreme since he did have a heart that he kept concealed for a long time. It was only really brought to the surface with his relationship with the street smart, strong willed Juliet. But with her death, Sawyer immediately regressed to his former self. The anger against Jack was apparent and real.

Many reviewers of the series believe that Sawyer is more based upon Mark Twain's character, Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer was an orphan and budding con artist from the south. His earliest and best known con involved whitewashing a fence, in which he convinced the local boys to pay him for the privilege of painting a rather long and difficult fence. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.


The inspiration of an adult Tom Sawyer would be an interesting journey for a writer to take in a series. But would a poor, uneducated, river rat actually grow up to be anything but a drifter, grifter or con man? A person who only thinks of the easy way out is bound to wind up on the losing end of life.

Tom Sawyer was an anti-hero who tugged on the rebellious nature of America. Yes, he would do "bad" things but his charm put those things on the good side of being bad. He would often get fortunate breaks of luck or chance. He would get out of trouble just in time to get in some new ones.
That seems to represent the personality of LOST's Sawyer.

SHEPHERDING SHEEP

Jack and Christian had one thing in common: their last name, Shepherd.

Shepherd is a noun which means a person who tends and rears sheep.

It also means  a member of the clergy who provides spiritual care and guidance for a congregation.

As a verb, it means to tend to a thing or a task, or give guidance to (someone), esp. on spiritual matters.

Sheep tend to be docile, dumb, domesticated animals. Sheep is also a semi-derogatory slang for a mindless follower.

It a way, we can see both definitions in Jack and Christian.

The obvious connection is Christian to religion. In his death, as a spirit, he provides his son with care and guidance to get him to the right place (the sideways church).

Jack, on the other hand, is a de facto leader of a bunch of sheep (plane survivors) who need to tended (survival) and directed to the task (rescue).

But Jack is a reluctant leader. He does not want to make the big decisions. He is uncomfortable around people other than his ER staff. He was taught early on in his life that he did not have the emotional guts to be a real leader, the type of person who can make life and death decisions, and be able to live with the death ones. That is why Jack was delusional with his patients; that every case had hope and a miracle result. Jack could have been living in a fantasy world for a long time.

And Christian was a terrible father. As such, he was a pretty terrible angel. Angels are messengers from the after life who are sent to the realm of the living to guide people on the right path, to make the right decisions, and to change their destiny. Even in ancient times, powerful kings sought out the spirit world for guidance before battle. The righteous of the cause was as important as the army in the field.  Christian showed up on the island as a ghost to shock Jack into remembering his childhood, and the associated guilt of not making up with his father before Christian died.

We would learn that several appearances by ghost Christian were in fact the smoke monster (MIB) or possibly even Jacob, directing Jack to find the cave (for fresh water). But it does not limit the possibility that the spirit of Christian could have been on the island (if his body was in the coffin). If MIB can only transform if a body was on the island, then Christian's body would have been present. However, in the sideways after life story line, Christian's body was not on the plane.

If Jack was the shepherd in charge of getting his followers home, then he did a fairly poor job of that as well. The island wolves picked off most of the beach camp survivors. Only Kate, Sawyer and Claire (and Aaron) made it off the island in the end. That is a pretty low batting average is survival (life) was the goal.

But if Jack was the shepherd in the land of the living, Christian was not the shepherd in the land of the dead. Christian was strangely the master of ceremonies at the reunion in the church, but Christian had no part in bringing any of the people to the church. As a dead person, he had a physical form (just like everyone else). He also had complete memories of what had happened to him. But we think he must have some background on all the others, because he told Jack that "they made" this sideways world. (Again, we don't know how anyone could create a private purgatory).

It was Desmond who began to awaken the 815ers in the sideways world after Charlie tried to kill him in a car accident. The hand on the underwater glass sparked Desmond to remember his island time then spark his investigation into the 815 manifest. In some ways, Desmond was the real sideways shepherd gathering the flock back together again.

 One could go off on a wild limb and say that if Desmond was the after life shepherd, he played the same role on the island. Christian could have been "lost" on his voyage across the River Styx. He wound up as Desmond on the island, an angel in disguise. This was Christian's purgatory, trapped in the vessel of Desmond. How else could have Christian learned about Jack's island life, his trials, tribulations, loves, hates and ultimate death? Christian would have needed that information in order to create a "heavenly" landing place for his son in the sideways world.

As leaders, Christian and Jack appear to be cut from the same cloth. They believe that they have the skill set to lead their followers, but they have fatal flaws in their character. Christian follows the path of the easy way out of his issues; Jack has a delusional fantasy aspect of his dealing with his issues.

It also seems like a huge bother to create a complex sideways world with layers of new back stories just to give Christian the opportunity to tell Jack that he is dead. It seems more natural in our culture to see ancestors greet us at the pearly gates than send our souls into an island boot camp of soul torture, pain and suffering. Perhaps it took all the people in the church to tug the metaphysical rope to pull an obstinate Jack into heaven. The sheep had to corral the shepherd.

ANGER MANAGEMENT

"Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in cage!" Smashing Pumpkins

If there was one universal trait in the LOST main characters it was "pent up rage."

Jack had a burning pit of anger about his father's treatment of him. Christian refused to acknowledge his accomplishments; failed to treat him as an equal; belittled his leadership qualities.

Sawyer had an active volcano of rage in his sole life goal to avenge his parents deaths. That rage changed an innocent young boy into an adult murderer.

Kate had a sea of troubled emotions. It seems that she felt smothered by her rural upbringing. She became quite upset with her stepfather's treatment of her mother. Her emotions turned to psychotic rage when she blew up the house in order to "save" her mother from future abuse. But when her mother rejected Kate and Kate's reasoning, Kate seethed inside.

Hurley also had a mountain of bitterness induced by chocolate candy bars as a substitute for his father abandoning him as a child. Without his father's influence and direction, Hurley never finished anything in his life. He was angry about it, but so depressed by his fate he did nothing about it. Instead he developed the excuse that he was cursed.

Locke was angry at the world. He also had abandonment issues. He never fit into the foster homes. He never fit into his school teacher's vision of his career path. As a result, Locke had no path. He wandered from meaningless job to meaningless job. His anger made him a loner because he could not keep friends or girlfriends, which made him even more upset. His anger led him to become selfish - - - believing his only self-worth was to get his own way (no matter how crazy it seemed, such as being wheelchair bound in the outback desert.)

Even Bernard was an angry man. He was upset that after a very long time, he found a woman, Rose, who loved him. But soon after, fate gave Rose cancer. Bernard was angry that the cancer was terminal and he would in a short time lose her forever. At some point, Rose herself, was mad about her medical condition. She took all the treatments, but nothing worked. It was after the plane crash, when she was sitting alone on the beach, that she came to terms with her plight.

And this may be the symbolic or allegory of the series.

The plane crash was a symbolic mental crash inside the characters to get them to focus in on more important things - - - like survival, their fellow man, people who need them. The island was symbolic of a treatment plan, alternative therapy or mental reconditioning protocols which gave the characters the tools in which to deal with their rage issues. As the series wound down, the characters were not self-absorbed with the issues that caused their internal rage, but they were focused on helping each defeat their collective demons and get off the island.

There is a corollary to this anger management resolution.  As I have written in the past, I always thought that when Rose was sitting alone on the beach, she came to terms with her plight and knew everything would be alright because the pain of her cancer was gone. Rose at that moment knew the only release for that pain was her death. She came to terms with her death immediately. She then knew that the others around her had to deal with their issues in order to come to terms with their deaths, in their own way. So with that knowledge, she went along in the background knowing that she would be okay in the end.

ANIMALS

There were various animals on LOST.

Only one had an official name: Vincent, Walt's dog.

Vincent was an alleged survivor of the plane crash hold. He was found wandering the jungle. He was also last seen coming to Jack when he passed on in the bamboo grove.

Some have thought that Vincent could have been a representation of the White Smoke Monster. Vincent was always near the action, especially running off into the jungle "just" before something bad happens or "leads" the people on a chase that helps them find something important. As a dog, people on the island would not see him as a threat. He is the perfect spy. Perfect cover. He could have been Jacob incognito.

The dog has long been considered a liaison between the physical and non-physical dimensions. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Celtic and beyond have all prescribed the dog as a sacred guardian of the Otherworlds - those realms outside our daily/mundane experience. If you hear of dogs being symbols of death - this is the connection: Dogs are the guardians of ephemeral domains, and can even serve as spirit guides in non-physical journeys. 

As we learned in the End of the series, the sideways world was a place of death, a purgatory limbo of the character souls waiting to be awakened. LIkewise, the island realm could have been real, semi-real or another underworld of the dead (Hell).

The second most significant animal on the series dealt with birds. Fans named the squawking bird that taunted Hurley the "Hurley Bird"  because it apparently called out his name. When he asked his friends whether they heard it, they made fun of him. Many fans thought that bird was a warning to Hurley to be careful. Others thought that it was just another clue that Hurley was seeing things, like Dave, as in being crazy.

Many people view birds as a symbol of freedom (such as the American Eagle symbol), or even as symbols of the future. Their ability to soar high into the sky and their proximity with the sky makes them desirable for humans who cannot fly without substitute wings. From time immemorial, mankind has considered birds to be signs of eternal life. Many stories and folklore suggest that birds were taken as signs of renewed life, often as a transition between life and death.

Hurley's ability to see and talk to the dead may be part of the Hurley Bird experience. The bird could represent the transition phase from being alive to being dead. In the Middle East and Asia birds are symbols of immortality. In East Indian mythology, all birds represent a "departed soul" and in Christian art, birds are often depicted as saved souls.

The crane is a symbol of long life and immortality. The eagle represents power, resurrection and generosity. The falcon signifies, "A Light that Shines in the Darkness". The nightengale suggests love and longing. The owl is often associated with death and darkness; but it also can bring wisdom, insight and virtue. The peacock heralds in springtime, birth, new growth, longevity, and love. And the tiny sparrow, represents the love of God for even the "least" among us. The Hurley Bird best fits the sparrow symbolism.

The other aviary connection to LOST was with Walt. Walt had a special mental attribute which could cause birds to crash or kill themselves. In Australia, he caused a bird to crash during a fit. Outside Room 23, many dead birds were found after Walt's session. 

In some cultures, a bird is a symbol of betrayal. In Walt's case, his anger at his situation of being abandoned by his father and losing his mother could have set off his ESP abilities to lash out at inferior creatures.

Then there was the polar bear. A bear often symbolizes contradictions.

Indeed, the bear is a  symbol of motherhood and child protection in Native American cultures. Of course a wild bear is potentially explosive so that territorial nature invokes representation o sovereignty, courage and themes of a warrior spirit such as bravery.

In Scandinavian legend the bear was an aspect of the god Odin, and Berserkers were known to wear bearskins to enhance their ferocity in battle. Such vicious looking warriors were insured a victory. 

In Greek cult following of Artemis. a god huntress,  her maiden devotees would don bear dressings as a symbol of hunting prowess and power. 

Ancient  Celtic lore indicates the bear is grounded in a heroic aspect, we also see it connected to the godess Berne who is associated with lunar movements.

 

Bear meanings associated with the moon continue in Pueblo Indian lore in which the bear is connected to underground temples. Here the bear is said to oversee the movements of the night, and lives in time with the tribe's cycles with the moon.

In fact, many ancient peoples understood the connection of the moon and the bear because of the bear's hibernation patterns. But more importantly, our nature-savvy ancestors recognized the dual nature of the bear.

The nature-based mindset followed the "sleeping" (hibernating) and "waking" nature of the bear and assigned specific meaning to each of these phases of the bear's life. In the LOST ending, the characters must come out of a personal hibernation to "awaken" in the after life.

 

These animals appear to represent the spiritual aspects of the series storylines and theories that surround the show as being one of a journey or passage to the after life.

STORY ELEMENTS AS SYMBOLS

If one looks at the core elements of the series as symbols, a theory using those symbols be created to make some sense of the ending.  The main elements of the LOST story were the island, Flight 815, rescue, time travel and death. Let us examine the symbolic meaning of each element.

Island symbolic meaning:

Psychological meaning of an island can be summarized as follows:

You may have a craving for solitude if you dream a desert island. You may be surrounded by too many problems and need to make a little space for yourself.  The sea often symbolizes the unconscious mind so your desire to remain on an island may suggest a wish to cling to the conscious ego instead of venturing into these unexplored parts of yourself.

The sea is also a mother symbol and can, according to Freudian psychology, symbolize your relations with your mother. If the island is engulfed by the sea this can represent the fear of being overwhelmed by too strong a mother-attachment or by unconscious forces that are out of your control.

Mystical or spiritual meaning of an island dream is that to dream about being marooned on an island is an augury of having many friends. Ancient dream oracles saw this as the opposite of separation, over self-dependence and isolation.

Airplane symbolic meaning:

Being an in airplane may show you rising above your troubles. It is a symbol of transcendence and may be a release for material difficulty. The sky is the symbol for expanded consciousness or higher self. An airplane dream expresses your desire for greater awareness or spiritual knowledge. An air journey may indicate a new departure in your life. Freudians believe the airplane is a phallic symbol for virtue. So one with lofty ambitions may want those to progress quickly. A dream of airplane crashing shows that you are over ambitious and have set your sights too high, materially or emotionally, and may have too much doubt to reach your set goals.

Mystics think airplanes indicate that money is on its way. If you are a pilot, you will succeed in a business venture. If the plane crashes, it will fail.

Rescue meaning:

Rescuing someone in the spiritual sense is saving someone who is less fortunate than we are, whether that is through compassion or otherwise. Spiritual rescue is a technique where the souls of the departed are turned towards the Light – direct knowledge – and helped to move on.

From a psychological or emotional perspective, when we have put others in danger, we are required to rescue them in dreams. We are then able to show a degree of nobility and courage that engenders a feel-good factor and allows us to have the capability to reach for the best within ourselves.  Dreams of rescue signifies sudden success in overcoming a previously sticky obstacle.

Time Travel symbolic meaning:

If you wake up with strong emotions then a dream will usually just be noting this new emotion. A dreamer was thinking about the past and it seems certain that his time machine represented their reminiscences as they travelled back in time to their own childhood.

Whispers meaning:

To dream that you hear a whisper, suggests that someone you know is not good.

To dream that you whisper, predicts that you are to act unfairly in the workplace.

To dream of a whisper, indicates that you are being a victim of fraud or conspiracy.

Dreams of death symbolize many different things.

If the dreamer died in a dream, the dreamer awoken quickly grasping for breath. They were shaken up and they needed to take a moment to get their bearings back. They needed to make sure they were still alive and had woken back up into waking reality. The images or feelings lingered through out the day and the dreamer felt a energetic weight containing space within their thoughts.

If a dreamer witnessed or was involved with the death of someone else the dreamer more often then not awoke feeling sad or upset with what just took place. The dream of death feels too real and the dreamer is left, upon waking, wondering if they were actually part of the murder. Witnessing death within in a dream is a slightly different feeling then being the murderer.

Dreams of dying, being dead, witnessing or killing someone else are intense dreams that are often sending an important message to you about you. It more often then not is referring to one of the following; an aspect you that is dying or needs to go, change needs to take place in some aspect in your life, jealousy or envy you may feel towards another person, or fears you may have surrounding death. Every once in a while a dreamer may have a premonition of death (either a loved one, someone they know, or their animal) but never take this as the first sign of a death dream (unless you have that knowing feeling surrounding the death dream).

If the death is you it may represent the death of an old way of thinking (or acting); or the death of an aspect of your Self that needed to die in order for you to move forward. It is suggested that rather then fearing the death that took place in your dream, embrace what was and let go of it. If you are having a hard time accepting the face that this aspect of you has died, create a special ceremony and honor what was. Light a candle and burn a piece of paper in which you have written this old way or aspect, let the paper light on fire until it no longer exists, say a blessings or prayer to what was. By letting go in waking life, as your unconscious was letting go in dream time, you are freeing up energy and space to invite in and embrace what is new.

Correlation to LOST.

When reading the above symbolic definitions of the core symbols of the show, we find key words used during the program. In the end, we were told that the main characters had to be awakened in order to move on. In the symbolism of dreams of death, that is what happens to a person. If the dreamer died in a dream, the dreamer awoken quickly grasping for breath. They were shaken up and they needed to take a moment to get their bearings back. It is suggested that rather then fearing the death that took place in your dream, embrace what was and let go of it in both waking and unconscious time in order to embrace something new. In the end, that "something new" was moving on in the after life.

The island both houses the fears of an individual clinging to stubborn conscious ego beliefs and the dream of having many friends to share the unexplored parts of oneself.

Flight 815 represented transcendence and a release for material difficulty. The sky is the symbol for expanded consciousness or higher self, a  desire for greater awareness or spiritual knowledge.

Time travel represented the characters flashing back to their childhoods, and gather those memories as the island events mirrored their faults during their lifetimes.

The whispers and mental issues doing their island time could show that their conscious defense mechanisms was trying to tell their subconscious dream state that the things around them were unreal, no good, a conspiracy of frauds in order for them to change - - - something the characters deep down did not want to do.

Finally, when one puts others in danger, it is important to summon the courage to rescue them. But that same courage is also important if the person in danger is one's self. Rescue allows a person to have the capability to reach for the best within themselves in order to conquer what is holding them back and to move on.

The island adventure was a subconscious attempt of lost souls to get rid characters of their regrets accumulated their lifetimes in order for them to accept their deaths, awaken in purgatory, and move on with those who helped them along in their dream journey to personal enlightenment. Whether the souls in purgatory dreamed their island time or were diverted to another spiritual world is immaterial. The whole series could be seen as a large subconscious dream created by spirits who needed to come to terms with deep open issues in their past lives.

MAGIC BOX

One of the great unexplained aspects of the series was The Magic Box.

“Let me put it so you'll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that, somewhere on this island, there is a very large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it when you opened that box, there it would be? What would you say about that, John?” --- Ben to Locke.

Ben then went on to show Locke a bound and gagged Anthony Cooper who Ben claimed came out of the magic box.

When Locke pressed Ben for more about the box, Ben snapped back that "the box is a metaphor, John." Despite this, he continues to maintain that by some agency things that people on the island want or need show up. Later, when Ben and Locke entered the Orchid, Locke marveled at the mysterious technology and asked if this was the magic box. Ben retorted that it was not.

J.J. Abrams often explained his love of "the unseen mystery," using the metaphor of a mystery box. TPTB admitted that the  "the magic box" was symbolic;  stating that "the entire island is a magic box."


It would appear that the creative team drew upon the 1967 novel, The Third Policeman for the concept of their magic box.

In the novel, an unnamed protagonist and narrator is orphaned as a child (though he only states that his parents have more than "left" later on), and is sent to boarding school where he first becomes acquainted with the work of the bizarre philosopher, De Selby.

De Selby is a natural skeptic of all known laws of physics, who casually dismisses the evidence of human experience. He contends, for example, that "the permanent hallucination known conventionally as 'life' is an effect of constantly walking in a particular direction around a sausage-shaped earth, and that night results from 'accumulations of black air."

Obsessed by the philosopher's somewhat odd theories, the protagonist sets out on a catastrophic quest to publish a definitive commentary on the philosopher. He shares some of his writings on De Selby with John Divney, an unsavory man who has served as reluctant caretaker to the narrator's parents' farm and public house since their death. Divney devises a plan to murder and rob a local rich man, which he convinces the narrator into going along with, because Divney explains it is his responsibility to publish the works on De Selby - with fair backing or not.

The narrator and Divney murder their chosen victim, but Divney hides the money box. The narrator then begins spending every moment with Divney in order to discover the box's whereabouts.
The protagonist finally gets hold of the money box only to discover that the box does not contain money, but “omnium," a substance described as the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel of everything, and which is literally everything one desires. The substance called omnium therefore can create anything the beholder desires.

After finding out about the power of the magic box, the narrator has grand visions of his future omnipotence, but begins to experience strange and hallucinatory  events involving a bicycle, a robber, two policemen and a strangely elastic sense of space and time. However, the narrator learns that things created by his will and the omnium cannot be removed from the labyrinth and taken back to the outside world.


The parallels to LOST are quite clear. The Island is isolated from the outside world. It contains a supernatural energy in the light cave. It is a force that is never understood or explained by the people guarding it. The people who arrive on the island experience strange and hallucination events, many based upon their past lives. Some people seem to be re-living aspects of their lives hoping for a different result. But the infinite power of the island force creates and corrupts human beings into murder, deception, kidnapping and mind control.


If anyone could tap into the island's magic box, it could create a chaotic world.
If the power of the magic box was true,  it would help explain why the children were taken by the Others, why Walt was abducted, and why children are so seldom seen at the Barracks. Assuming the Island works like a genie: if you want something bad enough, the island will create it for you. If that is the case, then island protectors don't want children running around all the time, imagining things like dragons, giant robots, fairies, unicorns, and even polar bears.

Walt was reading a comic book which contained a polar bear before the crash. He was "special" which may mean he had an active imagination.  This would explain Ms. Klugh's comment to Walt about going back into" the room," which is believed to be the mind control Room 23 where Karl was brain washed by Ben to stay away from Alex. If Walt had a particularly active imagination that made him even more dangerous, that may be why the Others let him go off the island with Michael instead of trying to be contain or control his thoughts in Room 23.  The reason that children are not seen around the Barracks could be simple: their imaginations are a threat and danger to everyone on the island.

The concept that life itself is one large hallucination was also referenced in LOST. The prime example was when Ben was trying to get the O6 cast back to the island. In the marina, there was a boat called Illusion. The O6 had desired to leave the island, to be rescued, to get back to their lives in the mainland, only to find that their lives hollow or meaningless. The theory that the Island would draw them back could be true but it could also be that the O6 never actually left the Island itself if everyone was part of a layered and complex group hallucination.

We still don't know how the magic box actually works. What would trigger Cooper being in a car crash then suddenly transported to the island? Cooper believed he died and was sent to Hell. Locke's deep emotional desire to confront his father? To kill his father, or make him suffer? If the trigger is such raw emotion, why did Kate in a melancholy state imagine her horse? Or were all the Dharma food drops really caused by hunger pains by the Hatch crews? And how did Alpert arrive at the island when he was headed to the gallows? It is hard to believe that Jacob knew about him and desired him to be transported to the island like the Cooper situation.

The whole magic box theory does not explain Jacob's need to bring anyone to the island in the first place. If he was all-knowing, he could create anything he wanted by using the island's power. Perhaps, everything about the LOST experience was created in Jacob's mind. He is the lonely, alien, godlike being trapped protecting a supernatural element in order to keep the universe in balance. However, as a child, he had an imagination and need for friendship, adventure and sense of purpose. He created all the conflicts, all the characters, and all the events in order to occupy his mind so he would not go totally mad. Over time, he imagined a crazy mother and a brother. He imagined a conflict with them. He killed his brother but in his guilt created a smoke monster who sought revenge and escape. (If MIB was real, it could have tapped the magic box and easily "escaped" the island at any time without the help of the candidates). But it seems that the island as a child's playroom was a self-contained, padded cell metaphysically isolated from the rest of the universe.

The magic box may be the only explanation for the sideways world. When Christian said to Jack that the sideways world was created by his friends, we could not conceive how mortal human beings could create a purgatory waiting room in another dimension of time or space.  If those characters truly believed and desired to "die together" and move on in the after life as a group, then the island could have their sideways world. But it would seem that it was the characters subconscious that desired the sideways world since the characters did not know about it until they were "awakened." The whole concept of the sideways awakening still does not make much sense. If you can control your after life by not knowing you are dead, why can't you continue to live out in the fantasy purgatory instead of going into the unknown white light?

If the entire LOST experience was the fantasy world of Jacob, then the sideways world becomes even more problematic. Can an imaginary person have a fantasy life such as to create a sideways world existence?

Then what of Jacob? Did he really die by Ben's hand and MIB's cremation? Apparently not, since Jacob continued to roam the island in physical form as an adult and as a child. This gets us to the possibility that Jacob was never real. It was the Island that created Jacob. The Island itself is a intelligent being that receives the thoughts, desires, and dreams of people. As the key to "life, death and rebirth," the Island could channel those strong emotional waves back into the world. For example, if a couple is infertile they could wish and dream hard for a miracle, which may in turn be granted by the Island. The Island could also be thought of a "prayer collector," where people ask their god for intervention, forgiveness or guidance. As a supernatural being, the Island could grant those prayers. These ideas would fit into the theory that the Island was one large metaphoric magic box.


When Christian said everything was "real," in the context of a pure fantasy world that could be correct. If the Island pooled similar desires of people and gathered them in one place to interact and find what they most desired (ex., friendship), then the fulfillment of those wishes would absolutely seem real whether the person was alive, dead or a spirit seeking closure on life's regrets.


This is all well and good, but if true, the magic box execution was inconsistent and possibly flawed. With the main characters, did they actually have their dreams fulfilled by their Island experiences? Was Jack's sole wish in life to prove his father wrong about Jack not being a leader? Was Locke's sole wish in life to kill his father? Or being a outback adventurer? Was Kate's sole wish in life to stop running away from her problems and settle down? In the end, we cannot conclude that either Jack, Locke or Kate got what they truly desired; Jack was reunited with his father but the slate was cleaned, Locke's life did not end well and he was broken in the fantasy sideways world, and Kate wound up with Jack but we don't know what happened to them next.  In some ways, the sideways world was what the main characters truly desired in their miserable real lives. If that was the case, then none of them would have wanted to "move on" in the church. It would be counter-intuitive to end what you truly wished for or what the Island's magic box gave you.

There is another explanation of the "magic box" situation. Magic box could be code for hypnotic control. Room 23 was devised to alter the thoughts of individuals, apparently to love Jacob. In any cult, the control of the followers is key to the leader's power. Brain washing can occur in many forms. It could be the filter to find out who was "good" (as in easily manipulated to the island cause) or "bad" (unworthy of Jacob's good graces). That is why the Others always called themselves the "good guys." They truly believed it.

By manipulating the minds of their subjects, leaders like Ben or Widmore could get people to do criminal things in the guise of a higher calling. For example, Ben's minions could have caused Cooper's car crash and drugged him in the ambulance to transport him to the Island so Ben could "shock" Locke into becoming a loyal Other. That would not be "magic," but a complex criminal scheme of kidnapping, drugs, brain conditioning, and forced loyalty. The same plan was used to get Juliet to the Island. She was literally kidnapped, drugged on the sub, conditioned to believe her work on the Island was so important, and that she could never leave the island.


Of course, the last option is the least favorable explanation. The magic box could have been a literary trick to put in unexplainable plot twists into the story line in order to fill time from season to season. Who did not think WTH? when Ben revealed to  Locke "his gift" of a bound and gagged Cooper, the man that had caused Locke so much physical and mental pain?!


The Magic Box, whether it was real, symbolic of the leader's power or authority, or the will of a supernatural being, will never be fully known.

SETTING THE BAR

One of the most consistent background props in the series was the Apollo candy bar. There were many examples of the word Apollo in the series.

When Hurley's father left him, he gave Hurley a candy bar (which may have been the root cause for his later weight problems tied to daddy issues.)

On the airplane, Rose kept an Apollo bar for Bernard because he had a sweet tooth.

Juliet's former doctor-husband was killed by a bus which had an Apollo advertisement on it.

Ben was given an Apollo candy bar by Annie when he first arrived on the Island.

Jack is in the hospital vending lobby trying to get an Apollo bar when he is interrupted by the ghost of his father, Christian.

The Dharma food pantry on the island was filled with Apollo bars.

The story of "Apollo" is one from Greek stories.  One of the 12 Olympians of Greek Myth, Apollo is the god of light, youth, beauty, and prophesy. One of Apollo's great deeds was the killing of the serpent Python, the feared beast residing in the hills near Delphi. Apollo came down from Mount Olympus and with his silver bow and golden arrows, he slayed the beast in one shot to save the people of the land. To remember his glorious deed, Apollo created the Pythian Games, held every four years which is now the summer Olympics.
 

Apollo is also well known for his big mistake in mocking a fellow god. One day he made fun of Eros, saying he had no archery skill and was too small to have much significance. Eros then shot an arrow at Apollo, making him infatuated with the sea nymph Daphne. He then shot another arrow at Daphne which made her unable to love anyone. Apollo continuously pursued Daphne until she finally called for help from a river god and she was changed into a laurel tree before Apollo could get to her. This is why the laurel is his sacred tree.

There are very few fan theories tied to Apollo. One is that the LOST saga is a mere vague re-telling of the Apollo myth. The 815 survivors are new Olympians whose survival is dependent upon them defeating the challenges of the island, including the slaying of the smoke monster just as Apollo did with the python. The missions the main character went on were tests of intellect and physical strength, but not many ever resulted in a reward or rescue. The final event did not result in Jack being rescued, but in his death, which does not seem to be a sporting outcome.

The main characters did often mock each other skills or plans. They did sabotage each other in both direct and indirect ways. The man and woman relationships were quite see-saw in their love to hate dynamics. Jack and Kate had a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. But it does not seem that an outside force was manipulating the characters' feelings toward each other. 

Another theory would postulate that the Apollo references were merely a clue to the setting of the show. In American history, Apollo is reference to the 1960s space program which landed astronauts on the Moon. The Apollo program is linked to technology, space travel, adventure and danger.

From a background perspective, the island's main stations were based upon 1960s Dharma and Hanso ideas. The focus on the exploration of science on the island is similar to the Apollo program's focus on exploration of space. Both had goals of finding new information about the world around us.

 It is not disputed that the Island is a unique place. It was found to be moving away from the freighter. It could disappear. It had strange electromagnetic properties. The Island could be many things: a space ship, a portal to new dimensions, a parallel world out of synch with Earth, a wormhole to a second Earth. It is clear that the Island has spacial properties that defied our understanding of physics. However, in a different world or different universe, those spacial properties could make sense.

What else could the Apollo candy bar symbolize? With any candy, it is a guilty pleasure. It is also an ironic when we learn that Bernard, the dentist, has a sweet tooth. The consumption of the bars could represent the repression of guilt the characters had for their past actions. Hurley blamed himself for his father leaving the home. The candy bars continued to repress his feelings of guilt. Jack's taste for the bar could represent his guilt for turning his father for gross medical negligence which sealed the divide in their relationship. The candy bar was one of the advertisements on the soccer field when Desmond was watching the soccer game in the bar. At that time, Desmond was having flashes which could be tied to the guilt of his past mistakes, especially with his relationships with his former girl friends (the lack of commitment). 

As we had discussed previously, many of the characters had repressed feelings of guilt over their past actions. Some were more consumed with their past faults than others. For example, Hurley blamed himself (his weight) for the porch collapse that killed two people even though he was told it was not his fault. He sheltered himself in the institution to avoid having the tragedy repeat itself. He kept that burden on him until he got to the Island. 

However, one cannot say that the Island events released anyone's past guilt or forgave their past transgressions. There was little judgment or resolution on the Island for their past bad deeds. 

It may have just been a convenient prop. But one could hope that it had bigger meaning like the Apollo program itself, where men risked their own lives for a noble cause to increase the knowledge of mankind.