DIFFERENCE

In trying to find patterns between characters, we almost forgot to focus in on major differences.

Hurley was raised in a strict Catholic household.
His mother was an overbearing force, especially after his father left the family.
Hurley was very shy around girls; he was very self-conscious about himself and his appearance.
He never had a girlfriend. The one girl he asked out was taken away by his best friend.
He was socially awkward around the opposite sex.
When his mother pushed him to find a nice girl, Hurley went farther and farther into his shell.
He lacked confidence or ambition to change his background existence.
In some respects, he hid behind his behind the counter fast food hideaway.

So Hurley had a bummer life, but so did many of the other main characters. But what was different with Hurley was that he was the only one who was still a virgin. Everyone else had had relations, before, during and after the island events. Hurley was portrayed as clumsy around women.

The simple symbols around his life turns on this personal stress. It is said that men think about sex more than a 100 times a day. It would seem that based upon his upbringing, social skills and shyness, Hurley could have reverted himself into a mental shell to hide from the rejection, disappointment and pain of trying to meet expectations in a real relationship. From the phonetics of Mr. Cluck's to the drumsticks to multi-millionaire status without any woman vying for his attention (recall, Anna Nicole Smith's marriage to the old oil tycoon), something is off.

Participate in your dreams today. There are unlimited opportunities available with this new day. Take action on those wonderful dreams you've had in your mind for so long. Remember, success is something you experience when you act accordingly. — Steve Maraboli

He was a young man who had nothing but his own personal dreams. Hurley thought he could not find his own happiness without hurting people around him. He blamed himself for his dad leaving home. He blamed himself for the porch accident. He never had any ambition to have a career with a good paying job. Winning the lottery was a fantasy come true. Money solves all problems, or so the saying goes. But in Hurley's case, it bought him nothing but pain. Thus his devine curse was rooted in his analysis of the world around him. The Numbers were the trigger point of pain.

But nothing like that had to be real. In his dreams, Hurley could have gone through the various scenarios like winning the lottery to find out that he always ends up alone. His subconscious continues to feed his insecurities about women to the point where he has to increase the fantasy situations in order to find a sliver of happiness.

He transforms a catatonic patient, Libby, into his dream woman lost on an island. They would have an awkward romance. But in all his past dreams, she is taken away from him. He then thinks the only way he can have her is in the next life, after death.

It is plausible theory that an lonely young man with an avid imagination spiked with mental illness could craft a diverse fantasy universe where he is the self-loathing broken loner seeking a soul mate.