Interesting Article on Lost Theories
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Lost is awash with theories, questions and very few answers
It’s not just Jack and Kate and Mr. Eko who are “Lost.” It’s everyone who watches ABC’s addictive TV series, which has moved past mere hit to flat-out phenomenon. And the more you watch, or think about it — or if you’re really nuts, the more hours you spend trolling the Internet trying to figure it out — the more lost you are.At its simplest level, “Lost” is about several dozen survivors (sometimes called “Lostaways”) of a plane crash on a tropical island where the laws of reality have gone off the rails. We don’t know what is and isn’t a clue, or what is and isn’t significant to the big picture: The polar bear? The lottery numbers? The logo on the shark? The Dharma Initiative?
In an attempt to hack through the jungle of the show’s mythology, we offer the “Lost” Lists, a partial guide to the different ways the show has viewers hooked.
Below you can find out some great Unsolved mysteries and Theories
Significant names
1. John Locke. Named for the 17th-century English philosopher who wrote about the state of nature and the need for civilization to administer laws through a social contract, paralleling in some ways the character.
2. Rousseau. A crazy Frenchwoman on “Lost” and a famous French philosopher in history. Rousseau, like Locke, wrote about the need for a social contract to overcome the brutality of our natural impulses.
3. Jack Shephard. The doctor looks after the Lostaways as if they were his flock of sheep; the name has a benevolent symbolism (although Jack’s need to save everyone is portrayed as a compulsion). His father was named Christian Shephard (Christ as shepherd), yet Christian (the dad) was a pretty nasty guy.
4. Aaron. Claire’s baby, possibly named for Moses’ brother. In the Old Testament, Aaron was instrumental in leading the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt.
5. Mr. Eko. Possibly a homage to author Umberto Eco. Eco’s 1995 novel, “The Island of the Day Before,” is not much like “Lost” but does involve a shipwreck, survival issues, a character with a mysterious brother (like Mr. Eko) and confusion over what is real.
Father issues
Is it significant or just coincidence that so many of the Lostaways had serious problems with their fathers?
1. Fugitive Kate thought her father was her stepfather and killed him; he may have abused her.
2. Jack’s father was an emotionally abusive alcoholic.
3. Locke’s father conned him into donating a kidney, then rejected him.
4. Shannon’s rich father died but didn’t leave her any money.
5. Sawyer’s father killed his mother, then committed suicide.
6. Walt’s father, Michael, signed away his legal rights and didn’t see the boy for nine years.
7. Baby Aaron’s father (Claire’s boyfriend) split before he was born.
The big picture: Theories
1. Purgatory/afterlife. They all died, and this is some form of afterlife. The producers have said this is not the case.
2. The Experiment. It’s a social psychology experiment being run by the Dharma Initiative that went wrong, or something like that.
3. It’s the End of the World as We Know It. Maybe the entire outside world was destroyed, and these people were brought here to start anew. By God? A cabal of scientists? Unknown forces?
4. Electromagnetism mumbo jumbo. Some science-minded fans think electromagnetism is the key to a lot. There’s something to this, but a lot of the Internet discussions will make your head hurt.
5. Time/space/dimension jump. The flight may have started in Australia in 2005, but there’s been nothing to indicate events on the island are happening in our world, in the present time. “Lost” is a sealed, self-referential world.
6. It’s all the dream of one character. No way. If this turns out to be the case, the outcry will be deafening.
Unsolved mysteries
When it’s all over, these had better be explained:
1. How everybody is connected.
2. Where the island really is.
3. The polar bear.
4. How Locke can walk after being in a wheelchair.
5. The lottery numbers.
6. Exactly how the pilot (of the plane) was killed in the pilot (episode).
7. Why Hurley doesn’t lose weight, week after week.
8. The monster or monsters, aka “Lostzilla.”
Lostaways who killed someone
1. Sayid
2. Mr. Eko
3. Ana Lucia
4. Jack
5. Charlie
6. Sawyer
7. Kate
Recurring motifs
1. Eyes. Many episodes open with an extreme close-up of an eye. Locke said he had looked into the eye of the island. Etc.
2. Games. Kate and Jack played golf, Walt and Locke played backgammon, Kate and Sawyer played the drinking game “I Never,” Locke played Risk in a flashback. Maybe the whole thing is one big game. Discuss.
3. Leg injuries. Locke was a paraplegic before the island healed him. Boone’s leg is crushed when the plane falls out of the tree. Jack’s wife almost was a paraplegic after her car crash. Michael hurt his leg badly before he was on the island. And so on.
Those weird whispers
Transcriptions are supplied by fans who record the jungle whispers, analyze them and post them on the Net. Believe ‘em or don’t.
1. Before Ana Lucia shoots Shannon: “Shannon, she likes the guy, she likes the guy. Shannon, your life and time is up. Help me. Meet me on the other side. Her song. … I don’t think you should tell her when she comes … Who’s the guy? Fire Lucia. The brothers that help us. Are you done with it? Her song.”
2. When Ana Lucia and Mr. Eko are in the jungle: “Who’s this in the woods? Sawyer, Ana. I’m in someone’s dream. Ich weiss nicht (German for “I don’t know”). She’s heavy. Black rock. Bring the boy.”
Back story connections
1. Hurley owned the box company Locke worked for.
2. Shannon’s father was in the SUV that hit Sarah, the woman who became Jack’s wife. Jack chose to save Sarah’s life in the ER, and Shannon’s father died as a result.
3. Jack’s dad met Sawyer in a bar, and they exchanged philosophies.
4. At least twice, one character appears on a TV set in the background during another Lostaway’s back story. (Hurley appears in Jin’s story, and Sayid appears in Kate’s story.)
5. Kate’s waitress mom served Sawyer in a diner.
‘Lost’ tunes
1. “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by “Mama Cass” Elliott. Played in the Season 2 opener inside the hatch.
2. “La Mer.” Sung by now-dead-character Shannon. It’s best known in its English version “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin and others. The lyrics were also written on a map of the island.
3. “I Shall Not Walk Alone” by the Blind Boys of Alabama, played over the final scene in a first season episode about Sawyer.
4. “Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline. Kate played it on the turntable in the hatch.
5. “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley. Sawyer sang a few lines when he was on the raft trying to escape.
6. “You All Everybody” by Drive Shaft. Charlie’s fictional rock band’s one big hit, it’s come up several times.
The ‘Lost’ Library: Extracurricular reading
1. “The Third Policeman” by Flann O’Brien, an obscure Irish surrealist, shown briefly in Desmond’s belongings in the hatch. The book is very strange with possible but tenuous connections to “Lost.” Plus, the hero turns out to be dead, adding fuel for the (discredited?) theory they’re all dead.
2. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce. A short story in which reality is really a fantasy of a man who is dying. Major clue, said some when it popped up. Nah, the writers are messing with us, said others.
3. The Bible. Mr. Eko found one on the island that turned out to contain a piece of film; in a later episode, he recites the 23rd Psalm.
4. “A Wrinkle in Time,” the classic children’s sci-fi novel by Madeleine L’Engle, and “Watership Down” by Richard Adams. Sawyer was seen reading both; significance unclear.
5. “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad and “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding have been referred to in dialogue.
6. Fans think a number of books have partly inspired “Lost,” including “The Stand” by Stephen King, “The Island of the Day Before” by Umberto Eco and “Mysterious Island” by Jules Verne.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:52 am
Lost has become my favorite show, I have been watching it since the beginninng, and now my daughter is hooked on it also.
March 20th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
I AM UPSET HOW THEY ARE DRAGGING IT ON SHOWING OLD EPISODES. I AM READY TO WAIT FOR IT TO COME OUT ON DVD. EVEN THOUGH I WILL WATCH I AM MAD.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Has anyone else ever paid attention to the “library” inside of the hanger? There’s a copy of “Turning of the Screw”;C.S.Lewis,for instance,…I believe they’re are lots of clues in that,as C.S.Lewis is known for questioning spirituality,the eternal “Good vs. Evil” struggle that lies within us all…also,I’m not certain,but I could’ve sworn I also saw a copy of “Treasure Island”?
I believe there are many metaphophors and symbolisms within each episode that all give clues to the story.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
How about the theory that Claire’s baby is the antichrist?
Remember, her therapist encouraged her to give the baby away, only to later tell her “never let another raise this child.”
The theory is, that he really knew the baby was the Antichrist AND he knew the plane would crash, therefore allowing Claire to board the plane hoping the crash would kill the Antichrist for the greater good. (A recurring theme on the island)
Kind of far-fetched, but interesting.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
In Backstory connections don’t forget that Kate’s stepfather whom she thought was her real father also was one of the military men who captured Sayid in Iraq.
March 20th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Nice summary.
March 20th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
[…] I’ve been blogging for almost 5 years. My girlfriend has been blogging for about 5 months, give or take half the entire first month. Comcast’s homepage has a list of links for what they call “The Net Nine” where you can “Find the Latest on the Web’s Hottest Topics”. One of the topics is “Search: Lost Theories” and at the time of this writing, a page of her site is tops on the list! […]
March 20th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
i love this show and sometimes have to watch it over again to catch the little things
April 10th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Kevin Says:
March 20th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
How about the theory that Claire’s baby is the antichrist?
Remember, her therapist encouraged her to give the baby away, only to later tell her “never let another raise this child.”
The theory is, that he really knew the baby was the Antichrist AND he knew the plane would crash, therefore allowing Claire to board the plane hoping the crash would kill the Antichrist for the greater good. (A recurring theme on the island)
Well let me first start by saying that the guy who told Claire this is by NO means her therapist. He’s a fortune teller/palm reader guy. Secondly, the theory is not very far fetched. Although the way I looked at it was a little different, but your not wrong on this by far. The way I see it, the palm reader realized that she would never agree to keep the baby on her own. So if he lied to her and told her he found someone to adopt for a large sum of money she would want to do it. Now, if he really is a fortune teller, then he had to have forseen the crash at the very least. But I wouldn’t think he would wish death upon either Claire or her baby. But on a practically desserted island, she would have to be the one to raise the child. And if I remember correctly, the only way the child would be “dangerous” was if he was not raised by Claire.
I don’t know….just some thoughts.
April 13th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Right you are Jennifer about Claire raising the baby but I’m thinking that the psychic knew the plane would crash and they would NOT die but rather be in a situtation (the island) where the only choice was Claire to raise the baby.
May 10th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
I notice that this site hasn’t been updated for quite some time. Will it be updated after this season is over or sooner? I am interested in what else you come up with. One big back story connection that I found very interesting is that Libby was in the mental hospital as a patient and NOT a therapist. It is probably only a matter of time before he remembers that, however, I wonder now how significant it really is since Libby is now dead. Also, will Jack ever know that Analucia had a connection to his father?
May 10th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Please note that is just one page on my website. If you click on Return To Home at the top of the page it should take you to the home page and then you can read the main blog as well as all of the pages at my site.
Unless Jack’s dad is still alive, which I suspect he is, he still might know about Ana.
May 19th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
C.S. Lewis wrote the Screw Tape Letters. They have “Turn of the Screw” on the shelf. Lucky for you it’s online for free
http://www.online-literature.com/henry_james/turn_screw/
Anyway, in the “Bad Twin” it’s referenced a few times interestingly enough…
July 19th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
They are all mental patients in the same hospital that Hurley was in and they all believe they are in the same story and my guess is that Libby is the doctor there treating them.
When you look at most of the characters they all have some kind of history that would cause them to get locked up in a mental home.
It’s the only way I can see them tying up everything.
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:42 pm
A wrinkle in time is about a girl trying to find her father (lots of characters=problems with fathers)
also this girl is filled with troubles and insecurities like the characters and in the book this girl goes time travelling, which is one of the theories
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Im reading watership down at the moment, about 3/4′rs of the way through it. One of the rabbits in it, ‘Fiver’, is a psychic and saves many other rabbits from his warren from certain death when thier old warren is destroyed. They then set out to find a new place to live… the whole ‘psychic’ thing seems to be part of a theory as to whats going on in ‘Lost’, so maybe Sawyer reading this book in one of the episodes as stated above is a subtle clue.
September 10th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
did any of you guys notice that the guy in the hatch with desmond is the same guy that made sayid torture his commander? or is it just me??
September 10th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
I think the fortune teller definately had to have seen something like the plane crash because remember he got extremely freaked out at one point as if he couldnt tell her what lay ahead or something. This made me believe he definately had some foreseeing power. However, then in one of Ecko’s flashbacks, he is said to be a fraud. I think he actually might have admitted to it? So I’m not sure what to tell myself. Also the girl who was said to have come back from the dead. Has anyone picked up on anything more with that that would give clues to the lost island?
September 15th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Stef:
Yep, check out my post http://www.gitsiegirl.com/kelvin-sayid.htm - dated May 8th.
September 15th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
Meghan:
I think it’s a pretty safe bet at this point that the fortune teller is in Hanso’s pocket. He changed his mind both with Claire and with Eko too quickly when he was so adamant at first in both situations.
September 24th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I’m not sure if this has been discussed, but Mr. Eko does not pay homage to author Umberto Eco. In the bonus DVD included in Season 2 box set, Adewale (the guy who plays Eko) says that the character was initially named Amekka, but Adewale changed it to Eko, a name in the Yoruba tribe from which Adewale is part of. He also added the Mr. as well.
September 27th, 2006 at 5:13 am
if you notice if you add hte numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 you get 108, and they have to type them numbers every 108 minutes. i’m clever.
but what does it mean,
did you notice the way all the metal things atached to the magnet wall as well. i reckon if they dont push the button, they’ll suck up another plane.
cos thats what desmond done
September 27th, 2006 at 5:15 am
i have another father issue for u, desmond is hated my his girlfriends father.
June 9th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
www.lostpedia.com
All comments here are explained there
May 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
We really liked the website .. Thank you.