Theory Guy
04-13-05, 05:57 PM
8o So Dante visits Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. Dante envisions his Purgatory--a place midway between this life and the next--as an island on the other side of the world. Dante's Purgatorio is a mountain that leads up to heaven that lost souls climb as they rid themselves of sins that were serious but which they could repent of--either because they were not unforgivable or because they had a good reason for committing them.
In Lost, we learn that almost everyone has some secret sin and unresolved character flaw. We also begin to learn the extenuating reasons for these character's past actions. Boon's great flaw was his devotion to Shannon. His great (but forgivable) sin was that his spoiled brat demands lead to death of his nanny. In the final episodes, Boon becomes the nanny to Locke's bratty demands effectively reversing the role he had played as a child. Through Locke's guidance, he rids himself of his sycophant-like devotion to Shannon. Boon has made it--he has progressed to the point that he can now leave Purgatory and go to heaven, where he was supposed to be when he died in the plane crash. (Yes, they are all dead) He "dies" again and the portal lights up to show that his soul has just made it to heaven.
The island gives people exactly the experiences they need to have to resolve their issues and progress toward the next life. If that means they need to be saved from Polar Bears like the one they are reading about in comic books so they can be saved by their real dad and finally learn to trust adults, than it happens. If they need to walk again to become hunters and father figures, than that too happens.
Allusions to Locke and Rousseau are nods to competing Enlightenment theories about how humankind find themselves and their souls defined. Either men are a blank slate, effectively free to define themselves (Locke). Or they are trapped into social constructs that will never allow them self-determination (Rousseau).
In Lost, we learn that almost everyone has some secret sin and unresolved character flaw. We also begin to learn the extenuating reasons for these character's past actions. Boon's great flaw was his devotion to Shannon. His great (but forgivable) sin was that his spoiled brat demands lead to death of his nanny. In the final episodes, Boon becomes the nanny to Locke's bratty demands effectively reversing the role he had played as a child. Through Locke's guidance, he rids himself of his sycophant-like devotion to Shannon. Boon has made it--he has progressed to the point that he can now leave Purgatory and go to heaven, where he was supposed to be when he died in the plane crash. (Yes, they are all dead) He "dies" again and the portal lights up to show that his soul has just made it to heaven.
The island gives people exactly the experiences they need to have to resolve their issues and progress toward the next life. If that means they need to be saved from Polar Bears like the one they are reading about in comic books so they can be saved by their real dad and finally learn to trust adults, than it happens. If they need to walk again to become hunters and father figures, than that too happens.
Allusions to Locke and Rousseau are nods to competing Enlightenment theories about how humankind find themselves and their souls defined. Either men are a blank slate, effectively free to define themselves (Locke). Or they are trapped into social constructs that will never allow them self-determination (Rousseau).