dayfan
02-18-2010, 10:29 AM
Just a thought on the overall theme of lost. We all know about the focus on science and faith, but the placement of the book "Everything That Rises Must Converge" made me see it in a new way. Another poster referenced the short story in the book that bears the books title. This story is about a young man and his racist grandmother. Symbolically it says that when white men enslaved black africans and brought them to america, white were the dominate culture. Eventually blacks were freed from bondage and over time blended into the culture around them until they became considered equal to the race that had previously enslaved them. The grandmother, being of a time of inequality can't quite accept the race she believes inferior to her, while the grandson being younger and raised when black are gaining freedom can accept the change and see the blacks as equals. Therefore, the title. In Lost I believe it is the same. Jacob and Smokie are more than men. Perhaps not quite gods, but certainly more than men. The Dharma initiative blurred the lines between man and god, with advances in science, bringing man closer to actually existing in the same plain that god does. As god created man and gave him free will, man is using science to prove the existence of God. Jacob brings these candidates to the island to see if man is truly worthy an equal existence. I know its a little confusing, and with plenty of holes, but its just an idea to think about.