I like the black/white stone duality in the show, and I think we see some of that in Ben's relationship with the island -- he is rewarded and punished over and over again -- these punishments and rewards are connected.
Cancer Example:
I think Ben lied about Juliette's sister's "relapse" as a way of keeping Juliette on the island. As a result of that lie, Ben was punished with a tumor on his spine. To counter the punishment, he was rewarded with a spinal surgeon who fell out of the sky.
Patricide Example:
I think that Ben was punished for killing his father. I think that in an upcoming episode, we will see that Annie was pregnant with Ben's child at the time he killed his father, and that as punishment, his unborn child (and Annie, as well) were killed (and Ben learned, for the first time, that pregnant women always die on the island). Right after their deaths, Rousseau's group came to the Island, restoring to Ben the child (Alex) that had been taken from him (at least in his mind).
Goodwin Example:
I think we are going to see that Ben's punishment for allowing Goodwin to be killed by the tailies is that he gets caught in Rousseu's net on his way back to New Otherton. The reward for being caught in the net is the way he infiltrates the Losties and gets under Locke's skin.
Theory by Samuel the Jacobite
Cancer Example:
I think Ben lied about Juliette's sister's "relapse" as a way of keeping Juliette on the island. As a result of that lie, Ben was punished with a tumor on his spine. To counter the punishment, he was rewarded with a spinal surgeon who fell out of the sky.
Patricide Example:
I think that Ben was punished for killing his father. I think that in an upcoming episode, we will see that Annie was pregnant with Ben's child at the time he killed his father, and that as punishment, his unborn child (and Annie, as well) were killed (and Ben learned, for the first time, that pregnant women always die on the island). Right after their deaths, Rousseau's group came to the Island, restoring to Ben the child (Alex) that had been taken from him (at least in his mind).
Goodwin Example:
I think we are going to see that Ben's punishment for allowing Goodwin to be killed by the tailies is that he gets caught in Rousseu's net on his way back to New Otherton. The reward for being caught in the net is the way he infiltrates the Losties and gets under Locke's skin.
Theory by Samuel the Jacobite
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4 Comments:
I see where this is going, but it's a little too vague. What I mean is that any one of the character's on the show could have a light vs. dark analogy to describe their situations. For example: Jack gets locked up at the Hydra station, but he does meet Juliet who has the answer he has been looking for about his ex-wife. Charlie dies, and two good things happen. Desmond finds out that Penny is still looking for him and warns about the people on the boat. There are definatley more than just a few "two sides of the coin" here.
I liked your theory.
There have been times when I have wondered if somehow Jacob is Ben or Jacob is a part of Ben.
But that seems way too far fetched in a psychological way. And I doubt that the writers would go there.
I have also wondered about the way that Ben seemed to chastise Jacob in the cabin when he was telling him to stop and "you've had your fun". It was almost as if he was speaking to a child. I found that curious.
I think it's interesting, but you offer no explanation as to WHY Ben (or anyone else for that matter, since other people could have this happen to them too, right?) receives a "reward" You explain that he is punished for doing something bad, yet that he is rewarded for what? getting caught? really wanting a child? It doesn't make sense. The logic ends with the reward scenario.
Sirdingydang -
I agree. I don't understand the "WHY" part either. I think it has something to do with his power over Jacob and Jacob's power over him. Remember in season three when Locke went to the fridge for chicken and ben said "I ate most of the dark meat myself" -- I think Ben and Jacob have some kind of a dark/white yin/yang relationship -- but I know the reward-punishment theory is underdeveloped (i.e "too vague").
Maybe it isn't so much "punished for being bad and rewarded for being good" as it is being both punished and rewarded for his actions, regardless of whether they are good or bad (and then I have to ask "good or bad" to who? it's relative, right?)