I believe I have stumbled on something worth posting. First of all, everyone knows that the writers of Lost borrow a lot from famous literature. A recent example of this occured in "The Constant" when Desmond traveled back in time to a previous point in his life. The way this happened is similar to what Kurt Vonnegut wrote in Slaughterhouse-Five. This got me thinking about more Vonnegut books to compare to the show. It has been a while since I have read most of his stuff, but the one book that jumped out at me was Cat's Cradle. In this book, Vonnegut created a fictional religion called Bokononism. I will list a few of the terms he made up for the religion, and then show my theories on how they are connected to the show.
KARASS - a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The people can be thought of as fingers in a Cat's Cradle.
My Theory: Every character on the show is part of this "karass". They have no free will, and everything that happens to them is for a reason. There are different ways to go about things, but eventually there will always be the same ending. Hence Desmond prolonging Charlie's inevitable death.
WAMPETER - the central point of a karass.
My Theory: This is the Island. Everyone in the show is drawn to this central point by the god figure. The reason this is the central point is because of the special properties of the island. I believe the plan is for a utopian society.
DYNAMIC TENSION: Theory that good societies can be built only by pitting good against evil, and by keeping the tension between the two high at all times. Derived from a theory of Charles Atlas, that muscles can be built without bar bells or spring exercisers, by simply pitting one set of muscles against another.
My Theory: The war that Ben(the good guy) and Widmore are having almost seems necessary for them to accomplish whatever is trying to be accomplished. Hence Ben walking into Widmore's room and not being able to do anything to Widmore because it goes against The God figure's will.
POOL_PAH: Shit storm. Wrath of God.
My Theory: This is represented by the Smoke Monster
STUPPA: A fogbound child.
My Theory: This is John Locke.
DUFFLE: The destiny of persons when placed in the hands of a stuppa.
My Theory: Jacob stated that he needs John Locke's help. John Locke might become a very important character in regard to everyone's destiny.
KAN-KAN: The instrument that brings someone into their particular karass.
My Theory: The numbers have a lot to do with this. Hurley used the numbers to win the lottery, and changed his path, which caused the plane to crash. Or it could be considered the airplane.
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY: What bokononists whisper whenever they think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
My theory: the whispers in the jungle
Another important quote that Vonnegut says that describes the religion is:
"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."
Anyone find similarities with this quote and John Locke.
I know that most of Vonnegut's bokononism is supposed to be somewhat satirical, but it does compare pretty closely to the big picture of Lost. Let me know what everyone thinks.
Theory by Brad
KARASS - a group of people who, often unknowingly, are working together to do God's will. The people can be thought of as fingers in a Cat's Cradle.
My Theory: Every character on the show is part of this "karass". They have no free will, and everything that happens to them is for a reason. There are different ways to go about things, but eventually there will always be the same ending. Hence Desmond prolonging Charlie's inevitable death.
WAMPETER - the central point of a karass.
My Theory: This is the Island. Everyone in the show is drawn to this central point by the god figure. The reason this is the central point is because of the special properties of the island. I believe the plan is for a utopian society.
DYNAMIC TENSION: Theory that good societies can be built only by pitting good against evil, and by keeping the tension between the two high at all times. Derived from a theory of Charles Atlas, that muscles can be built without bar bells or spring exercisers, by simply pitting one set of muscles against another.
My Theory: The war that Ben(the good guy) and Widmore are having almost seems necessary for them to accomplish whatever is trying to be accomplished. Hence Ben walking into Widmore's room and not being able to do anything to Widmore because it goes against The God figure's will.
POOL_PAH: Shit storm. Wrath of God.
My Theory: This is represented by the Smoke Monster
STUPPA: A fogbound child.
My Theory: This is John Locke.
DUFFLE: The destiny of persons when placed in the hands of a stuppa.
My Theory: Jacob stated that he needs John Locke's help. John Locke might become a very important character in regard to everyone's destiny.
KAN-KAN: The instrument that brings someone into their particular karass.
My Theory: The numbers have a lot to do with this. Hurley used the numbers to win the lottery, and changed his path, which caused the plane to crash. Or it could be considered the airplane.
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY: What bokononists whisper whenever they think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
My theory: the whispers in the jungle
Another important quote that Vonnegut says that describes the religion is:
"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."
Anyone find similarities with this quote and John Locke.
I know that most of Vonnegut's bokononism is supposed to be somewhat satirical, but it does compare pretty closely to the big picture of Lost. Let me know what everyone thinks.
Theory by Brad
