In the season six finale, we see the mysterious Jacob reading Everything that rises must converge by Flannery O'Connor as John Locke falls from the window his father pushed him out. I believe this is a hint of what is to come in Lost's final season because there are several parallels themes and literary devices in O'Connor's book and the plot of Lost.
The aforementioned work of fiction is both the title of a post-modern short story and the name of the collection of post-modern short stories by Flannery O'Connor. In these short stories there is a reoccurring theme which may be the Lost's writers' way of throwing in some foreshadowing for season seven. In O'Connor's work there is usually an overbearing parental figure and/or ungrateful children. Most of her stories end in the violent death of one of these characters as well. The most obvious parallels would be Jacob and/or Mr. Smoke monster as the overbearing parental figures and the Losties and the others (especially Ben) as ungrateful children.
In several of O'Connor's stories, the characters realize the error of their ways but only on the threshold of death. Maybe Ben will have an epiphany regarding the defect of his moral character before he dies in violent fashion? I really hope so, because that guy is a prick.
In the title story "Everything that rises must converge" the main character fantasizes of his overbearing mother's comeuppance only to regret his wish when her comeuppance comes at the cost of causing her a life-debilitating stroke. This could be a hint that Ben will regret his decision to kill Jacob.
What is even more interesting is that redemption never occurs in any of O'Connor's short stories. The theme of redemption has been an underlying theme in Lost so far, but this does not translate to O'Connor's work. Me thinks that some main characters will die in the final season before the can be redeemed for what they have done.
Or Jacob reading the collection of short stories could simply be a red herring and have no bearing on the plot at all. That's what I love about Lost.
The aforementioned work of fiction is both the title of a post-modern short story and the name of the collection of post-modern short stories by Flannery O'Connor. In these short stories there is a reoccurring theme which may be the Lost's writers' way of throwing in some foreshadowing for season seven. In O'Connor's work there is usually an overbearing parental figure and/or ungrateful children. Most of her stories end in the violent death of one of these characters as well. The most obvious parallels would be Jacob and/or Mr. Smoke monster as the overbearing parental figures and the Losties and the others (especially Ben) as ungrateful children.
In several of O'Connor's stories, the characters realize the error of their ways but only on the threshold of death. Maybe Ben will have an epiphany regarding the defect of his moral character before he dies in violent fashion? I really hope so, because that guy is a prick.
In the title story "Everything that rises must converge" the main character fantasizes of his overbearing mother's comeuppance only to regret his wish when her comeuppance comes at the cost of causing her a life-debilitating stroke. This could be a hint that Ben will regret his decision to kill Jacob.
What is even more interesting is that redemption never occurs in any of O'Connor's short stories. The theme of redemption has been an underlying theme in Lost so far, but this does not translate to O'Connor's work. Me thinks that some main characters will die in the final season before the can be redeemed for what they have done.
Or Jacob reading the collection of short stories could simply be a red herring and have no bearing on the plot at all. That's what I love about Lost.
