Lost Of The Flies? by Jack Ford

The creators of LOST have admitted that their story was derived in part from William Golding’s novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, but could this story also clue us in on where LOST might be heading?

Below you will find a comparison of main characters of both stories. I took only the candidates as noted in the cave and compared them with the main characters in LOTF’s. Most notations are from this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies#Allegorical_relationships some I have added from my own observations


• 23- Shephard = Ralph
o When he and the others arrive on the island, he quickly establishes himself as their leader
o He suggests that a fire be lit, hoping that it will increase their chance of being saved; however, towards the end of the book he forgets the initial reason for maintaining the fire
o He embodies good intentions in the implementation of reason, but ultimately fails to execute these plans soundly.

• 8 – Reyes =Piggy
o He represents the role of intelligence, reason and civilization.
o His physical limitations due to his being overweight reflect the limitations of what he embodies.

• 15 – Ford = Jack
o He epitomizes the worst aspects of human nature when not controlled or tempered by society.
o Like Ralph, He is a natural leader.
o Although his way of behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the beginning of the book, he does at that time express an ungovernable desire to hunt and kill a pig.
o Eventually, in the later part of the book when Ralph's leadership is more undermined, His true evil nature is exposed.
o He leads most of the boys away from Ralph, and forms a separate group, based not on democracy but obedience and where violence and torture are carried out.
o The tale ends with him leading many of the boys in a frenzied attempt to kill Ralph, which is only prevented by the abrupt and unexpected arrival of a naval officer.

• 16 – Jarrah = Roger
o He represents man's pure, animal evil, that is only restrained by the rules of society, and could be interpreted by some people as the entire theme of the book embodied in one person.

• 4 – Locke = Simon
o He is a character who represents peace and tranquility, with some references to Jesus Christ.
o He is very in-tune with the island, and often experiences extraordinary sensations when listening to its sounds.
o After an “experience”, He emerges from the forest to tell the others that the "beast" is actually a deceased parachutist caught on the mountain, only to be brutally killed by Jack's people, who ironically mistake him for the beast.
o The final words that the Lord of the Flies had said to Simon vaguely predicted that his death was about to occur in this manner.

• 42 – Kwon = Sam and Eric (the twins)
o They represent family values and the idiom “blood is thicker than water”.
o Though they have struggles amongst themselves, they stick together despite the divisions between the rest.

It can be quite revealing to look at the similarities of the characters in LOTF and LOST (perhaps LOST is an acronym for ‘Lord Of Some Thing’?).

Some similarities we have already seen played out in the first couple seasons, but some have just been revealed this season. And some similarities, we may be surprised to see will be revealed as the rest of this season continues.

What-da-you-thinkin’?