The Waste Land and the Anti-Christ
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By Bigby
- The Waste Land and the Anti-Christ
- Created: Jan 31, 2008
- Last updated: Aug 13, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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…the pivotal moment upon which the fate of the world depends, the birth of the anti-christ, is what is at stake.
— Bigby
T.S. Eliot’s masterwork, The Waste Land, is an epic foray into a modern world…a “lost” world…which, through Industrialization, Warfare, man’s propensity to use technology for evil purposes, and the impotence of organized religion, has become infertile beyond any hope of redemption. LOST draws heavily on several elements of the poem, but provides a “mirrored” setting for the drama to unfold and infuses the empty, desolate land with colorful (and flawed) characters. The island, in this case, serves as the final battleground for good vs. evil, (white vs. black) and the pivotal moment upon which the fate of the world depends, the birth of the anti-christ, is what is at stake. The Dharma Initiative is an agent of the devil to aid the conception and birth of the anti-christ. Ben is an agent of good who is looking to stop that birth from happening. Below, I will list several supports for my theory (which admittedly is still undeveloped, but I feel shows promise)
The Waste Land is a dry, desolate, desert with no water. The phrase, “If only there were water” is repeated over and over in the fifth section of the poem. The island is the mirror opposite: a lush, vegetative land literally surrounded by water.
Eliot’s poem is about how the modern society and civilization is, in essence, lost. We have lost our way and we have no hope to return to what we once were, that is, a people full of hope and positive progress. LOST applies both to the survivors of the crash and to society as a whole.
Eliot uses the modernist technique of multiplicity of languages throughtout the poem to disorient the reader. Our survivors account for this multiplicity through their varied backgrounds: Middle Eastern, Asian, Irish (The Waste Land), Australian, English, American, French, African, African-American Hispanic, Man, Woman, Child.
Technology is Bad: Eliot was disillusioned by man’s tendency to utilize science and technology for the purposes of war. Specifically, the innovations that made WWI the bloodiest war to date. How can we kill the most people fastest? This exposes humans for what we really are. The Dharma Initiative uses technology heavily.
The idea of fertility is present from Season 1 onward. When it comes down to it, the most important thing for Ben is keeping track of who’s pregnant and what’s happening. 5a. There is an end-of-the-world sort of urgency in everything Ben does. 5b. End of the world+Pregnancy = the Anti-Christ.
There are numerous biblical references. Jack (short for John), Jacob, James (Sawyer), Michael ect…there are countless other biblical names of both the survivors and the others. Also, many have the names of Saints. 6a. The actual word “Anti-Christ” is only found in two books in the bible: John 1 and John 2. This is supported by the two Johns on LOST, Jack Shepard and John Locke.
Jacob of the Bible had a son named Benjamin. Benjamin of the bible caused his mother’s death. Our Ben also killed his mother during birth. Also the biblical Benjamin is listed as one of only four men who died without committing sin. This supports the fact that Benjamin adamantly insists that what he is doing is right and good. 7a. The Tribe of Dan also may have been responsible for bringing about the birth of the Anti-Christ (according to Wikipedia). Dan is another son of Jacob.
The lyrics to the Nirvana song “Scentless Apprentice” from the Through the Looking Glass Episode could easily be applied to an antichrist. “Every wetnurse refused to feed him.” “Throw him in the fire and he won’t throw a fit.” Etc. 8a. This song was written as a direct allusion to the novel Perfume. In part 2 of the poem “A Game of Chess”, we see the lines, “In vials of ivory and coloured glass/Unstoppered, lurked her strange, synthetic perfumes,/Unguent, powdered, or liquid…”. Perhaps the songs works on multiple levels, a technique Eliot was fond of. 8b. Hurley sits down with the mysterious black man at the mental hospital over a game of chess. 8c. Locke must win a game of chess at that one outpost. 8d. That song is track 2 on the album In Utero. i.e. in the womb.
Many of the episode titles help support my theory. In particular Fire+Water. Two of the sections of The Waste Land are Death by Water and The Fire Sermon.
The book of revelations states that the antichrist will rise where the sand and the sea meet. This strengthens the theory in two ways. The first is obvious, LOST takes place on an island and the survivors literally begin the saga where the sand and the sea meet. The second is more subtle and literary. The main character of The Waste Land is the Fisher King and the poem ends with him sitting on a shore, his dead lands behind him and a lifeless sea outstretched before his eyes.
Another famous character from The Waste Land is the unshaven, one-eyed merchant, Mr. Eugenides. We have a one-eyed character in LOST.
On the title screen, when it shows the island and the sea in the foreground, there is clearly the reflection of a city in the water. Mentioned several times in The Waste Land is the “Unreal City”. In the poem, the Unreal City is London and it becomes a metaphor for Hell. The people crossing London Bridge are the people crossing over into Hell. I think this is one of the strongest supports for my theory. It reinforces the idea that the characters are lost in a literal way, but our entire society is lost in a figurative way.
There is a famous image in the Waste Land of a woman putting a record on a gramophone. Season Two begins with a similar image.
I’m getting somewhere with the numbers, and I think they may relate to “The Hollow Men” a sort of follow-up poem to The Waste Land (it’s the famous poem that ends with the repeated line, this is the way the world ends [etc] not with a bang but a whimper. 13a. The word “lost” is mentioned twice in the poem. In lines 15-16 (two of the numbers in the sequence!) we hear “Remember us—if at all—not as lost/ Violent souls….”
One early criticism of my theory was that the use of an Anti-Christ would be too Christian-specific for a show as broadly appealing as LOST. The Anti-Christ exists in Muslim and Jewish faith as well, but he goes by different names.
Also the Antichrist is described as being brought about by groups of individuals and organizations to stifle the work of God and bring about Armageddon. I can think of no better descriptor of the Dharma Initiative, sponsored by the HANSO Foundation.
There’s much more, and I hope I can edit my theory over time, but there it is. I just wanted to get it out there and hopefully hear some comments of agreement or otherwise.
- There is a famous image in the Waste Land of a woman putting a record on a gramophone. Season Two begins with a similar image.
- I’m getting somewhere with the numbers, and I think they may relate to “The Hollow Men” a sort of follow-up poem to The Waste Land (it’s the famous poem that ends with the repeated line, this is the way the world ends [etc] not with a bang but a whimper. 13a. The word “lost” is mentioned twice in the poem. In lines 15-16 (two of the numbers in the sequence!) we hear “Remember us—if at all—not as lost/ Violent souls….”
- One early criticism of my theory was that the use of an Anti-Christ would be too Christian-specific for a show as broadly appealing as LOST. The Anti-Christ exists in Muslim and Jewish faith as well, but he goes by different names.
- Also the Antichrist is described as being brought about by groups of individuals and organizations to stifle the work of God and bring about Armageddon. I can think of no better descriptor of the Dharma Initiative, sponsored by the HANSO Foundation.
There’s much more, and I hope I can edit my theory over time, but there it is. I just wanted to get it out there and hopefully hear some comments of agreement or otherwise.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | Benjamin Linus | 3.20, 4.9, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1726 |
| Dr. Christian | Dr. Christian Shephard | 338 | |
| Jack | Jack Shephard | 1.1, 1.5, 2.11, 1.11, 1.16, 1.20, 3.9, 3.22, 3.1, 4.10, 4.12, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1459 |
| John | John Locke | 3.3, 2.17, 1.4, 1.19, 3.13, 3.19, 4.11, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1240 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.12 | Fire + Water | 1-25-2006 | Claire | 72 |
| 2.10 | The 23rd Psalm | 1-11-2006 | Charlie, Eko | 97 |
| 2.7 | The Other 48 Days | 11-16-2005 | Eko, Ana-Lucia, Libby, Bernard, Cindy | 93 |
| 2.1 | Man of Science, Man of Faith | 9-21-2005 | Shannon | 195 |
| 1.3 | Tabula Rasa | 10-6-2004 | Kate | 95 |
Key events
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| “Adam” and “Eve” are discovered | 1.6 | 164 |
| Sun becomes pregnant | 2.16 | 156 |
At point 7 you say this:
‘Jacob of the Bible had a son named Benjamin. Benjamin of the bible caused his mother’s death. Our Benjamin doesn’t seem to have a mother’
Our Ben did have a mother. But she died when he was born. So in some sort of way you could say he was the cause of his mothers death.
I like your post, try find more :)
Does anyone remember Ben’s birthday when his father says to him, this is the day you killed your mother? Also, didn’t Ben’s mother show herself to him and lead him toward the perimiter alarm system of the Others incampment? This is where Richard later finds Ben and says he must “be patient” and wait if he wants to see his mother again. ps…I’m new here so don’t be cruel!
Nice parallels. Its a damn fine poem (and this coming from someone who HATES poetry, what can I say, I’m a philistine!) and a damn fine show.
I don’t know if you are aware of this but Scentless Apprentice is directly inspired by the book Perfume by Patrick Suskind about a man with no personal smell who can remember and recall every smell he has encountered. Worth a read!
An interesting point you made, Bigby is about the song Scentless Apprentice.I thought the writers using the song was suggesting a paralell between the books character and a Lost character, maybe Jack or Locke although it didnt work for me
.But maybe the clue is the title of the bloody album the song is from In Utero!!
Cool theory and well written.+1
The book being ‘Perfume’ ;)
I really like this theory, but after reading your first point I thought, what if Ben is a mirror opposite as well? What if HE is trying to aid the conception and birth of the anti-christ, while the DI were trying to prevent it?
He seemed to want Kate and Sawyer to hook up. He didn’t try to prevent it. And he just seems to be out for himself. I don’t believe that he is doing any of this to save mankind. Remember when he says to John in “Man behind the Curtain” that he had to figure out really quick how to avoid being one of the DI people who ended up dead in that ditch? I think Ben is out for himself, but is smart enough to have his team believe that they are “doing good” or “saving the world” If he weren’t he wouldn’t be so bothered by the fact that John seems to be able to communicate with the island the way that he can.
Very interesting bigby.
Nice use of bisociation.