Jack as Dante? LOST parallels The Inferno
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By Hoosiergirl122
- Jack as Dante? LOST parallels The Inferno
- Created: May 28, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 13, 2008
- After episode: 3.21: Greatest Hits
- Status: Retracted
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I have had a theory for awhile now…has anyone ever read The Inferno by Dante? The beginning of the series parallels the book…as well as some of the events that follow. I know the producers said that they are not in purgatory, but what if they were in Hell? After the last episode I am not so sure anymore about this theory but here goes… In The Inferno, Dante wakes up in midlife in the middle of the woods, kind of like Jack does in the 1st episode. And, I know this might be reading into it a little too much, but the order Jack meets the survivors, is the order that Dante travels through Hell.
The first person he meets is Claire. She is an unwed mother who would fall into the second cirlce of Dante’s Hell, Lust. Hurley =gluttony Boone=hoarding the family money (technically not his fault) Kate and Sawyer would belong in the Wrathful and Sullen circle. John Locke=the sixth circle of Dante’s Hell is for heretics, but in this case I don’t see how John would fit into the catagory of a heretic…but I could see how Eko would. Sayid and Charlie=The 7th circle is reserved for murder and blasphemy. Walt, Sun, Jin, etc. The 8th circle is divided up into sections. Walt would fall into the fortune teller catagory since he seems to have special powers. Sun has been unfaithful to Jin. Jin has lied to Sun about his family being alive, making him a falsifier. Circle 9 is reserved for the traitors. Michael has betrayed the people who have come to trust him by turning them over to The Others. Circle 9 is also where the devil is trapped in a pool of ice. What if Jacob is the devil?
There are also several references to Cerebus (one of the guardians of Dante’s Hell). One of the points made about death is the worst part about being in Hell is not realizing they are dead.
I just started seeing these connections as I was reading The Inferno. Please let me know what you think.
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.20 | The Man Behind The Curtain | 5-9-2007 | Ben | 427 |
| 2.20 | Two for the Road | 5-3-2006 | Ana-Lucia | 100 |
| 2.18 | Dave | 4-5-2006 | Hurley | 142 |
| 1.2 | Pilot, Part 2 | 9-29-2004 | Kate, Charlie | 212 |
| 1.1 | Pilot, Part 1 | 9-24-2004 | Jack | 379 |
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| Jack’s real identity | kmb1952 | 40 | 15 | +9 |
| DHARMA Initiative anagrams of A MIDAIR TITAN HIVE / A MINI DEATH TRIVIA | slayerdash | 4 | 3 | −3 |
Well, yes, the parallels are unmistakable (and I think brought up before on this site). But the thing is, the writers could use sources like this to guide the plot without the characters literally being in Hell. And I guess I don’t tend to think they are literally in Hell. But I think the show probably does borrow some from this source, as it does many others.
Agreed Prof. I think the producers use tons of material as far back as the 60’s program the prisoner, anyway i think the producers take clever ideas from loads of sources mash them togeher add their own genius and then bang you have Lost
I thought something similar despite the producers’ protests. Only thing. . .
(debunk warning)
Penelope probably couldn’t contact hell or limbo.
I think your theory is very interesting. I want to read the book that you mentioned. I also agree with sleepz. I noticed that the producers mash alot of sources toghether. They are getting thier ideas from everywhere.
I tend to agree with Prof and sleepz. Well done!
sounds good. Prof you have a point. But so does Andrelus. It wouldn’t make sense if Penny could do that.