Garden of Eden, Milton, Utopia, the Theme
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By straightontilmorning
- Garden of Eden, Milton, Utopia, the Theme
- Created: Jan 1, 2008
- Last updated: Aug 13, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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The main idea behind my theory is nothing completely original: the Island is a literal depiction of Genesis’/ Milton’s Garden of Eden. Those familiar with the Genesis account will remember that when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, God left a “cherubim with a flaming sword” to guard the Garden of Eden. I believe the smoke monster to be this guard— the “security system” that God left in the Garden.
I believe this general theory is evidenced by parallels between characters and situations on Lost and various characters from Genesis. Note that I don’t consider these parallels to have central importance to the mystery surrounding Lost or the Island, but rather are examples of typology used to further the themes of the story:
Jack— a “type” of Adam. Many Old Testament scholars consider the true tragic flaw of Adam to have been his failure to lead—the way Eve was able to manipulate him. Will he, in the end, have the resolve to do what’s right as a leader, or will he, like Adam, vascillate and fail to lead at a crucial moment.
Kate— A “type” of Eve. Has a history of leading men astray for her own purposes (i.e. the bank robber, Kevin the Cop, Marshal Eddie Mars warning not to trust her because she’s dangerous).
Boone and Shannon— Onetime lovers who tell a half-truth, claiming to be brother and sister (when they were really step-brother/sister) to avert suspicion, much like Abram made his wife Sarai tell a half-truth and claim to be his sister to save his own life from a lustful king.
Jin and Sun— Just as Jacob loved Rachel from afar and worked 14 years for her conman father in order to win her, so Jin worked for Sun’s mobster father in order to win her. Incidentally, Rachel was apparently a barren woman until God presumably supernaturally gave her the ability to have children.
Sawyer— Note that there are some extreme differences between how Genesis portrays Lucifer (or, the Serpent) and how Milton views the character. In Milton, the character is almost sympathetic— a rebel against God’s “tyrannical authority”, choosing to “rule in hell” rather than to “serve in heaven”. In either case, however, the Serpent is basically a conman who thrives on tempting a greedy, not-so-bright woman. Sound like how anyone we know spent his life prior to Oceanic 815.
As far as how this theory relates to other secrets of the show (the Others, the Dharma Initiative, etc.), I don’t know how they fit. I do, however, have some definite ideas of how this theory fits in with what I consider the theme of the show: the ways in which human failings will always prevent us from paradise, regardless of how idyllic or utopian the setting—even when it actually IS the Garden of Eden.
Consider, when Oceanic 815 crashed, and it became clear that they would be on the Island, more or less, to stay, they had the chance to build society in a beautiful place and start over. Without question, there were many people on the flight who needed a clean start: Kate could stop running, Sayid could break with his past as a torturer, Charlie managed to break from the drugs. They had every possible opportunity to build utopia.
Except, of course, for the fact that they were human. Before they had their huts up it seemed they were defaulting to their weaknesses: Jack was vascillating, Kate was manipulating, Sawyer was stealing, Sayid was torturing, Charlie was pilfering Virgin Mary Statues filled with heroin, Hurley steals the food, Ana Lucia was getting trigger-happy, Mr. Eko was religiously rationalizing, etc. Clearly, the society built by the survivors is a full-out failure, as is the culture built by the Others (clearly an attempt at a Utopia built far away from the corruptions of the world) and the studies done by the Dharma Initiative conducted in order to “save the world” and pursue utopia.
Note also the healing powers of the island, and how they bespeak of supernatural properties.
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.7 | The Other 48 Days | 11-16-2005 | Eko, Ana-Lucia, Libby, Bernard, Cindy | 93 |
| 1.11 | All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues | 12-8-2004 | Jack | 92 |
| 1.8 | Confidence Man | 11-10-2004 | Shannon | 67 |
| 1.2 | Pilot, Part 2 | 9-29-2004 | Kate, Charlie | 205 |
| 1.1 | Pilot, Part 1 | 9-24-2004 | Jack | 363 |
Key events
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| “Adam” and “Eve” are discovered | 1.6 | 163 |
| Locke Can Walk | 288 | |
| Locke has close encounter with the monster | 1.4 | 193 |
| Oceanic Flight 815 crashes | 1.1 | 582 |
Similar theories
| Title | Author | Cmnts | Votes | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| guilt?sins? | bodell | 6 | 1 | +1 |
Very interesting!
I was doubting after the first sentence, but it was well explained and you’ve found some interesting links between the losties and the characters in the Genesis. Nice observations, +1.
I’m not very familiar with the Genesis, hence my doubts. Are there any more informations about the guardian? What’s his purpose, to forbid access to the Garden of Eden, or to protect it from harm? Assuming your theory’s right, why would smokey only choose to attack certain characters? Apart from the pilot in the first episode (or second?), Eko is the only one who’s been killed, why? And why take his brother’s appearance? Also, remember John Locke saying to Jack: “I’ve looked into the eye of this Island… and what I saw was beautiful.” and to Eko that he saw a brilliant light? How would Locke relate to smokey? It would be important to note that Locke was also attacked by the smoke monster when he thought it wouldn’t hurt him, a few episodes later.
I can’t take this theory literally. I don’t feel the Island is the actual Garden of Eden (given that such a thing never existed, in my opinion). However you make a nice thematic point:
“the ways in which human failings will always prevent us from paradise, regardless of how idyllic or utopian the setting”
Locke does remark about how the Island is, for him at least, like a Garden of Eden (I believe he says as much when they discovered the skeletons in the cave which he, neatly, calls Adam and Eve) and, poetically at least, the word “paradise” does go rather neatly before the word “Lost”.
So, as a thematic thing (that people mess up perfection due to their inherent imperfections) I like this.
Straight: I have seen plenty of Garden of Eden theories, but yours is much better presented than most. While I don’t believe the island literally is the Garden of Eden, the writers could very well have used that as a theme designed to make people think, and you are likely correct in that respect.
good parallel +1
Welcome, straight! I thought you made some good parallels also and I do think the writers used the Garden of Eden as a theme. +1
I do think the character parallels (although spot on in the first season) have all grown and I think that’s what the show is about… Redemption and changing yourself for the better.
Straight—
Great stuff, man. Look at my thread from a while back re: biblical references in LOST. I like what you have here. Some of the characters are a little stretched, I think, but your overall point is well taken.
+1 from me!
Straight, While I can’t see in the literal sense that “the island” is “The Garden of Eden”, I wouldn’t disagree that it may be an influence. +1
I absolutely cannot agree with your assessment of Sawyer as Lucifer! A bad boy, yes, but a very misunderstood one! You have to look further into his character to fully appreciate and understand him.
I just wanted to add the fact that Kate was stitching up Jack’s wound which was next to his ribs… Eve came from one of Adam’s ribs… just wanted to make that connection.
dabiat— Understand that when I compare Sawyer to the Serpent, that (1) I am comparing him to Paradise Lost Serpent rather than the Genesis Serpent; there are some nuanced—but nonetheless very real and significant— differences in their portrayal; and, (2) this theory involves typology and literary parallelism, not allegory. I don’t suggest Sawyer as a Satanic figure, but rather that his character was created with literary similarity to Milton’s Serpent in order to make a point.
Angelo— I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. Perhaps I misspoke within my theory. By saying “literal Garden of Eden”, what I mean by that is “the Island is literally the Garden of Eden, within the fictional universe of Lost”. I will edit the theory to make that clearer.
Straight: I totally got what you were saying, and all I am saying is that in my humble opinion, even though you are making a literary reference, I see absolutely no similarity between the two.
Had you made that reference with another character, I think it would have been more believable. So, what I am saying is, if you properly understood the character of Sawyer, you would not have chosen him to make that reference.
No Biggie! It’s All Good! And, it certainly doesn’t detract from your theory!
Very well presented Morning! I was originally thinking along the same lines, didn’t go as in depth as you did on the subject, and after reading so many theories on this site it is really hard to narrow it down. However, one thing that may present some support to your theory is in the flight number. As many of us have found, everything in this show has meaning. If you look in the Bible under Genesis 8:15 (Oceanic flight 815) it is at this point in the chapter that Noah is commanded by God to come out of the Ark with his wife, sons, their wives, and all of the animals to more or less start over. Probably looking too far into things, but did find it interesting. Ok guys, let me have it………………
I should have used the search engine first but I obviously agree with you that it is an allusion to Milton and the garden of Eden. I do believe that the island is not a allegory to the Eden but it is the actual garden of Eden. Whether it be Genesis or Milton, the story of man and his origins have not been discovered till recently and it is playing on the recent findings that suggest the biblical stories do have a place and time that are being discovered including the flood and Sodom and Gommorah.
I like this interpretation, but I have to say I don’t think the smoke monster is the cherubim. I think it’s death, plucked right out of Milton’s poem (line 666! of book 2):
‘The other shape, If shape it might be call’d that shape had none Distinguishable in member, joynt, or limb, Or substance might be call’d that shadow seem’d, For each seem’d either; black it stood as Night, Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell, And shook a dreadful Dart; what seem’d his head The likeness of a Kingly Crown had on.’
And in Milton’s universe, this black, shapeless embodiment of death guards the gates of hell, along with a beautiful, serpent-tailed woman…haven’t figured out who her parallel might be!
Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about this ‘Paradise Lost’ idea, actually can’t stop thinking about it (and hence I’m posting to a board at 12:30 in the morning, only having posted to boards twice before in my life!) While I don’t think the show is a direct translation, I do think there’s an awful lot of Milton and/or the old testament in there: in Milton, paradise is surrounded by water, Satan FLIES into the garden, disguised as an angel, children can’t be conceived, and of course, questions aren’t allowed, which is to say that truth and knowledge are withheld…the list goes on. In light of that, consider (and this contains possible spoilers, read elsewhere on this site):
If the island really is some kind of Eden, in that it offers all of these troubled people a clean slate, then maybe leaving it to go back to their old lives constitutes going to hell. Would have to do more research to back this up, but I seem to recall that the black smoke only really hassles those who are trying hardest to leave. Which could be interpreted as it trying to drive them back from the gate to hell. So, if the ‘Oceanic six’ really are Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sun, Jin and Aaron, then it certainly seems from what we know of the future that they HAVE gone to hell, since their post-island lives pretty much pick up where their pre-island ones broke off. That is, Jack’s once again alone, alcoholic, workaholic, guilty and disappointing himself. Hurley is back in the mental institution. Kate is still running, or at any rate, still subject to someone else’s will though whose, isn’t yet clear. If Sun and Jin are back in Korea, presumably they haven’t gone back to a life free of her father’s influence. And if Aaron is being raised by Kate, then in the end he’s lost his mother and been adopted, as he was destined to be b4 the crash. They’re all, so to speak, lost. Nice internal irony, eh? (Sorry, I’m a novelist, I like these things!)
Anyway, I didn’t mean for this to be so long-winded. I also don’t think these Biblical/Miltonian similarities explain everything. But they do bring things together for me in a way that makes more sense than anything I’ve yet read.
this is very similar to a theory I wrote and I think it is the best explanation. If the island is Eden it is clear why it cannot be found, why everyone became healed, why there are so many religious mentions, and what really makes it for me the birth issue. Women were not plagued with childbirth until they were kicked out of Eden, therefore women who get pregnant on hte Island won’t be able to really have babies. The best part about this explanation is that it is very simple, and it makes so much more sense for the writers to take all of the details from a basic idea instead of an intricate one that involves every detail. The title is LOST, short for Paradise Lost, it is the most ‘realistic’ explanaton for all of the supernatural occurences.