Alright, folks. I’m going to stick to the biblical allusions here, because that’s what I know. And I’m just going to be writing this out because I’m not real sure where I’m going with it:
Jacob and Esau were mentioned in the “Bad Twin” book. I assumed it was a reference to the twins in the book, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it also ties into the show. Esau was a hunter, while Jacob was a thinker. They were twin brothers born to Isaac, son of Abraham – the father Israel (which, really, is Jacob’s future name as well as being a nation). Esau was born first, and was the rightful heir to Isaac’s blessing, which was a big deal back in the Old Testament days. But Jacob tricked Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau (this is after Jacob already tricked Esau into selling his birthright as the firstborn). Esau swore revenge on Jacob, but when the time came he forgave him (that’s after Jacob wrestled with God). Anyway, Jacob goes on to do some things like father the 12 tribes of Israel and bring them into Egypt where they will be enslaved for hundreds of years – you know, a bunch of non-essential stuff.
Anyway. I’ve already drawn comparisons between Locke and Abraham (sacrificing Boone because of his faith in the island). But it seems to me that there are also similarities between Jack/Locke and Jacob/Esau or maybe better yet Ben/Locke and Jacob/Esau.
Locke is the hunter in the story – Esau. He was tricked out of his inheritance
Jack and Locke are the two characters that we know well enough to know that they are almost always of contradicting viewpoints. But Ben and Locke would make the most sense. Last week’s episode clearly drew parallels between the two (what with their wheelcharing and all). In the Old Testament, Esau (read: Locke) is continually getting tricked by his brother Jacob (read: Ben). Apparently, there are also historical biblical references to fighting between the descendents of Esau – Edom – and the descendents of Jacob – Israel.
So that makes a lot of sense. But in that Biblical context, Ben (Jacob) would be the good guys and Locke (Esau) would be the bad guys. That would also mean the two share a father (which could, in this case, be the Island or Dharma). The Island father makes sense in that it rightfully belongs to Locke, who has his faith placed in the island, while Ben is the one who is mainly in control of the island and who has lived there his entire life.
But does this mean that Locke (Esau) will show mercy to Ben at some point and not kill him? Have either Locke or Ben wrestled with God yet (maybe that’s the box/Locke’s dad)? Am I missing something, or am I reading too much into this?
Maybe I’m off the mark. Let me know what you think.
Posted by Brandon O at March 28, 2007 11:33 AM