Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.
The Tempest. Act ii. Sc. 2
Before I begin, some root facts about the show I am accepting:
-They were on a plane and they did crash.
-The 46 remaining survivors are alive.
-They are on an island.
That all said, the reason we haven't been shown the "monster" in the woods or had the island revealed to us is because Lost isn't about the setting, it's about the characters. Each episode so far, besides the two episode pilot, has been about a different character and their life struggles. I read a awesome theory on this board about how they all have lost something and are going to regain it. Right now, I feel that's the strongest theory on the board (both here and metaphorically). The Lost and Found theory just goes to show the heart of this show. From here on out I am going to prove that we need to start listening to Sawyer if we want to discover the truth.
1. Fierce independence, sarcasm, and aversion to bullshit don't make someone
evil or a bad guy.
From day one, the writers have tried to make us think Sawyer was the villian
(If there even is a villian) by playing on our preconceptions. In the
first episode, he denounced Sayid as a terrorist. His doing so was supposed
to make us believe he was a racist. Come on though, who wouldn't have
that thought? Just because Sawyer is more brash and vocal doesn't mean
he's racist.
Every episode after that Sawyer went off on his own, fended for himself,
and did what he felt was right. He shot the Marshall, though he did mess
up, because he wanted to end the man's suffering. He went throw the fuselage
when no one else would. In this past week's episode, we discovered he
has his own stash. He's protecting his own interests.
2. He's VERY intelligent.
You may think Charlie is funny, but Sawyer is witty. This past week, he
was reading Watership Down and his whole conversation with Shannon was
one mental beating. He played on her preconceptions making sexual inneundos
and mocked her intelligence, the whole while smirking to himself. I ask
you if someone without a good bit of knowledge would say those things.
He also knows how to survive by himself extremely well. He is thinking
on his feet. As I already said, he rummage through the fuselage.
Again this past week showed us something, he is already trading with people (establishing economic superiority for himself) and is the only one who has bothered to reach out to Jin.
3. He is handing out roles to the characters that the plot corroborates
and accepts reality faster than anyone else.
In the first episode he called Jack the hero. Due to the past week's episode
I am willing to brand that a truth. He called Sayid the professor or something
earlier. This past week, he called Kate the sheriff. His wit also has
a way of cutting back the characters' skin to reveal their inner workings.
Finally, he was the first person to acknowledge they were not going to
be rescued. That is why he began preparing for his future on the island
the way he did. Every episode what he says turns out to be true, yet we
aren't supposed to believe it because we're being led to believe he's
one evil sucker.
4. He's lost something just like everyone else.
Jack lost his father. Kate lost her freedom. Locke lost his ability to
walk. Walt lost his mother. Sayid lost a woman (sister? mother? wife?).
What did Sawyer lose? Who knows, but the writers gave us a clue. The piece
of paper Sawyer has (though granted it could be a set of orders on how
to harass the castaways) is a signal to us that Sawyer is in the same
boat as everyone else. He has something concrete too.
In conclusion, keep your eyes and ears on Sawyer. I could be wrong. Maybe
it's just because I empathize with him and probably would react the same
way to the situation. All I ask is you think about what I've said. Is
there a Sawyer quote/moment that has stuck out in your mind? Feel free
to add them here, they could be the key to unraveling the secret.
Sarahs Monkey
Sawyer was the only one that didn't run from the unseen terror that turned out to be the polar bear. You alluded to maybe he knows what's going on when you said the note could be instructions on how to harrass the survivors. He would only be calm enough not to run if he knew whatever was coming could be killed by a handgun. Or, he could be dumb.
morbius76
True. He could have known what it was. However, I think it
is well within Sawyer's character to stand up and face a threat rather
than run from it, especially if he had a gun.
Sarahs Monkey
Sarahs Monkey, I think you are onto something. Sawyer seems to be the "canary in the coal mine" character. He is one step ahead of everyone because he is willing to see what they don't want to. I don't know if he was so much presented as the villian (though certainly villified) as ignorant, an ignorance comes from fear. Then we realize that he is the opposite--pretty fearless, and far from ignorant. Now he is portrayed as the anti-idealist. He is the first to say the old civilization is over, they have to be practical, their old social roles are a joke here, they have to forge ahead. This would be Locke's position, but Locke is a total idealist.
So they are set up in opposition right now as practical anarchist/practical
idealist. But I'm thinking that's only a set-up; when we get to Sawyer's
solo turn, he will be revealed as the ultimate idealist (maybe about a
woman). He could be the con-man with a heart of gold, or at least more
complicated (like the con men in a Mamer play/movie).
Whatever happens, I think you're right that we should keep our eye on
him!
drabauer
My comment about him being the villian was meant to demonstrate how the writers played on audience preconceptions. "There has to be a villian, RIGHT?" So Sawyer spouted something very unPC and we were supposed to hate him.
I wouldn't call Sawyer an anarchist. He's a realist. He's simply living
in the jungle, every man for himself. Nor do I think he's in opposition
to Locke. In fact, I think Sawyer would most likely have an immense amount
of respect for Locke.
For what it's worth, I agree with you about the girl theory. Sawyer is
deeply in love with someone. Perhaps he was in Australia on business and
was looking forward to getting back to her (and a new baby? Claire connection?).
Or maybe he's been traveling the globe searching for her.
Sarahs Monkey
Could Sawyer's love interest be Kate? When she tackled him and was on top of him he said, "I made this birthday wish 4 years ago." Was he in Australia looking for her, maybe trying to rescue her from the agent that captured her? If so, why do they hide their connection?
morbius76
Quote:
Could Sawyer's love interest be Kate? When she tackled him and was on
top of him he said, "I made this birthday wish 4 years ago."
Was he in Australia looking for her, maybe trying to rescue her from the
agent that captured her? If so, why do they hide their connection?
Oh! That's good. My answer to your question about hiding the
connection would be that Kate ran away from Sawyer and holds a grudge
against him for some reason obviously unknown to us at this point. Sawyer
keeps quiet because by his nature his is introverted and doesn't want
to cause a stir. Kate keeps quiet because she wants nothing to do with
Sawyer.
Sarahs Monkey
I don't think Sawyer and Kate have any past history together.
But, you never know?
I DO think that they are attracted to each other and that is something
that scares the heck out of Kate and thoroughly amuses Sawyer.
But I agree that he is a pivotal character. There's a lot more to him
than we are shown at this juncture. I can't wait to learn more about him.
I think he's awesome. One of my favorite characters.
angry may queen
Quote:
I don't think Sawyer and Kate have any past history together. But, you
never know? Exactly why I won't dismiss the theory. It certainly holds
water.
Quote:
I DO think that they are attracted to each other and that is something
that scares the heck out of Kate and thoroughly amuses Sawyer. I agree.
Completely within Sawyer's character.
I just had a thought Sawyer...Tom Sawyer reference?
Sarahs Monkey
Sarah's Monkey:
"I wouldn't call Sawyer an anarchist. He's a realist. He's simply
living in the jungle, every man for himself."
As it's been pointed out in other threads, in such a small community,
anyone doing the 'every many for himself' is a threat to the survival
of the group as a whole.
For the record: I like Sawyer, and I too consider him important to the
development of the show.
(Pet peeve: knowledge doesn't equal intelligence. An idiot savant can
sprout irrelevant and obscure facts until the cows come home, and s/he
is still an idiot.) Sorry 'bout that. Beto
who promises to learn and not reply to characters' posts until after they
are moved to the characters fora.
azteclady