This is the fifth part of our LOST homeschool curriculum – focusing on history, literature, mythology, religion etc. (PART I – THEMES is here.)
NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

MYTHOLOGY/LITERATURE

Egyptian Mythology - The statue in later seasons has been identified as Taweret, and the hieroglyphics seen throughout the temple and on Jacob’s tapestry have kept LOST lovers busy translating for months.

Greek Mythology – much has been discussed about the many Greek characters and how their influence could connect with LOST, particularly Apollo, Persephone, and Cerberus . The stories of Atlantis and Pandora’s Box also offer many parallels to the storylines in LOST.

The Odyssey - This epic story was said to have been written in a way that each chapter (episode) would include flashbacks, etc. In theory, you could start at any point in the book and read it in it’s entirety – like a loop. One could possibly do the same thing with LOST.

Paradise Lost – this poem by Milton tells the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, and the ways Satan pushed them into sin. The battle between God (good) and Satan (evil) is central to Paradise Lost, and some say the same theme exists in LOST.

In addition, numerous other books are referenced in the show, and may or may not have meaning in the plot. For instance, here’s just a list of what Sawyer is reading during the show:
* Watership Down
* Lord of the Flies
* A Wrinkle in Time
* Lancelot
* Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
* Bad Twin
* Of Mice and Men
* The Fountainhead
* Evil Under the Sun
* The Invention of Morel
* Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Visit Lostpedia for a complete listing of books featured on LOST.

HISTORY/RELIGION

Whether you see the religious references as “religion” or “history”, they certainly exist in LOST> Possible plot lines that follow the lines of purgatory, reincarnation, heaven/hell and redemption. Themes seem to touch on history of numerous religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islaam, and Buddism.

Most major religions are used in some way in the series, and names are one of the strongest references. While this is certainly not a comprehensive list of all the meaningful names in the series, it does give you an idea about the complex discussions potentially generated by them. One of the reasons LOST is such an amazing show, is that the writing is so intelligent, weaving references to history, literature and religion into every episode.

Adam and Eve are mentioned when the skeletons are found in the cave in Season 1. Their descendents are Abraham (Bram) Jacob, Jacob’s son Benjamin, and his descendent AARON (Moses’ brother.) Ben jokingly refers to Locke as “Moses” in season five. Jacob’s descendants carry the line of David and this is the family tree that includes Jesus Christ, the Good Shepard (Christian Shepard.) Who knows how any of this will play in the final season, but it all offers lots of opportunity for discussion. SOURCE: ABC LOST MESSAGE BOARDS

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

This is the fourth part of our LOST homeschool curriculum – The Games Losties Play! (PART I – THEMES is here.) Games play an important symbolic part in the series, and we may even find they’ve provided clues to the strategic storytelling in LOST.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

Backgammon
Clearly the most symbolic game in the series is backgammon, an ancient game that is believed to have originated in Mesopotamia in the Persian empire (present day Iran, Iraq, and Syria.) It is the oldest known recorded board game in history and its “light” and “dark” playing pieces provide the most frequently discussed theme in the show. Locke teaches Walt how to play the game in the pilot episode, and references to the light and dark imagery have continued throughout the five seasons of the show. (We bought a vintage Backgammon set on eBay for $7.)

RISK
In the photo above you see my kids playing RISK with the neighbors. This strategic war game is definitely a classic, as is evidenced by the Losties playing it in the 1970’s Dharma barracks in Season 4. The first five seasons seem to be leading up to a war in season six, so I expect to see parallels with Risk in the coming year. The gameboard set we found also as the “Castle Risk” version on the backside of the board – this wasn’t introduced until the 80’s or post-Dharma in the show.

CHESS
Locke defeats the computer chess game in season three, and Hurley plays the ghost of Eko in season four. Our kids have been playing chess for about five years, so this is already a mainstay in their game repertoire.

For more fun references to games in LOST, please visit Lostpedia.

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

This is the fourth part of our LOST homeschool curriculum – symbolism (PART I – THEMES is here.) Strong references to mythology and other symbols have opened much opportunity to include symbols in the series, making it a very interesting show to analyze.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

Here are a few of the general points of discussion related to symbols – they often tie in directly to the themes I discussed in part one of this series:

Light/Dark – Throughout the series, you’ll find situations where two opposing forces are represented one dark and one light. Examples of dark/light include the backgammon game and the clothing worn by Jacob and the other man in the Season 5 finale. Interestingly, Rose and Bernard also represent light/dark skin color, but are both viewed as “good”, and not really opposites.

Rain — Rain is a frequent occurrence in Lost, usually supporting dramatic effect and accompanying significant scenes or plot twists.

Music/sound — Michael Giacchino’s musical score for Lost makes use of numerous recurring leitmotifs and themes, often with associations to specific characters, locations, or actions. (Source: LostPedia) Other noises are also symbolic of the Smoke Monster – sometimes a metallic/growling noise, sometimes like a scraping chain.

Babies/children — Many storylines include babies and children, and in general there’s a mystery regarding children on the island.

Pregnancy — There are numerous problems with pregnancy on the island, and I think this theme will continue into season 6.

Numbers — Numerology is strong in this series, and you’ll find the same numbers used over and over, in one form or another. Most stem from the “cursed” numbers Hurley used in the lottery: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Apparently, these numbers also represent the core to the Valenzetti Equation, a mathematical formula designed to predict the end of humanity. Lostpedia is an excellent reference for all LOST numerology.

Symbols that seem to have been a point of focus so far, but I’m not sure for what reason:

Rings – Rose’s wedding ring, Sun’s wedding ring, and Charlie’s ring.

Shoes – They appear randomly, and in many episodes.

Kate’s Horse — Possibly the spirit of her dead father? Or her guide?

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Please share other symbols that you’ve noticed in the show.

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

This is the second part of our LOST homeschool curriculum – an ongoing discussion about character development and arc (PART I – THEMES is here.) We’re keeping notes (a very large chart) on the main characters and how they develop and how our feelings change about them as we watch the series.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

We’re charting the development on these major characters. If you’ve watched the show, you know we’ll continue to add a LOT as we continue through the series. Currently we’re watching season 2.

Jack – Hero, determined, leader, doctor, believer in free-will and science.
He’s one of the more apparently honest characters, although you never know in LOST. We will learn about his personal demons as we go through the series. With the best of intentions, he often makes promises he can’t keep. Possible character arc throughout the series — a move toward faith.

John Locke — Weak/strong, blind-faith/abandoned-faith, confident/frustrated, Yoda/whiner, “special”/not “special”
Conflicted character who seems to be given a new lease on life on the island. The opposite of Jack, Locke believes everything is predestined, and he’s carrying out his purpose. Locke’s character is apparently confident and in-charge one minute, and whiny and desperate the next. His manic flip-flopping makes one wonder if he’s actually two people. Character arc — a move from his pathetic off-island self to the powerful, purposeful Locke we see on the island. But there’s much more to Locke than we even understand by season five.

Kate — Fugitive, murderer, liar, impulsive – acts without considering consequences.
Kate is misguided – acting sometimes with the best intentions, but with disastrous results for the people she loves. Her impulsivity causes her to tend to do the exact opposite of what her allies wanted her to do, thinking it’s her best course of action. She is often caught in a decision about who to follow. We recognize a good side to Kate, that doesn’t seem masked. We witness Kate seeming sure of herself, and then distraught when she discovers she’s completely wrong about something. She’s loyal, a good listener and seems genuinely concerned about others. Character arc — remains to be seen. Possibly progress toward better decision-making?

Sawyer — Con-man, tortured soul, orphan, guarded.
Sawyer seems to do everything in his power to make people hate him – and he’s succeeding. When his guard is down, though, we see that he’s ashamed of his “bad” past, but doesn’t feel there’s anything he can do about it. He resigns himself to the role he’s chosen. (Character arc — showing the good that’s been in him all along — free will can impact destiny.)

Sayid — Soldier, torturer, murderer, tech-wiz, lie-detector
One of the more honest and predictable characters, it’s easy to like Sayid despite the fact that he consistently does horrible things to people. His moral compass is different than mine, but I think he usually does things with the best of intentions – sometimes regretting his actions afterward, other times not. Character arc — continual progression toward becoming a non-murderer, with continual regression to the role he knows so well.

Jin – Husband, hit-man, poor-fisherman-turned-hig-society, outsider
Sun – Dissatisfied wife, secret-keeper, envious of Americans
These two characters develop in unison, even when they’re not together. We see Sun prepared to leave Jin for doing horrible things, supposedly in the name of their marriage. Although both seem to want to be rescued, as time passes it almost seems like crashing on the island was a blessing to them both. Character arc — rediscovering the true love they had for each other when they married.

I would love to read your own LOST character arc comments – please share!

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature

We’re doing some summer homeschooling (plan is here) and a large part of it centers around the analysis of the TV series, LOST.

NOTE: If you watch the series, this will all make sense to you. If you don’t watch the series, I highly recommend it, but you have to watch it from the beginning – we purchased the first 4 seasons on DVD. You can’t just watch a couple episodes and have any understanding at all. My series here includes only the simplest of the discussion points. For in depth LOST analysis, please visit the message boards or Lostpedia.

These are the discussions we’re having as a family, with regards to the show. We’re currently watching Season 2.

Free Will/Choice - the “Losties” are constantly faced with decisions, and their choices usually have consequences.

Destiny/Fate – certain characters use these words often, and some seem resigned to a predestined journey, while others believe life’s what they make it.

Faith - often confused with the “destiny/fate” discussion, but “faith” is it’s own theme in the show. Faith in a higher power, faith in other characters, faith in self.

Good/Evil – a much easier explanation for much of what happens on the island, but doubtful it will be that simple in the end.

Purpose - ties in with the destiny/fate discussion, but also free-will. Sometimes we discover our true purpose when something happens to us. Sometimes it’s when we make a choice.

I would love your comments about the themes in LOST. I’ll continue the LOST curriculum series throughout the summer as we explore all the writing components in this outstanding show. Next in my series will be Character Development/Arc

LOST Homeschool Lessons Series:
Themes
Character Arc
Symbols
Games!
History/Literature