More thoughts on "The Third Policeman"
Here are some more theories I came up with.
This passage jumped out at me when I was reading on the bus today.
...you cannot think of it or try to make it the subject of a little idea because you will hurt your box with the excruciation of it. (TTP, page 68)
It was the referring to the brain or mind as "your box" that got my attention. This brings to mind some interesting theories, especially in regards to Locke being referred to as "box man" and all the boxes that appear on Lost.
Locke
If we accept the box as a metaphor for the mind, then the designation "box man" is even more appropriate since Locke has a way of getting in people's heads and knowing their secrets. He enjoys playing mind games and "opens people's boxes" so to speak by assisting them with letting go of the thing- be it an addiction, a fear, an unhealthy relationship, self doubt, that is holding them back.
Boxes in general
The theory that the box is a metaphor for the mind dovetails nicely with my idea of why the boxes appear in various episodes. As I said in an earlier post, I thought the boxes symbolize a secret or something hidden in the mind of their owners. They are a physical metaphor for the innermost hidden self or the soul. I've been thinking about it, and all the characters who had boxes in their homes or offices could conceivably have something to hide or some deep dark secret.
The nesting boxes of decreasing size
The progressively smaller boxes one inside of another could symbolize the layers of the human psyche or mind, getting smaller as they get nearer to the core of our being. I kind of think of this as stripping away the layers of artifice and pretense and exposing what or who we really are. I thought immediately of the matryoshka, or Russian nesting dolls when I read this part.
This applies to Lost in that the survivors are slowly being stripped of some of their "masks" if you will, the things they hide behind as they spend time on the island. For some like Sawyer and Ana-Lucia it is happening slowly, but it is happening. The lostaways are learning who they really are and exposing their true selves. The boxes in the book appear to go on to infinity, getting microscopically small. I don't think this invalidates my theory since no one knows the depths of the human psyche or soul...it could conceivably go on infinitely. The reach of the human mind is definately infinite. We've only explored the tip of the iceberg. (we only use about 10% of our brains).
People becoming bicycles
This could be used as a metaphor for some of Dharma's experiments- if they are doing cloning or genetic research of some kind. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of eugenics program underway on the island. That would be a logical first stage if they are trying to build a utopian society.
I hope this isn't too metaphysical or scattered. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around some of the questions raised by the book.
This passage jumped out at me when I was reading on the bus today.
...you cannot think of it or try to make it the subject of a little idea because you will hurt your box with the excruciation of it. (TTP, page 68)
It was the referring to the brain or mind as "your box" that got my attention. This brings to mind some interesting theories, especially in regards to Locke being referred to as "box man" and all the boxes that appear on Lost.
Locke
If we accept the box as a metaphor for the mind, then the designation "box man" is even more appropriate since Locke has a way of getting in people's heads and knowing their secrets. He enjoys playing mind games and "opens people's boxes" so to speak by assisting them with letting go of the thing- be it an addiction, a fear, an unhealthy relationship, self doubt, that is holding them back.
Boxes in general
The theory that the box is a metaphor for the mind dovetails nicely with my idea of why the boxes appear in various episodes. As I said in an earlier post, I thought the boxes symbolize a secret or something hidden in the mind of their owners. They are a physical metaphor for the innermost hidden self or the soul. I've been thinking about it, and all the characters who had boxes in their homes or offices could conceivably have something to hide or some deep dark secret.
The nesting boxes of decreasing size
The progressively smaller boxes one inside of another could symbolize the layers of the human psyche or mind, getting smaller as they get nearer to the core of our being. I kind of think of this as stripping away the layers of artifice and pretense and exposing what or who we really are. I thought immediately of the matryoshka, or Russian nesting dolls when I read this part.
This applies to Lost in that the survivors are slowly being stripped of some of their "masks" if you will, the things they hide behind as they spend time on the island. For some like Sawyer and Ana-Lucia it is happening slowly, but it is happening. The lostaways are learning who they really are and exposing their true selves. The boxes in the book appear to go on to infinity, getting microscopically small. I don't think this invalidates my theory since no one knows the depths of the human psyche or soul...it could conceivably go on infinitely. The reach of the human mind is definately infinite. We've only explored the tip of the iceberg. (we only use about 10% of our brains).
People becoming bicycles
This could be used as a metaphor for some of Dharma's experiments- if they are doing cloning or genetic research of some kind. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of eugenics program underway on the island. That would be a logical first stage if they are trying to build a utopian society.
I hope this isn't too metaphysical or scattered. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around some of the questions raised by the book.
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