Stephen King's "The Stand" has been officially
stated as having a strong influence on the writing of LOST. I think fans who
read Stephen King's books have known this for a while. But I do not think that
"The Stand" is the only book that has had an influence in the
storyline of Lost. In fact I can go thru a jacket cover and find a long list of
books that can be connected to some one or some storyline in Lost. In fact, a
fun exercise might be after watching each episode of Lost to find connections
to something Stephen King has written. That is one of the things that I want to do on my new board when it
opens. I just had the domain name changed. It is now www.doorway815.com. So if you
bookmarked the old long address, please change it to the new one. If you get a 404 it is because I haven't
copied the files over yet - I've been writing this. <g>
Actually, I've been "unwriting" this. I am like an untalented Stephen King. When I
get started I keep going. I'd have a
book ready by next week, except no one would read it. It is cutting things down to post size that
gives me major problems. So if you think
this is long, you should see what it would have been. rofl.
So I decided that today I would not post about "The
Stand" or any of King's books except the Dark Tower series. And I decided to keep it to only
the 4 main human characters (sorry, Oy) and as much as possible to avoid
spoilers - and with one possible exception I think I did. And I also decided,
as much as possible, to deal with one issue - trust.
Roland certainly has trust issues with those he calls from
earth into Midland.
To sum up hundreds of pages in one sentence, lol, Roland is on a centuries long
journey from one end of his "Where" called Midland (island) in
pursuit of the man in black who had had an affair with his mother, a rogue who
used women and men to suit his purposes and left behind broken families back in
the days before the "world passed on" This affair ultimately led to his mother's death, his father's disgrace
and the loss of his wealth (and others) and Roland being sent out into the
world to become a man. (Hail Sawyer)
When Roland finally catches up to this man in black (black and white play a big
part thru this epic too), he seeks answers about why the man destroyed his
family, about the meaning of life (lol) and about "the boy" Roland
had met recently in his travels. So the man in black gives Roland a Tarot reading.
("Raised by another"). More background: Roland had won the lost and
abandoned boy's trust and his own bitter barriers had begun to drop as he
started to feel love for the boy, like a father to a son, only to be lured into
sacrificing the boy to his death. The boy is Jake and more about Jake and his
connections to Walt later, as well as the terrible cost of "trust
issues" that both Roland and Jake had to pay. As Jake fell to his death,
he called out in anger that "There are other world's than this one' and
indeed there are. There are many worlds
and parallel lives are explored in the Dark Tower series and in many of King's books. I also believe that we will see some
evidence of our losties discovering they have other worlds, too)
Anyways, back to the introduction of the main characters in
the Dark Tower saga. In his Tarot card reading, Roland learns - among many other
things dealing with parallel worlds - that he will "draw" 3
companions and that they are necessary in order for him to even have a chance
of reaching his quest - the Dark
Tower. The Dark Tower is the axis on which all the worlds, parallel worlds, alternate worlds and
worlds of all times spin. It is where
doorways and shafts and connections between worlds and selves are made. It is
also decaying and falling apart. That is why the world has moved on and time is
warped and the lands have changed. It
has been felt in Midland more than on Earth at that point. But
that is another link to Lost, to Insomnia and to so many others of King's books
and off track for this introduction.
After his reading and palaver (talking) Roland falls
asleep. It appears he may have slept for
over a hundred years. But, like in Lost,
some mysteries remain mysteries. When he
awakens, the world has passed on even more and everything is different. Roland finds himself on a beach, lost and
under attack by a new monster called a lobstrocity. Roland is the last of the Gunslingers - which
in his world were comparable to the knights of days gone by in our world. They were honorable and true - supposedly-
and held in high respect. Like our
knights they were expected to be good with weapons - only they used guns
instead of knives. But they were beyond excellent in their gun shooting skills.
Seems we might have some knight and gunslinger wannabees on Lost, lol. The point now is that the lobstrocities bite
off several of Roland's fingers in his right hand, so he has to learn to rely
on others and not just the gun. Roland
is not happy about this. Not just because of losing his vocation by which he
has defined himself and not only by the deformity. He has, shall we say, trust issues.
<g>. He is a man of few words - a
big man - an excellent tracker - and a firm believer in "Ka" - for
the purpose of keeping it very short right now, KA is the belief that
everything happens for a reason. Everything that happens is meant to happen.
The cards told Roland he would come to a door on the beach
and meet the first person he would draw into his team or ka-tet (a group of
people bound strongly together in all ways - growing to the point of being able
to know the safety of each other at all times even if separated (a Rose... and
the Rose is a symbol of all that is good in the Tower series)... The first person is Eddie Dead. When Roland comes to the door just standing
there in the sand with the words "The Prisoner" on it, he opens it
and finds himself inside of Eddie's body. He is aware of the separate selves in the one body. Eddie is not at
first. He just feels strange thoughts.
Eddie is on an airplane. He is a heroin addict. (You all, everybody). He is carrying and the stewardess suspects
him. She goes and gets the second pilot.
As the plane lands (not crashes <g>) Roland is aware that Eddie, who is a
prisoner of heroin is about to become escorted by the law off of the plane and
become another type of prisoner. (Charlie meet Kate). Eddie became a heroin addict like his big
brother Henry. Eddie covered for Henry,
but the siren song of heroin got him in the end, just like it got his
brother. His brother was also into the
mob... small time stuff. But the mob
loves people like the Dean brothers. They used them quite efficiently. But they spoke a mixture of Italian and American, not Korean. ;/
A lot of ground work is laid here for the rest of the story
but that can wait. It is interesting to
see how Roland compares our world to his. lol. Here he is the stranger in a strange land. Later, back in midworld, in separate bodies,
it is Eddie's turn.
Here Roland helps save Eddies life from the law and from
being shot. But Roland is seriously sick and in pain. Eddie knows a few things about medicine (almost
as good as a year of med school) lol Roland considers "aspin" (he
can't quite pronounce aspirin) is a wonder drug, but the infection from the
wounds caused by the lobstrocities, turns Roland into a life of crime - In
trying to obtain antibiotics Eddie says he needs, they get into a shoot out
(parallels to a lady bank robber who wants a paper airplane?).
Back in midworld they nurse each other back to health. First
"old mean tall and ugly' as Eddie thinks of Roland takes care of Eddie as
goes thru withdrawal, literally carrying him along the beaches. Then Roland
starts to go septic and that is when they have their shoot out when they go one
more time back thru Eddie's door to get the antibiotics and come back to
midworld where the door disappears.
The next door they come to in the door of Odetta
Holmes. Odetta is very interesting and
could be many people on lost. Odetta is
a very rich and pampered black woman who is in a wheelchair. She was pushed in
front of a train in NYC in the early 1960s and the train ran over her legs. The
man who pushed her plays a bigger part in the story (everything happens for a
reason). She lost both her legs from
above the knee as a young teenager but always hated her handicap and refused to
give in to it. A proud and beautiful
black woman she marched along with many others just as if she had feet in Alabama and Washington and other places. She also had another very different secret side to
herself. So secret she didn't know this
part of her existed. Detta Walker was
her name. She was street smart and
vulgar and had many trust issues, especially against white men. She was quick with
a weapon and could fire it well.
.... I am writing too much now so I am just going to lay it
out, without explanation. Throughout the book, this woman becomes a third
personality who calls herself Susannah and is a combination of both Detta and
ODetta. She falls in love with Eddie
Dean and they get married by their own vows. Roland, as a gunslinger, can perform marriages and other justice of the
peace type things. That is what he is
sworn to do - keep the peace, even in smaller ways (small as compared to saving
the axis of the worlds from destruction).
Anyway, think of the women on Lost.
- She is rich and pampered, and Daddy's girl
- She falls deeply in love with a man of another race
- She is a felon and has been arrested for good crimes like
marching in Alabama
and using a white bus and has been arrested for real crimes likes stealing
- She has a baby
outside of wedlock (long story and not done to betray Eddie but to save young
Jake, but still gets pregnant out of wedlock. It is imperative that she raise the baby as much as possible, which
isn't much but is important (to give away more would be to reveal too many
spoilers in the book). So just think has baby and is not married to the baby's
father
- She is very strong
and becomes an expert at gun shooting and in using a special weapon of a town
that they defend from beasts that come and steal children later in the story
- She becomes the first woman gunslinger. She is a lady on
both sides of the law
- She is psychic and can conjure up things in her mind and
transmit and receive. She has a strong healer's faith
- She knows midwifery and learns to heal
- Because of certain events, although she does many good
things, she does not feel worthy to go near the Rose when the group comes upon
it
- She also went thru part of her life very quiet and meek -
a dormouse woman
And we can not forget this connection to a man - Locke. She has lost her legs. Yet in several parallel worlds which she
travels she can walk.
One more thing for right now... The Black and White thing. During most of her pregnancy she has
legs. She has black skin, but her legs
have white skin.
Jake, Oh I wish I could get into Jake, but Jake will have to
wait. But I can't leave him out
entirely.
Like in most of King's books, there is a hero who is a
preadolescent boy. He is very gifted with "the touch" and knows
things. He has trust issues with Roland
who let him fall to his death, but not in learning to trust Roland again, but
to trust his own memories. Children are so often the victims of adults they
love.
His earth parents ignore him. They are wealthy and travel a
lot. His parents are afraid of him. Does this sound like Walt and his mother
and the man he thought was his father?
Jake adopts, or rather, is adopted by, a stray billybumbler,
the closest equivalent in midworld of a dog. Jake calls him Oy. The psychic
bond between them is one of the most endearing parts of the story. The billy
bumbler was kicked out of his tribe and hurt and left to die. Jake was ignored by his parents and left to
die for all they knew in his world (New York) He was betrayed by Roland
(although Roland almost went insane over this, and as happy as he was for redemption
and reunion there was always the mystery of what would Roland choose if he had
to choose again between the boy he thought of as his son and the Dark
Tower.) They were both wounded souls and
they healed each other. There is nothing one would not do for the other. And they knew each other's state even when
separated.
There is a lot of
Walt and Michael with Jake and Roland. They are separated with an act committed willingly by the adult (though
Michael's was a move of consideration and love (I think) and Roland's was
not. They are reunited. It is tough getting on solid ground again.
Like Walt, Jake is stolen almost out of Roland's hands by pirates (land
pirates, but still pirates). Roland and
Michael are obsessed with getting the boy back at all costs. Roland however is
a trained stalker and gunslinger, so is successful in finding the boy in a
timely manner. Not without Oy's help, however. In fact, it is Oy who finds Jake and then Roland does the shooting to
free Jake. Shannon used Vincent to find Michael. I wonder
if Michael will do the same.
Finally, there is Roland. He was lost and stranded on a beach. He was attacked by monsters. He has had the woman he loved murdered. His
mother was seduced by a womanizing hustler who destroyed his family. He is an
official of the law. He is a
criminal. He has advice on everything
and a parable or short story about anything. Yet he is a man of few words. When
we meet him he does not want to be around people, other than the man who
seduced his mother so he can get revenge. He fails to get vengeance.
He is an expert tracker. He knows everything about survival in all kinds of climates (he has been
walking or riding on a mule for centuries when we meet him). He trusts completely in Ka - "everything
happens for a reason" Everything happens as it should and when it
should"
He has been a prisoner and jailed. He has jailed others or
shot them as a legal guardian of the peace. He is a healer of souls and knows
much about medicine in his world.
He is greeted as royalty by some. He is scorned by those evil factions he
opposes.
He needs to be constantly on the run. He is obsessed and has an addictive
personality, although what he is addicted to is the achievement of a goal.
He becomes involved with setting up a major corporation by
traveling into the past. He does this
for both noble and not so noble
He has lived a long life and he is lost in his journey.
There is so much more I want to connect with this series and
Lost. I can be very specific. Yet there is the spoiler to consider and how
to work book spoilers in together with Lost spoilers is confusing. I am working
on it.
The more I work on comparing the Dark Tower series to Lost, the more I see comparisons with other books by King. Like in Lost flashbacks, characters show up
in each others stories. Especially in
this saga, the bulk of King's work takes a part, some big, some small, but so
many. That is why I am opening a site
for exploring the many similarities and perhaps clue between King's writing and
the writing of the Lost team. I am
learning that putting together a board or a wiki site is not easy - it looks so
easy, doesn't it. lol. Not the same as putting together an easy html site. The
mechanics of it are overwhelming, and with the holidays taking time and family
coming in from across the country, I have fallen behind the opening I promised.
In listening to previous podcasts, especially from
LOSTCasts, I have realized how much other literature and media can be connected
to the Lost mythology (including ancient Greek mythology... as if the Greek
mythology came first, LOL) that I wanted to leave room for discussion on other
writers if people wanted it. This would
include song lyrics and poetry too, like on some threads in The Fuselage. So I changed the domain name today. The site is no longer www.doorways815-KingtoLost.com but is now www.doorway815.com.
I hope people will be interested. Maybe this huge post, or as much of it as the
LOSTCasts guys will be able to put up, can serve as a starting point until I
get my site up (I'd be glad to help share the bandwidth, like in hosting
pictures or a podcast or something).
So does anyone have a connection to anything Stephen King,
The Dark Tower and Lost to open up a discussion or explore?
I was not sure where else to post this....I am not sure what to call this but I went to google and typed in the numbers "48 15 16 23 42" and this was the first site that appeared on the list.
http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B40C005.htm
I dont really think that it means anything regarding the show but if you read through the verse it does seem to have some ties to the lost folks.
Posted by: lgdmem | December 29, 2005 at 08:52 AM
In the last book of the Dark Tower series....1) One of the characters starts talking about how an author can use input possible escape routes for his characters, before they need them, in order to avoid dead ends (I had a hard time really grasping the idea, so explaining it is even harder)...but anyways, the idea is called The God in the Machine....or, Deux Ex Machina. King even mentions it by that name. I never fully grasped the meaning behind that Lost episode title, but if you havent checked it out, I would..very interesting.
2)One of the characters mentions watership down...which was the book apparently Sawyer was reading on "Lost", not sure which episode.
Posted by: james r | January 03, 2006 at 04:23 PM
as to the bible things i wrote this ages ago and forgot to post it
k i dont no if anyone thought of this but the numbers may refer to parts within the bible i checked this and found that genisis provided soom similarities
4... adam and eve which people have mentioned and there sons offering blessing to god other than that im not sure about that one
8....refers to noahs ark and the clensing of the world purhapps something to do with the hanso foundation????
15........a man is childless and asks god why he hasnt given him an heir god asks him to do a task and will grant him a child but it will become inslaved...micheal and walt????
16.....continues the story of the childless man but he still hasnt had a child so his wife tells him to empregnate a maid he does the maid begins to hate the wife and is made to flee she meets an angel who tells her the following... He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers
claire and the baby
23.....is about a man and his wife the wife dies in an alien land and her husband has to burry her and wants to buy some land to do so(the woman dies of old age a hundred and something).....three possible things i can think off the old lady whose husband who was at the back of the plane is alive and they get reunited only for her to die, 2 sun dies, 3 its actually been turned into son and father with jack and his dad (if they ever find the body)
42.....refer to joseph (dream coat) this could refer to future plot aka someone gets taken by the bad guys maybe walt and then when some of the surviors are captured walt pretends not to know them but helps them
(i realy did write this before shannon got shot, and so after i thought that walt was trying to warn them but backwards talk stopped him from helping, maybe he doesnt realise that he's aware hes takin backwards
well thats a possibility what do you think????
Posted by: bobbydee | January 04, 2006 at 07:51 PM
k it missed a bit from 4,
adam and eve is the name given to the dead they find in the caves, we dont no their back story so may tie in with sacrifice
Posted by: bobbydee | January 04, 2006 at 07:56 PM
John, thank you very much for putting my thoughts on your site. I also want to thank everyone who emailed me their interest in my Stephen King / LOST forum. unfortuneately I will not be able to manage a forum at this time because of health problems. Maybe someday in the future, if Ka wills, but not now. However, if anyone else wants to start such a forum I would love to know about it so I could participate whenever I am able.
James, you provided a great teaser for King's Duex ex Machina concept and I second your recomendation for others to read the Dark Tower series to explore this further - and to explore many ways of looking at our so called realities from outside the box.
John, I certainly understand how easy it must be to make a mistake on "the air" - I can't even phone in a message without stuttering all over myself - lol. Again, thank you for putting my thoughts up on your forum. I can't wait for a new LOST episode next Wednesday - we all made it without too many casualties along the way . I am also looking forward to the next LOSTCasts' podcast. Finally we can get on with Life and Lost!
peace, Laura
Posted by: Laura | January 08, 2006 at 02:27 PM
Well, the passengers on the island are certainly Ka-Tet. You can see how much of their past intertwines; even when they didn't know to look for one another, they were always existing along the path of the beam and were travelers whose lives were bound by the song to play off one another along the road.
The Others could all be servants of the crimson king.
The "Technology Theme"... the one that King likes to write about.. the Government Ops Center... a la Dream Catcher...etc...(there's a more official name for it, but it escapes me)... That's certainly in Lost in abundance.
We don't know the purpose of the hatch and the directives in the computer... Is that a center for breaking? Does entering that code each week fulfil the requirements, almost like the main character in "Everything's Eventual", a short story from a like titled collection which plays a significant role in the Tower series? Is the hatch itself a miniature Blue Heaven?
It would be interesting to search for the number 19 in lost.
Personally, I don't see the consious effort on the part of the writers to make this work, but I do enjoy the excercise in extrapolating areas of likeness.
Here's to hoping that one of the tailies starts throwing plates. Come come comealla...
ism
Ian S. Mizel
Long Days and Pleasant Nights
Posted by: Ian Mizel | January 11, 2006 at 10:58 PM
you are stoopid
Posted by: tom | January 17, 2006 at 05:50 PM
wow when i read this article i thought how strange it was that all of the things happening in LOST came from some of his other books and if you watch the show and then read this article you can see the similarities. this article really gets you thinking!! great job
Posted by: megan | January 21, 2006 at 12:24 PM
read all dark tower trilogy
got to agree there are ALOT of interesting connections to roland and his ka tet ~i heard that there might be as many as another six serises? to lost seven in all~ with there being seven books to dark tower
do you think we might be jumping ahead a little??
Posted by: matt | January 31, 2006 at 07:13 AM
Laura what happened to your site?
I thought this could have been really interesting to see!
Posted by: ChrisLav | February 08, 2006 at 12:13 AM
The Hatch=The Dogan??
Posted by: Paul Offelohe | February 14, 2006 at 05:37 AM
The site???
This is a fascinating idea.
The fact that Roland's Ka-tet visits the world of The Stand and others plays nicely in the 'lost' story.
Note that you can find 'the walking dude' or 'the man in black' AKA Randall Flagg in many of Kings books. who is the dark man in Lost?
Does Locke = Roland in this analogy?
My wife is still convinced Locke is an ‘other’ …....
Posted by: Nitsan | February 17, 2006 at 01:31 PM
I was wondering if I was the only person that made a connection between Lost and King's Dark Tower series. Apparently I am not alone. Just wanted to point out that Walt(seems to have physic abilities) could be a breaker. The others could be servants of the Crimson King. The Island could be a faciity where the breakers are doing their breaking. Maybe, Maybe not, but if true I hope Roland shows up.
Posted by: Casey Vaughan | September 22, 2006 at 12:42 AM
Nice links to the dark tower..
There are other links in " From a Buick 8 " and a hugh link to The dark tower in " Hearts in Atlantis"
Posted by: Osiris_set | October 02, 2006 at 04:19 PM
I have been a longtime fan of the Dark Tower series, and have seen connections to LOST since the show's premier. But after last night, I am convinced the writers of the show are taking so much from the books.
Try this on for size...The Others might be Breakers of some sort. I mean come ON! Did their compound not remind any of you of Blue Heaven???
And if they are Breaker type people, that would explain why they are so interested in Walt...and why they are taking blood samples from the plane people...
Posted by: HeatherE | October 05, 2006 at 02:46 PM
I love how you all have correlated the dark tower series into the lost series. The dark tower is one of my favorite series of all time, and the fact that these books permeate through almost ALL of stephen's novels is fascinating.
Who do you all believe to be the man in black? Henry Gale? The island = the Dark Tower?
Talk to me!
Posted by: detta/odetta | October 05, 2006 at 07:26 PM
19. As we know, the most important number in the Dark Tower series.
The date the plane crashed was 9-22-2004.
9+2+2+2+4 = 19.
All things are 19.
Coincidence?
Posted by: msdestynie | October 07, 2006 at 03:52 AM
4 8 15 16 23 42:
4+15=19
42-23=19
Posted by: Virtual Satyr | October 11, 2006 at 07:33 AM
Oh yeah....here is a big piece of the Dark Tower/Lost puzzle:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6380/3581/1600/balloon.jpg
Posted by: Virtual Satyr | October 11, 2006 at 08:05 AM
Tonite's show had more SK connections (after last week's inclusion of Carrie, more subtle). The whole reveal of the Sox winning the series was vintage SK and from DT7. SK's son's name is Ben BTW.
Posted by: Randall Flagg | October 11, 2006 at 11:14 PM
Just to note that Stephen King was directly referenced in the first episode of the third season.
In the book club, they were talking about a Stephen King novel - of which you can clearly see during the earthquake (although slow-motion helped confirm this). However, the title of the book is obscured.
The front cover is in blue with a female on the front.
I'm not too hot on my King - but at a guess Misery or Carrie?
Posted by: Neil from Salisbury UK | October 12, 2006 at 05:58 PM
It was Carrie that they were reading.
Posted by: Virtual Satyr | October 13, 2006 at 08:08 AM
OMG! I finally found you! I've been a fan of the dt/lost connection since the first season. I've held onto my theory in the face of total isolation.
I was thinking about the faith vs. science angle. In dt isn't this represented by the decayed machinery? After the prim receded, the Great Old Ones lost faith in the magic and propped it up w/ machinery. Now the magic is gone and the machines are dying.
Thanks for being here!
Posted by: mortrisha | October 13, 2006 at 07:32 PM
Jack Sawyer is the Main Charater in two of Stephen Kings Books the Tailsman and Black HOuse
Posted by: Dave Willborn | October 18, 2006 at 12:11 AM
Anyone catch the bunny in a cage with the blue 8 on it? It's from On Writing near the beginning. In the book, it is supposed to be on a table and such, but still, who randomly thinks of a bunny with a blue 8 on it? (it looked dark blue on my TV, not black)
Posted by: Rissa | October 26, 2006 at 05:02 PM