Man of Morals, Man of Faith

As I continue to do this, it will become evident that I'm very much into the whole Jack vs. Locke, science vs. faith motif of Lost. Personally, I identify much more with Locke, though I by no means dislike Jack, as many fans seem to.

I just re-watched S2E1, "Man of Science, Man of Faith," last night. As one could obviously tell just from that title, that motif is dealt with even more explicitly than normal in this episode. Of course, the episode revolves around the mysterious hatch that they have just managed to open at the end of season 1. Jack and Locke were working together toward the goal of opening it, but we now see that they have entirely different motivations for doing so.

Jack's motivation: concern for the safety of himself and the rest of the Losties. The hatch could potentially turn out to be a shelter from some of the island's dangers (i. e. the monster, the Others, bad weather, etc.). Thus, when he sees that the ladder going into the hatch is broken, and that it would be impractical to try to get everyone down there, he decides they should all return to the beach. Essentially, Jack's concern is morals; he looks out for everyone because he believes it to be the ethical thing to do. (At least this is the way it seems on the surface, though there is plenty to cast some doubt on this, which I will talk about shortly.)

Locke goes along with Jack, but very hesitantly and only temporarily. Locke's motivations for wanting to enter the hatch are a bit harder to identify. For various (and, arguably, good) reasons, he believes that the Island itself led him to the hatch, and that it is part of his destiny to open it and enter into it. He seems to have never even entertained any thoughts of the potential practical benefits of the hatch. He just knows he's supposed to do it.

Once again, this comes down to an issue of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and of judging good and evil. When Locke decides to go against Jacks's decision and go back to the hatch that night, Jack asks him, "Do you really think that's the smartest thing to do right now, John?"

John answers, "I doubt it. In fact, you're right. The safest thing is to stay here -- wait for morning -- wait for these Others, to see if they show up -- wait for the brave folks on the raft to bring help -- but me, I'm tired of waiting." (Credit Lostpedia for the transcripts.)

Locke himself concedes that Jack's plan is good, smart, safe, and so on. But Locke isn't being motivated by the usual standards of wisdom or morality. It appears that his actions are the results of simple obedience. Obedience to what? one may ask, and that's what we're not sure about. But Hebrews 11:1 has some bearing here: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (NASB). Thus, were Locke to see exactly who (or what) is leading him towards his perceived destiny, that would be in conflict with the very nature of faith.

One of the ironies of this episode however is that there are hints that Jack may not being motivated by purely practical or ethical concerns. It seems that some past experiences may be biasing him against faith, miracles, the supernatural, etc. When they are about the leave the site of the hatch, Locke asks Jack why he doesn't want to go in. We never do get an answer though, as the scene immediately cuts to a Jack flashback, indicating that the answer to the question lies in Jack's past.

Through the flashbacks of this episode, we learn that Jack has seen at least one miracle before. He operated on a young woman named Sarah after her spine was crushed in a car accident. He's very honest with her at first, telling her that the chances she'll walk again are near none. As we see from a conversation with his dad, he's adamant about not giving people false hope. But when he sees that Sarah actually has given up all hope, he gets caught up in a moment of Quixotic heroism and promises her that he'll "fix her," which he seems to immediately regret. He does the surgery, and from what he can tell, he didn't keep his promise; her spine seems irreparable. To blow off some energy, he goes running up some stairs at a stadium when he runs into a man named Desmond. He relates the whole story to him, and Desmond questions Jack's lack of faith for a miracle. When Jack returns to the hospital, the miracle has actually taken place: Sarah has feeling in her legs.

So we see that there are some deeper issues here than mere "science vs. faith." Jack has apparently been confronted with evidence of something supernatural, yet he still doggedly denies it, rather than letting the evidence speak for itself. It seems to me that the faith Locke has intimidates Jack. The answer to the question Locke asks then, "Why don't you want to go down there, Jack?" is that all of Locke's talk about faith and destiny have caused Jack to fear that if he goes down there, he'll be confronted once again with things he doesn't want to believe. Then, the ultimate irony of course, is that it is the very same man who confronted him before about miracles, Desmond, who is in the hatch. Locke perceives that Desmond is part of the source of Jack's skepticism, when he asks Jack, "Is the reason you're so upset because he said he recognized you? Because that would be impossible." Once again, Jack's defences have gone up as he is confronted with something that he can't find a natural explanation for.

As we see with the antagonism between Jack and Locke, faith and the actions it motivates can often be (though not necessarily) in direct conflict with our sense of morality and the actions it motivates. In the world of Lost, it appears as though when this conflict occurs, the actions of faith must take precedence. From what we've seen so far, Locke appears to be on firmer ground than Jack, who avoids supernatural explanations on principle, rather than having an open mind to all the possibilities.

Another famous story in which obedience in faith has to take precedence over a man's natural sense of right and wrong is in the story of Abraham and Isaac, but I'll save that discussion for my next post.