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[[Image:Thethirdpoliceman.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien]] |
[[Image:Thethirdpoliceman.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien]] |
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| − | The Third Policeman was written by Irish author [[Flann O'Brien]] (a pseudonym for Brian O'Nolan). |
+ | '''The Third Policeman''' was written by Irish author [[Flann O'Brien]] (a pseudonym for Brian O'Nolan). |
This book is on Desmond's bed in the Hatch,in the episode 203 - Orientation. |
This book is on Desmond's bed in the Hatch,in the episode 203 - Orientation. |
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| − | + | The Third Policeman is a story about academic obsession, a fable about crime and punishment, and, according to some, it is even a commentary on Einsteinian physics. |
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The protagonist is tragically orphaned and later sent to boarding-school where he first becomes acquainted with the work of the bizarre philosopher, '''De Selby''' (In lost the name of the scientist behind the mysterious [[Dharma initiative]] is named [[Degroot]]). |
The protagonist is tragically orphaned and later sent to boarding-school where he first becomes acquainted with the work of the bizarre philosopher, '''De Selby''' (In lost the name of the scientist behind the mysterious [[Dharma initiative]] is named [[Degroot]]). |
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| − | Obsessed by the thoughts of |
+ | Obsessed by the thoughts of De Selby the protagonist sets out on a catastrophic to publish a definitive commentary on De Selby. To fund this ambition he plans to murder and rob a rich man. |
'''De Selby''' is a natural sceptic of all known laws of physics, who cavalierly dismisses the evidence of human experience. He contends, for example, that “the permanent hallucination known conventionally as 'life' ”is an effect of constantly walking in a particular direction around a sausage-shaped earth, and that night results from “accumulations of ''''black air'''' ”.(The black smoke in lost) |
'''De Selby''' is a natural sceptic of all known laws of physics, who cavalierly dismisses the evidence of human experience. He contends, for example, that “the permanent hallucination known conventionally as 'life' ”is an effect of constantly walking in a particular direction around a sausage-shaped earth, and that night results from “accumulations of ''''black air'''' ”.(The black smoke in lost) |
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The protagonist finally gets hold of his victims' black box only to discover that the box does not contain money, but '''“omnium”''' , a substance once described as: “the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel of everything”, and which is literally everything one desires. |
The protagonist finally gets hold of his victims' black box only to discover that the box does not contain money, but '''“omnium”''' , a substance once described as: “the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel of everything”, and which is literally everything one desires. |
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| − | The |
+ | The former holder of the box has been using it to take the muck off his leggings and to boil his eggs just right, but naturally the narrator has more grandiose visions of his future omnipotence. |
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O'Brien's The Third Policeman the first two policemen share an underground structure with the narrator that is eerily similar to the Dharma Bunkers. Without spoiling the ending, the narrator is being punished for his "bad" deeds. One can draw a parallel with this and the new idea that Islanders in danger of being taken by the Others are either "good" or "bad". Are the survivors from the front-end all being punished in much the same way that O'Brien's narrator is? |
O'Brien's The Third Policeman the first two policemen share an underground structure with the narrator that is eerily similar to the Dharma Bunkers. Without spoiling the ending, the narrator is being punished for his "bad" deeds. One can draw a parallel with this and the new idea that Islanders in danger of being taken by the Others are either "good" or "bad". Are the survivors from the front-end all being punished in much the same way that O'Brien's narrator is? |
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Revision as of 14:29, 4 March 2006
Cover of The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
The Third Policeman was written by Irish author Flann O'Brien (a pseudonym for Brian O'Nolan). This book is on Desmond's bed in the Hatch,in the episode 203 - Orientation.
Written in 1940 but first published posthumously in 1967. The novel appeared to instant critical acclaim.
The Third Policeman is a story about academic obsession, a fable about crime and punishment, and, according to some, it is even a commentary on Einsteinian physics.
The protagonist is tragically orphaned and later sent to boarding-school where he first becomes acquainted with the work of the bizarre philosopher, De Selby (In lost the name of the scientist behind the mysterious Dharma initiative is named Degroot).
Obsessed by the thoughts of De Selby the protagonist sets out on a catastrophic to publish a definitive commentary on De Selby. To fund this ambition he plans to murder and rob a rich man.
De Selby is a natural sceptic of all known laws of physics, who cavalierly dismisses the evidence of human experience. He contends, for example, that “the permanent hallucination known conventionally as 'life' ”is an effect of constantly walking in a particular direction around a sausage-shaped earth, and that night results from “accumulations of 'black air' ”.(The black smoke in lost)
The protagonist finally gets hold of his victims' black box only to discover that the box does not contain money, but “omnium” , a substance once described as: “the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel of everything”, and which is literally everything one desires.
The former holder of the box has been using it to take the muck off his leggings and to boil his eggs just right, but naturally the narrator has more grandiose visions of his future omnipotence.
O'Brien's The Third Policeman the first two policemen share an underground structure with the narrator that is eerily similar to the Dharma Bunkers. Without spoiling the ending, the narrator is being punished for his "bad" deeds. One can draw a parallel with this and the new idea that Islanders in danger of being taken by the Others are either "good" or "bad". Are the survivors from the front-end all being punished in much the same way that O'Brien's narrator is?