Geek Locke

[D-Roc]

As a Locke fan, I always loved the fact that he's an 'everyman' - as he once said to Claire "I believe in many things". But even I was abit suprised to learn that he was a science geek when he was a teen. Not because it doesn't fit, but because he seems to have hidden that side of himself quite well - is it because of the bullying? (speaking of which, how sad to see that young Locke was bullied as a child/teen..and even sadder that it continued into adulthood with Randy/Cooper etc)

Locke's main identity conflict seems to be over whether he is "hunter" or a "farmer"..now i'm really interested in discovering Locke the scientist!

[firebreathingfishies]

He was a kind of reluctant scientist though. Could be why he feels the way he does towards Jack; perhaps because he was once kind of 'blinkered' by science?
But yeah I agree that it's sad that the bullying has kind of always been with him. I think they made that point stand out; what with the little girl hitting the game board when he was a kid, then being stuffed in a locker, and then you could almost say it was a form of bullying when Abbadon left him at the top of the stairs. It's kind of a far cry from the moderately relaxed and laid back Locke we see on the island.

[Kiowa Warrior]

Aw bless poor bullied Young/Teen/Adult Locke It's wonderful that even after going through all that he has, Locke has never become a bully or an overtly violent person himself. Unlike our good friend Jack say...

Yeah Locke could have made a consious decision to lean more towards faith rather than science, since if all he got for his science love was to be trapped in a locker you can't blame him for wanting to avoid more of it. He could have associated science with, literally, feeling trapped and helpless, and so was either pushed or went willingly or a combination of the two towards faith and a more open minded approach to things.

[D-Roc]

Originally Posted by firebreathingfishies

He was a kind of reluctant scientist though. Could be why he feels the way he does towards Jack; perhaps because he was once kind of 'blinkered' by science?

Oh man, that's an awesome point! i forgot about the whole man of faith/science thing in relation to this! This is seriously awesome..it really adds further depth to the conflict between Locke and Jack. We've seen that Jack once had 'faith' (after he fixed Sarah) - albeit, fleeting faith..and now we've seen that Locke was once a 'scientist' (well, kinda)..so they've both 'kinda' walked in each others shoes.. kinda..

But yeah I agree that it's sad that the bullying has kind of always been with him. I think they made that point stand out; what with the little girl hitting the game board when he was a kid, then being stuffed in a locker, and then you could almost say it was a form of bullying when Abbadon left him at the top of the stairs. It's kind of a far cry from the moderately relaxed and laid back Locke we see on the island.

Ah, yeah i forgot about the little girl (i'm surprised they didn't make her Jeanie, his foster sister btw).

Oh dudette, don't get me started on the Abbadon scene..that was pants wetting! Might have to start another thread for that

[D-Roc]

Originally Posted by Kiowa Warrior

Aw bless poor bullied Young/Teen/Adult Locke It's wonderful that even after going through all that he has, Locke has never become a bully or an overtly violent person himself. Unlike our good friend Jack say...

It says alot about the measure of the man!

Yeah Locke could have made a consious decision to lean more towards faith rather than science, since if all he got for his science love was to be trapped in a locker you can't blame him for wanting to avoid more of it. He could have associated science with, literally, feeling trapped and helpless, and so was either pushed or went willingly or a combination of the two towards faith and a more open minded approach to things.

Yeah, i guess he never felt quite 'right' being a man of science..he felt marginalised and shunned, i think. He's always been reaching for something to give him meaning..and i guess faith and the belief in the mysterious, gives him that 'hope'. Good point - science seemingly made him feel trapped (great locker analogy too)..whereas faith was perhaps more 'suggestive' whilst offering him that measure of comfort that maybe there was something better around the corner.

After Boone died, he wept and he wept..he slammed his fist against the glass door of the hatch, and his faith in 'something' allowed him to see a sign out of something which someone like Jack would only have seen a coincidence.

I love Locke

[Him]

I feel the foundation for geek-Locke was always there. In 'Hearts and Minds', when he's giving his compass away, he points out that he wasn't 'the most popular kid', which makes his conversation with Sayid become rather awkward. Locke was rather geeky in Walkabout too, though not in an academic way, considering he was roleplaying at 'Risk'.

Yeah Locke could have made a consious decision to lean more towards faith rather than science, since if all he got for his science love was to be trapped in a locker you can't blame him for wanting to avoid more of it. He could have associated science with, literally, feeling trapped and helpless, and so was either pushed or went willingly or a combination of the two towards faith and a more open minded approach to things.

I totally agree.
His rant on his interests contradicted his 'choices' as a young boy too — if what he said was really true, surely he would have picked the baseball glove? It felt to me as if he trying in vain to conform to society's expectations.

I think he was bullied and shunned because of his personality, and not his interests. It's all rather tragic given how naive and harmless he seemed when he was younger.

[D-Roc]

Good points Him - Locke has shown "geeky" tendancies before (on the island).

Regarding the glove..this probably isn't useful but the phrase "If the glove doesn't fit" came into my mind (yes, i probably made that saying up). Perhaps young Locke just felt that the glove didn't fit, but the knife did?

Although one has to wonder - was young Locke trying to do what he thought was expected of him..or was her naturally inclined to the knife?

Does 'finding ones purpose' sometimes require one to fight against what feels right..and what about having the conviction to fight against what feels wrong?

I would love to know what was going through young Locke's mind has he considered the items laid out before him

[Kennindra47]

When the teacher was telling him that he couldn't be a jock or a superhero or a whatever, I was sitting eagerly awaiting the line and then when he shouted, "Don't tell me what I can't do", I was like WOOOOOOOOP lol

[Kiowa Warrior]

Originally Posted by D-Roc

Yeah, i guess he never felt quite 'right' being a man of science..he felt marginalised and shunned, i think. He's always been reaching for something to give him meaning..and i guess faith and the belief in the mysterious, gives him that 'hope'. Good point - science seemingly made him feel trapped (great locker analogy too)..whereas faith was perhaps more 'suggestive' whilst offering him that measure of comfort that maybe there was something better around the corner.

After Boone died, he wept and he wept..he slammed his fist against the glass door of the hatch, and his faith in 'something' allowed him to see a sign out of something which someone like Jack would only have seen a coincidence.

I love Locke

Yeah, it must have been quite a struggle really: on the one hand he may have known that science was his calling and he really did like it - it felt right for him to be in such a role - but on the other how can it feel right to be bullied and teased and made to feel miserable all the time? Is anything really worth it if it has a negative impact on the majority of your life?

He could have transferred some of the key qualities of being a good scientist - patience, dedication, an open mind as to new ideas and concepts - to a different lifestyle that doesn't involve the lab, so at heart he still has some of the core features that has always defined him, but he's made a consious decision to live his life by them in a different context.

Such a great scene that was! Even though it wasn't a personal sign from the Island, it still managed to restore in him his faith and reason to keep going which is always good...not to mention that it wasn't pointless, and he saved Desmond's life by banging on the hatch. Jack would probably have worn himself out crying to even get near the hatch!

I love him too

Originally Posted by Him

I feel the foundation for geek-Locke was always there. In 'Hearts and Minds', when he's giving his compass away, he points out that he wasn't 'the most popular kid', which makes his conversation with Sayid become rather awkward. Locke was rather geeky in Walkabout too, though not in an academic way, considering he was roleplaying at 'Risk'.

Yeah, I think he told Sayid that he was an equivilant of a Scout or something as well? If he knew that wasn't the coolest thing to be, maybe he still did it because he really did love hunting and all the outdoor stuff. Or maybe it was before his locker incident, and he gave that up as well as a result of it. Locke's geeky tendancies have never really gone: they may not be quite so obvious but he's always had them like you said...and alter on in life he tends to have a bit of a what, fascination is the word perhaps, or longing for, with regards to the Army/something military in nature, with the various decorations you see in his apartments.

I totally agree.
His rant on his interests contradicted his 'choices' as a young boy too — if what he said was really true, surely he would have picked the baseball glove? It felt to me as if he trying in vain to conform to society's expectations.

I think he was bullied and shunned because of his personality, and not his interests. It's all rather tragic given how naive and harmless he seemed when he was younger.

Yeah, when he said that he liked fishing and sports and all that it just seemed that he was trying harder to convince himself that his teacher. In a way you can understand that he wanted to conform, since he most likely didn't feel very comfortable with his foster family, and just wanted a bit of an easy life for a change.

Ah, Young Locke barely spoke a word to Richard and still carried out his test without being a pain or anything! Only to be abandoned by him and let down yet again...