Symbolism in The End [SPOILERS duh]

[beatriceblake]

Even though there's a lot that can be interpreted here, I think it's best that Handler was rather subtle about the overt Bible symbolism-- all he says is "The Incredibly Deadly Viper was offering the Baudelaire orphans an apple", rather than something like: Unless you were raised by devout devil-worshippers, you may be familiar with a story in which a snake offers a young woman an apple. All sorts of terrible things happen as a result of this, including murder and clothing made from fig leaves-- which only Esme Squalor might appreciate. But on this particular afternoon, quite the opposite was true...

Hee Antenora. That is funny :-) I agree that subtlety and examinations of religion go well together.

The Incredibly Deadly Viper is actually an agent of good in many ways. It is offering something that the Baudelaires need to stay alive. The truth is that they need the hybrid apples to suvive. Ishmael's lies will lead to their deaths from Medusoid Mycelium poisoning.

It is interesting to compare the Salinger story "Teddy" from Nine Stories to The End because in "Teddy" the eponymous main character tells the man he is speaking to, the following:
"You know what was in that apple? Logic. Logic and intellectual stuff...So- this is my point- what you have to do is vomit it up if you want to see things as they really are." From For Esme~ with Love and Squalor by J.D Salinger (p.143)

Handler seems to be saying the opposite, that we shouldn't reject logic and intellectual pursuits for blind obedience and an easy life.

[queequegcaptain]

"God is a power hungry leader and biblically he is not particularly portrayed as a benevolent God so much as a vengeful God."
I am Christian and have gone to Catholic school for nine years. God is depicted as the most compassionate, benevolent, life-giving being ever.
Also, I think that the whole apple-snake-evil-good thing is ironic. The snake is evil in Genisis, but he is life-saving in TE. When Ink came in with the apple in his mouth, I think I laughed. I don't think Isshmael represented God, particularly because of his personality but also because he was a facilitator, which there had been many on the island. And since Christians believe that God is ever-lasting, so the whole facilitators coming and going doesn't really match up. I think that Ishmael is more someone trying to protect us from things that we should be exposed to.

[Linda Rhaldeen]

I never thought that Ishmael symbolized God at all, and I can see how other people would draw that conclusion but to me it never really made any sense. My favorite interpretation of it was that The End is promoting Marxism. Marx wrote about capitalists creating a false consciousness for the working class, called religion an “opiate” for the people, and it just really seems it fit in better than the Ish=God symbolism.

[The World Is Quiet Here]

Come on guys isn't there more symbolism we can discuss!

I don't agree with the Ish = God thing, but to each his own.

[Dale Thomas Luck]

The Baudelaires were tempted to push Count Olaf overboard when he was taking the name thing (sticker?) of the Carmelita/Count Olaf/Beatrice/the boat. That was the sin they were tempted with, I believe.

[korovamilkbar14]

"Another book that greatly encompasses Handler's work is A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It tells of a utopian world gone completely wrong. For example, the 'malchicks' (teenagers) run the crime world and commit all sorts of terrible acts against the public. It is a dark futuristic world. "

That's what I was thinking of too (getting the movie today). Maybe Snicket was trying say that every human is born evil, but eventually chooses what/who they want to be. It's like the religion = opiate idea (which I like the best so far). Most people aren't born drug addicts, and some choose to be and some don't.

Whcih actually makes me think all religion is evil. But whatever.

[Sonatone]

For me, I think that the symbolism is rather ambiguous, just like the story of TE.

Well, I don't think that Daniel Handler would be against religion. He's Jewish, and he shows that quite often in throughout the story with Jewish references. Also, if I wasn't mistaken, the story of Eden is also in the torah (sp?)? One of the first, I believe.

The theory I find most believeable would be the "no absolute evil/good" thing. I don't get the Ish = God and the religion = opiate theory... I actually see religion as something ambiguous too, with no true nature. I have seen remarkable things done because of religion, and a lot of people are inspired to do good and reform from evil because of religion.

And yet, a lot of terrible things happen because of religion. People were massacred during the holocaust. The holy war (is that what you call it?). Massacre/ Murder Without Sin. So religion is basically hard to classify as "evil" or "good".

I also relate the "apple" thing with the Baudeliaire's confusion. The Baudelaires are confused because they are actually noble, yet they have done terrible things.

As said before, Ink is a misnomer. When they first hear of its name, they'd automatically think that Ink is evil and dangerous. And yet, it turns out that it is kind. It even saved the Bauds' lives!

If we compare Ink to Satan, we'd get the same results. People automatically relate the word "satan' to evil and dangerous. And yet the Bauds have seen evil people do noble things, like Count Olaf. But I've never seen an example of Satan being "nice", though...

As for Ish = God, I think what they mean is that Ish restricts the castaways' knowledge, because of they knew knowledge, terrible things would happen to them. The thing I don't get from the Ish = God theory is that God was testing their faith at that time. Ish wasn't doing that. He just doesn't want them to know the terrible truth. So that's why I don't think Ish = God really applies.

As for Ish himself, I'd say that it's also similar to Ink's comments (?), without an equivalent. Ish is thought of as Ish = good. He had a "good" reason to protect the castaways from the knowledge of the arboretum. He was seen of as wise, and it seems that he knows the best for the people. And yet, he actually still has a bad side. He thinks that they would rather die than know of his secrets. If he was wiser, he would give up his pride and let the people live. They would understand.

So I guess Ish represents that people's wisdom/nobility are limited. People who are seen of as incredibly noble aren't that noble at all.

Meh, I think my argument was rather offtopic... Sorry for that.

[orsa]

Oh boy, here we go.

Revelations 7.9

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (NASB ©1995)

This verse is what I believe represents the robes.

Many non-Christians see God as a dictator who chucks people away and tortures them if he doesn't agree with him, but that just isn't true. God created mankind in his image (Ish), so that they could live in harmony with him, away from the trials of the world. He sheltered them and tried to protect them from knowledge (evil, like the MM). When evil entered the safe place, he tried to save them by taking them away, but they took the apples anyway.

By disobeying God, mankind forced themselves out of the safe place. Understand?

[892lgy7382]

Funny. I've always thought Ish symbolizes a ''false Christ'' or an ''anti-hero,'' the type of character whom everybody trusts and ends up being a huge faker. Ask for Ink and the apple, maybe it just adds up to the moral ambiguity thing that becomes a recurring theme in the later books of the series.

[vksvksvksvks]

okay, i have absolutely no idea where you got that theory from, the apple saved there lives and i think the only thing handler wastrying to prove there was Ink loved them and snakes can be intelligent.

[Dante]

Of course, you always have the option of enjoying only the surface of the text itself. It's perfectly true that the apple saved their lives and that Ink loved the Baudelaires, but some of us also enjoy thinking about what else that scene might imply.

[shipwreckedlife]

This is an old topic, I know, but there are some interesting theories here nonetheless. I've never read too much into Ink giving them the apple in an allegorical sense, preferring to just see it as a nod to Genesis, but I do agree with those who see other aspects of religious or even simply sociological allegory in the book. I found Antenora's post particularly insightful.

The Ish=God idea is one I've pondered over numerous times, and I think there may be something in it, particularly with regards to the theme of moral ambiguity that runs throughout the last few instalments of ASOUE. Despite portraying himself as a benevolent, superior advisor to the island's colony, Ish is revealed to be as corrupt and deceitful as anyone else, even with apparently good intentions. Perhaps this could point to the idea of devoting oneself to organised religion as something which is neither good nor evil, but nonetheless something which has the potential to narrow the capacity for enrichment or a broader view of the world. That's not necessarily my opinion, just something I see as possibly being hinted at in the book, and it could be a purely sociological point as opposed to one criticising religion perse. It depends on how you look at it, really. Sorry for the rambling.

[Dante]

I think it's important to note that it's Ish's dedication to his high ideals that causes him to become so corrupt; like the Baudelaires, he has good intentions but has to do evil things to fulfil those aims. Where he's different to the Baudelaires is that he doesn't seem to regret it.

[moseymoo]

I know this is an old post, but I find the symbolism in TE fascinating: one thing which no one has really mentioned is that Ish has clay feet; I do believe that he represents something close to a God, but I believe that this is a God with Clay Feet -- a false God. TE does read as a sort of rewrite of the fall from Eden, this time the apple (the symbol of the acquisition of knowledge) is seen as a positive one; here, as it has done many times before, the acquisition of knowledge saves the Baudalaires' lives. Yet it is, just like Ish, all false: the Island is not paradise, just like Utopia, or indeed practically any other utopian novel; it is simply a pale imitation, the closest thing that a human being (in this case Ish) can realise, which is why it also bears many traits of a dystopia (which was, after all, a genre created to mock the imperfections of ostensibly utopian novels). Because of this, I don't see the allegory as a rejection of Christianity, or any other religion with an Eden story, just a rejection of a man-made artifice of Eden.

[bandit]

moseymoo, I have always thought that Ishmael's clay feet had something to do with the Golem (since Handler is Jewish, and also because of Watch Your Mouth's subject matter). Maybe he seems powerful, but in reality he is somewhat of a puppet... or in TE's case, he's powerful but chooses to use his power by not doing anything.