Hey everybody! :) Someone in my class was doing a presentation on Taoism and I thought the traits associated with yin/yang was really really cool. So without further ado, here is negative/positive, featuring Shannon and Boone.
Yin/Yang
Negative/Positive
Shannon/Boone:
She's negative. They've only been here for a few days and everyone already knows it. Everyone already knows that she's here to make the worst of things. People like that are burdens, burdens on a crippled, fragile, unorganized society. But her brother seems to love her through her negativity – through her cruel barbs, through her insults, through her complaints – probably because he's used to the fact that she's negative.
Shannon hasn't always been this way. No, she used to be happy, carefree, optimistic – that's how Boone remembers her. It mostly started when her father died. She was always such a happy person – albeit on the wrong track of life, albeit confused – but happy. Then her father died and she started on the path to destruction.
Alienation. She put on her happy face every day but it's a mask and it's waxy and everyone knew it. She spent her time sleeping around to see if it could fill her void. Sometimes she couldn't live with herself and she'd stand on the edge of a bridge for hours, just looking into the churning waters, willing herself to jump, willing herself to stay.
Negativity.
Money. She finally found something that she was so sure could fill the abyssal cavern inside her. Money. Possessions. But what she has is never enough and she always needs more, because what actually exists is never good enough. Few people care to concern themselves with what's going on inside her – those who do see that she's grasping. She's grasping for something – anything that would make her feel loved, important, happy again…
But it's constant negativity, spiraling down and out.
She's reaching, grabbing at something, but she doesn't even know what she's grasping for or why she even tries. Lonely souls and empty eyes and she empties herself out more and more every day.
She used to dance. Dancing isn't enough anymore. Dancing doesn't make her happy. She can't even succeed at it. No, she only fails over and over again, at anything, everything.
When she reaches the island there's little hope for her. She hides it from everyone, but she wishes she had died in the plane crash.
Death.
Negativity.
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He's positive. He's willing to pitch in, to do anything to make life better for the other people. When the crash happens, he's the one trying to save everyone. He makes a fool of himself for them and he doesn't care a bit. Helping is what he does. Boone helps Shannon whenever she's in a bad spot – whenever she's been abused by yet another guy, when she's been used like she's been so many times. Most people don't understand why he sticks with her, why he's there to pick her up when she falls – every time she falls.
It might have something to do with the fact that he loves her in a way he shouldn't. Most people would be negative about it – after all, people aren't supposed to love their sisters, or their stepsisters. But he's positive. He can take what people throw at him. He's always been optimistic – hoping that she'll love him back, hoping that everything will turn out all right.
He knows what makes him happy and he finds it. He likes being useful – he likes to help – he likes to be the one who saves people. Because he's positive and he's hopeful and he wants to help.
Life.
He's thankful too. He's so glad he didn't die – so glad that Shannon didn't die – he can't imagine what the world would be like if Shannon's complaining voice wasn't there nagging on him. He bets people wonder why he helps her. It's because every whine, every complaint, all of it, every time, it makes him feel – needed. Every time he can resolve something for her, every time he can makes something better, he feels wanted, even if it's only for a few minutes.
That's enough for him. It's never much but it's always enough because he's positive. He's positive that they'll be rescued. He's positive – optimistic.
Sure, he still grasps for attention. But the difference between the two of them is key: he hopes and she gives up.
He's positive and she's negative, and together, they are balance.
So what did you think? Next up is probably empty/full, which will be Claire/Charlie. If you don't know anything about Yin & Yang, they are opposite forces which balance each other. Yin is associated with earth, dark, feminine, empty, moon, negative, dark. Yang is associated with sky, light, masculine, full, sun, positive, white, etc. Please review and tell me what you think! Love always, Lily
