From: gln@cs.arizona.edu (Gary L. Newell)
Newsgroups: alt.horror
Subject: Re: Jacob's Ladders questions
Date: 12 Apr 92 08:39:17 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson

In article <1992Apr11.200612.25065@sbcs.sunysb.edu>, cgrazian@engws10.ic.sunysb.edu (GRAZIANO) writes:
> I know that Gabe represent Gabriel, who guards the gates of Heaven and is
> appropriate as the one who eventually leads Jacob there at the end of the
> film.

Well, forgive me if I'm wrong (I stopped my religious training at the young
age of about 7 or 8) but I believe St. Peter guards the gate and Gabriel
is an Arch-angel - no?

> What about the other names, in particular Jacob's?  I'm unfamiliar with
> what his name implies.  Are there alternate interpretations for the names
> I've mentioned?  

OK - after all my "pompous" talk I get to embarass myself - having defended
the film on the basis that the symbols were clear enough I'll give my
version of Jacob and the ladder - now please all of you well-trained
bible types - this is from someone who really doesn't have an intimate
knowledge of the bible and who remembers the stories more in the
way one remembers greek mythos than anything else.... but

 Jacob had an older brother (see I told you so..) whose name I forget. IN
my view Jacob was more or less a normal guy - not bad not good (much like
many of the old test. characters). He was not quick to temper but he was
much more lazy than said brother who busted his ass all the time. Well, their
father was blind and one day Jacob decided to try to trick the old guy into
giving him the inheritance by throwing on some fur (it seems his brother
had more body hair) and approaching the old-man and saying (more or less)
 "father, would you give me my birth-right now? - I've worked hard all this
time, etc." - the old man reahed out, felt the hair and said (more or less)
sure- you've worked hard my son - you deserve it" - Jacob said (more or less)
 "sign here" and the rest is history... now, if I remember right, the ladder
refers to the angel of god who descended a ladder to fight Jacob - could
be worng on that though.... now it is important, at least to me, to point out
that Jacob was not a total scum-bag - he went on (if memory serves) to 
accomplish very positive things...

 Now how do *I* think this ties into JL? Well, Jacob is struggling with his
guilt over his son's death (why would a PhD volunteer for the service during
Nam???) and that along with other things (he's snuffed by one of his own)
causes him to struggle to fight the reality of his death. The film makes a point
of playing Danny Aiello's words about (something like this) "if you
struggle against death, you see demons every, coming out of the woodwork..."
twice. Once before Jacob "comes to terms" with his son's death, and then
as he "finds out" about the ladder (the drug). In the film, Jacobs ladder
is his struggle to accept his death, to drop the guilt and the connections
which tie him to this world, in effect he is struggling with the chiropracter
character (much as Jacob struggled with the angel in the bible) - the
angel attempting to save him (remember when Jacob says "I dreamed I was in hell"
and "I don't want to die" and the angel's response is (laughing) "I'll do
my best", as he re-aligns Jacob, "working the kinks out".

> BTW, when answering the above, assume that the biblical interpretation is
> relevant.

I'll give the "good book" a read and after being totally ashamed of my memory
I'll try to give a better reading of what takes place...

> ALSO, in the scene where Jacob is carried through the hospital basement, I
> could swear that we see Danny Aiello's chiropractor character through one
> of the glazed windows.  The shot last only 2 or 3 seconds.  Did anyone else
> see this?  I would certainly support the idea of his being a protector and
> helper of Jacob (as if it weren't obvious enough).

I'll look for it - there are so many things to look at in this scene that I 
really can't be sure...

			gln