Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Murphy's been a bad boy ...

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KiramidHead
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by KiramidHead »

Team Sewell, dammit! :lol:
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The Adversary
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by The Adversary »

>My knee-jerk reaction to what I thought the "Aristocrat" was that it was a warped form of Kwekwaxawe.<
I believe the crows are representatives of Kwekwaxawe, but I'm also working on something still.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by NanayaShiki »

Hmm, I might switch over to Team JP.
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Aerith Gainsborough
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Aerith Gainsborough »

Another think about DJ Ricks:

In the Gallery, it says this about him:
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
"DJ Ricks: I don't know what his story was, but I am certain as hell he did not fit this place any more than I do. He knew things and his plan sounded solid, but in the end that narrow margin between knowing and doing, that little bito f courage to do things on your own, he lacked. That was what buried him here forever."

This really shows that DJ Ricks has been in the town for awhile and hasn't been able to leave due to a lack of courage.
Also, I remember before saying I would post what it says about the Nun:
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
"A nun: I have never really understood this concept of self sacrifice, to give up your own life and the chance to have your own family for the sake of serving others. But back in the orphanage we were all grateful as hell that those women chose to be teachers, nurses and yes, even true mothers to us."

It's been confirmed that Murphy isn't from Silent Hill, but I remember mentioning this a while back, so I figured I'd post this while I'm at the screen.
ETA: Also, about Napier (from the Gallery):
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
"Napier: Do I feel sorry for him, for what I've done to him? I keep telling myself that he deserved what he got but...the sounds he made...all that blood...the face of absolute terror. Disbelief turned into the understanding of inevitability...all by my own hands...May God forgive me!"

This further shows that Murphy felt guilt for killing Napier.
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KiramidHead
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by KiramidHead »

I got one for Carol.
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
It pretty much says that Carol married Murphy in spite of his sordid past. Sounds kind of like Jebediah and Esther to me.
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Aerith Gainsborough
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Aerith Gainsborough »

^Interesting. Makes sense since
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
Past Life and Downpour are supposed to go hand in hand.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by AuraTwilight »

And yet Murphy being Jeb's reincarnation got shot down by Tom Waltz. I seriously can't figure out the connection, then.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Aerith Gainsborough »

^Adversary made a theory about Jonas and Murphy having a connection. I can see the similarities on a facial level, but that's about it.
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wonder's boy
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by wonder's boy »

Didn't the Nun say say something about murder "running in the family" to Murphy? Makes me really suspicious of how Jeb couldn't be an ancestor of Murphster's, or that they aren't linked spiritually or otherwise. EDIT: Then again, the Jonas/Murphster thing sounds valid on some of the same levels. I don't remember too much about Jonas, though. Need to get that comic back.

The only other ways I think I could connect the graphic novel to the game is that there are similarities to Jeb's relationship with his wife and Murphster's relationship with his, Howard is present in both the book and the game, and there are references/themes of the town's spiritual/magical sources/background, as in the town being a sacred place. Hmm.
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Aerith Gainsborough
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Aerith Gainsborough »

^Yes, she did. She says it when Murphy calls the body of the Bogeyman a 'murderer', after she calls him his son. I thought maybe she was playing with him a bit. She calls him his son, he calls him a murderer, and so she says "It must run in the family."

Perhaps Tom Waltz didn't want to give it away or something? I'm not sure. To be honest, I haven't read Past Life, so I don't know much about any of the characters in it, nor any similarities, besides what others have mentioned and speculated.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by wonder's boy »

It's really good, AG. Better than the others I read, anyway. Trying to figure out just how the two connect is mysterious and confusing. Since both stories have such depth - the game more so, I believe - connecting them on even basic levels becomes tricky. There are just so many unanswered questions, but that's good. It leaves room for theory-croppin'.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by DistantJ »

I feel like perhaps Past Life was the start of Tom Waltz' newly expanded Silent Hill universe... I mean it adds new, pre-Alessa origin stories to the town and implies that Alessa/The Order are just more victims of something that goes much deeper, and Downpour is the first canon game in a while to not explicitly bring up Alessa and the cult. I don't doubt that Howard will continue to appear as Silent Hill's 'postman' if Waltz continues to write (perhaps, in Waltz' continuity, Howard delivered Mary's letter to James...) so I think that the comic ties into the game, but they're not 'closely related' as such, more that this comic absolutely officially happened in the timeline now that Downpour is in the series, whilst the other comics aren't really necessarily canon. Past Life looks into native American holy grounds ideas which were only very vaguely implied in earlier games and Downpour references them more strongly, essentially, once Downpour comes into the series, Past Life becomes canon and Alessa is no longer the beginning (not that she definitely was before but there wasn't much to say she wasn't).
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by The Adversary »

>Howard delivered Mary's letter to James...<
My idea!

>this comic absolutely officially happened in the timeline now that Downpour is in the series<
PAST LIFE was already canonical before SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR was released.
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KiramidHead
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by KiramidHead »

My last couple of playthroughs gave me a few ideas about the Void. After the chase in the second Otherworld, the disembodied voice says "the truth is like the sun. You can block it out, but it isn't going away." Well, I've actually looked up at the sun in Downpour from time to time, and the way it shines through the fog makes it look kind of like the Void, only white instead of red. It could be a coincidence for all I know, but it's interesting.
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by wonder's boy »

Yes! I've thought the same thing. It's strikingly similar to the Void, especially in the area around Devil's Pit (perhaps in others, but this is just one I've noticed.) I doubt it's a coincidence at all, honestly. The sun is pretty prominent in some areas, more so than past games, and even sticks out at times. It makes perfect sense if you ask me, and sheds light on the Void's function in the game.

People have stated that it may represent Murphster's guilt and frustration over his past/present, which also makes sense. The Void being a manifestation for his guilt/frustration/and the truth could all work without executing each other, which further encourages the idea. Besides, Frank's voice throughout the game (which I wholeheartedly believe is the "disembodied voice"), plays a major role, so being able to connect those quotes with things like the Void makes perfect sense.

Edit. Sorry for the overuse of the word sense. I don't know how this happened.
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KiramidHead
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by KiramidHead »

^It's sense-ational! :lol:
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by sgillespie31 »

KiramidHead wrote:My last couple of playthroughs gave me a few ideas about the Void. After the chase in the second Otherworld, the disembodied voice says "the truth is like the sun. You can block it out, but it isn't going away." Well, I've actually looked up at the sun in Downpour from time to time, and the way it shines through the fog makes it look kind of like the Void, only white instead of red. It could be a coincidence for all I know, but it's interesting.
My theory on the "void" is an expansion of yours:

I noticed this as well, and I concur. I think in this case, the "truth" is anger or more specifically: revenge. The only two games to have a sort of "void" are Downpour and Silent Hill 3. I realize that it's not actually the "void" in Silent Hill 3, but the red glow that chases Heather throughout Borley Haunted mansion is very similar, and I think it comes from the same "grain" of manifestations/monsters. While it is encountered in the haunted mansion and obviously "resides" there (for lack of a better word) it isn't a trap itself (more so the long trick hallways that confine it are the trap) because it isn't solidly physical the same way the other traps are. The red glow in Silent Hill 3 represents Heather's anger/murderous intent/desire for revenge/ whatever you want to call it towards Claudia - consuming her. Being consumed by anger is a prominent theme in both Silent Hill 3 and Downpour.

Still with me? In Downpour, the void is very similar and represents Murphy's reality being literally consumed by his previously desired act of revenge on Napier. In these cases, the "truth" is facing the potential for evil even good people have when faced with the loss of a loved one (Harry in SH3 and Charlie in downpour).

I might be wrong, and obviously there is no distinct correct theory, but I think this is pretty well rounded and obvious (by expanding on your theory of course, KiramidHead).
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Yuki
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Yuki »

I could've sworn I posted this, but I wanted to share an interpretation of the Void I found on HellDescent; I think it's quite a good one.

Chiral-Spiral wrote:I noticed that the monsters disintegrate into red light after you kill them, similar to the appearance of The Void. I actually spent most of the game thinking Murphy was going to turn out like Lisa at the end, and The Void was the realization of his true nature catching up with him.

Unless.... Anne thought of Murphy as a monster, so maybe in a way that was true? That's pretty clever if so :blink:
I really like the idea that the Void treats Murphy like a monster.
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Aerith Gainsborough
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Aerith Gainsborough »

^That's odd, because at one point in the game during a void chase sequence, I came face to face with a juggernaut and ran past it. I ended up going in a circle, and came back to the same hallway with the same juggernaut...
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Yuki
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Re: Monster / Character / Location Symbolism

Post by Yuki »

Aerith Gainsborough wrote:^That's odd, because at one point in the game during a void chase sequence, I came face to face with a juggernaut and ran past it. I ended up going in a circle, and came back to the same hallway with the same juggernaut...
Really? I ran past a Juggernaut and went in circles but I never saw it again...

Perhaps it doesn't affect the monsters in the Otherworld because it's specifically after Murphy? Since Anne's rage is directed at him.
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