I think Locke isn't a "bad" guy per say, but I think he's effecting the characters in a negative way. Let me explain.
We can all agree that showing the characters back stories is a very important part of the show correct? I mean there are other ways to have the audience connect and learn about your character thn back story. But the writers have chosen backstories. And not only that, they've chosen to show how very negative aspect of their lives have effected them. So we now see these characters as each having an issue that they need to deal with.
I see the island as a symbol of this negativity. Not only are they trapped physicaly on an island in the middle of nowhere, but they are also trapped on a similar island in their spiritual/mental lives back home. Until they deal with thier mental blocks, they can never escape from either island.
Locke I think has trapped himself even further without realizing it. In his backstory we learn that he was a man unhappy with his life. He believed that What he was NOT and hat he could NOT do defined him as a human being.
We all know this isn't true. A person is defined by what he/she CAN do, not by what he or she cannot do. When he gets to he island however, Locke is suddenly the man he thought he SHOULD have been or HAD to be in order to be a worthwhile human being. "I am the hunter let me be the hunter..."
The island has only reinforced his negative mental image. It's trapped him both on the physical island (where he has the ability to walk) and in his mental island (where he thinks this is how it should be.)
Locke seems to seek to push this onto others. Look at what he told charlie. The island can give you many things, but you have to give back to it in return. Locke in a way gave in to the darkside. He got what he wanted, but will forever be trapped in his island. (Monkey's Paw syndrome.)
Now. We can see the light side at work too. We see this in none other then Sawyer.
Sawyer was a man obsessed with revenge. So obsessed in fact that it killed him, symbolicly speaking. He lost his prior identity and assumed that of the man his hatred caused him to be so obsessed over. But here is where we see the interelationship of the characters and why it's important that they are all on this island together.
JACK, has a need to save people. This need, caused him to come into conflict with Sawyer. Without this conflict, the problem with the asthema wouldn't have caused Jack to enlist the aide of SAYID, who used torture on Sawyer. (Now we see the importance of Sayid being there.) Now, this torture caused Sawyer, in a final act of defiance to admit that he would tell where it was, but only if KATE kissed him. Kate is important because she is the one person on the island that was willing to understand Sawyer. This allowed him to open up about his past and his problem.
In the end of that episode and the next couple we see Sawyer begin to open up to those around him. In fact we also see him burning the letter. This shows us that Sawyer has beaten his island. (Or is on the path to doing so.)
The island no longer has him trapped.
It's interesting isn't it, that in Locks case a positive thing was used to reinforce a negative. And in Sawyers case a negative thing was used to reinforce the positive. This I believe is very important. Taoism.
Hey want to see something cool as well? I found this site while looking into the whole, they might be on an island once used for Nuclear testing in French Polynesia.
http://www.ace.net.au/darkmoon/index1.htm
Sorry this post was so long.
Went to my brother house, he has TiVo and started to watch only the week before. I love TiVo, I wish I could afford one.
