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The Matrix – Character and Themes
Character Analysis
Neo
 Anagram for One –
Latin for New
 Anderson – Son of
Man (in ancient Greek)
 Doubting Thomas –
refused to believe in a
resurrection
Is Neo a Jesus figure ?
 Conquers death
 Becomes the saviour
of mankind
 Choi says, “you’re
my saviour man, my
own personal Jesus
Christ”
 Has superhuman
powers
 Is reborn
Morpheus
 Name: Greek God of Dreams
 His job in mythology was to
fashion and guard the dreams
that the gods sent to humans
 Thus, Morpheus is a
reference to the eternal sleep
of the humans hardwired to
the dream world of The
Matrix.
Morpheus – Contin…
 God ?
 John the Baptist - Telling of the
arrival of the saviour?
 The Oracle tells the prophecy,
Morpheus spread it with faith.
 Morpheus + Neo =
Yoda + Luke (Star Wars)?
Trinity
 Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost =
Morpheus, Neo and Trinity?
 Feminine Warrior
 Androgynous “Prince Charming”
Cypher
 Name: Message in code
“Don’t hate me Trinity, I’m
just the messenger…”
 Judas Iscariot – Betrays
Jesus, or in this case Neo.
 Dresses in Red early on –
perhaps a sign of Lucifer
(Satan’s Angelic name)
Agent Smith
 Wears plain clothes and has plain
name - interchangeable
 A sentient program, able to grow
and learn from his environment.
 Learns to experience emotions
from the very humans he loathes.
 Unstoppable like a Terminator?
Agent Smith – Contin…
 The more he learns, the more he resents
being stuck in The Matrix.
 Smith has become self-aware.
Irony: Agent Smith
is as trapped by The
Matrix as everybody
else.

Oracle
 The sign above her door
bears the same advice
as the sign over the
door at the Oracle at
Delphi in The Odyssey:
"Know thyself."
 Like an ancient Greek
oracle, The Oracle can
see the future clearly
and is an intermediary
between God and man
Oracle - contin…
 Her meaning is not always clear until the
events she predicts come to pass.
 She never tells Neo that he is NOT the one
 “It looks like you are waiting for something.
Your next life, maybe…..”
Other characters:
 Switch – Machine reference
 Mouse – Machine reference
 Dozer, Tank – Other old machines –
Obsolete?
Zion – The last human city
 Another name for Jerusalem, the holy city
 "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole
earth, is mount Zion" (Psalms 48:2);
 Represents hope for all mankind
Nebuchadnezzar - The Ship
Taken
from the king Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylonia (605-562 B.C.), who was haunted
by bad dreams
Destroyed Jerusalem and brought the
Israelites back to Babylonia in captivity
Religion & Philosophy
 Mainly Christian,
elements of
Buddhism (Spoon
Child) and
Gnosticism also.
 “There is no spoon”
 The nature of reality
and collective
unconsciousness –
(Carl Jung)
Relationship with Alice in
Wonderland
 “You take the red pill and
you stay in Wonderland,
and I show you how deep
the rabbit-hole goes.“
 “Follow the white rabbit”
 Think of the dream world
nature of Wonderland
Choice
 Boss – Be at desk on time or leave
 Smith – “One of these lives has a future, Mr
Anderson……”
 Choose the Red Pill or the Blue Pill
 Oracle – Choose if Morpheus lives or dies
Fate
 Morpheus: “Do you
believe in fate,
Neo?”
 Choices create the
illusion of free will
 The question of
fate: are we only
fulfilling destiny?