Significance of being locked in cell?

James got a letter. From a dead person. Oh dear.

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Roorii
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Significance of being locked in cell?

Post by Roorii »

I'm sure you guys all know what I'm talking about. That moment when you enter the cell in the prison, and find the doors locked behind you. It lasts for about 30 seconds, then you're set free.
Any idea why this happens? Mostly when you find yourself stuck in Silent Hill, you need to actively find a way out, but here a presence seems to want to keep you for a short while, feeling alone and trapped, only to let you continue your journey.
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Post by Milquetoast »

I'm not one for too much of the deeper meaning metaphorical stuff, so I always just kinda thought it was to freak out the player into thinking they'd come to an irreversible dead end :|
Sometimes, and atomic weapon is just an atomic weapon, ja? Except that one. That one is a f*cking c*ck, you sick sh*t.
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Post by The Adversary »

Murderers belong in prison so the door locks. But b/c some people justify their actions, they set themselves free. And w/ enough denial, sometimes the door unlocks on its own.

James told himself enough times, "Mary isn't dead," and so, for him, she wasn't.

James told himself enough times, "The door isn't locked," and so it became unlocked—b/c that's what he wanted to believe.
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Post by Shadow Dragon »

Milquetoast wrote:I'm not one for too much of the deeper meaning metaphorical stuff, so I always just kinda thought it was to freak out the player into thinking they'd come to an irreversible dead end :|
I agree, it was probably just a scare tactic. Like Frued once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Though if you want a deeper meaning, it was caused by his guilt. Part of James' mind believes he belongs in a cell.
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Xev
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Post by Xev »

I think he is completely unaware at that point though, it is just foreshadowing.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Unaware doesn't mean anything, he was subconsciously aware, and it's his subconscious that drives everything.
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Post by sorata »

AuraTwilight wrote:Unaware doesn't mean anything, he was subconsciously aware, and it's his subconscious that drives everything.
I agree with Aura on this one.
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Post by Xev »

I didnt give James that much credit.
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Post by simeonalo »

I don't think people should dive this far into the symbolism. There isn't meaning to everything. I don't even think there is any meaning to being locked in a cell, as ridiculous as the seems :?. If there were symbolism, I think it would have to go with maria and James' urges of some sort.
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Post by alone in the town »

There is much symbolism in this game that does not, in fact, tie directly to the concept of James and his sad, dormant trouser mouse.

And, why shouldn't people dive into the symbolism? The example offered didn't require any stretch of in-game logic. It's simple and effective, and quite straightforward compared to most theories related to this game.
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Post by Asterion »

It seemed like a bit of cheap scare at the time to me, but if you want to find the subtext you have to wonder why James' subconscious locks him in a cell for 30 seconds only to let himself out again without any additional reasons or development. Perhaps his subconscious locks him in and his conscious mind denies this and lets him out.
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Post by SHF »

Tell me when hes in the cell, where there drawings or sketches, etc. in the cell?
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Post by Violent Corpse »

^ Yes.
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Post by The Adversary »

No. He finds the Oppressor tablet in the locks-behind-him cell.
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Roorii
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Post by Roorii »

So there's no connection to the words "Ritual" (if that is indeed what the voice is saying)?
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Post by SHF »

so in the locked cell, he finds the oppresor tablet ( which is james, as the glutton is eddie, and the seductress is angela). Probably after james picks this up, the door locks right?
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Post by The Adversary »

>So there's no connection to the words "Ritual"?
The ghosts of prisoner's past's word is explained in a somewhat hard to find memo.

"Prisoner's do not feel remorse. In fact, they do not feel themselves to be villans at all. Even the most uneducated brute will use what little words he knows to justify himself. In such trifling dreams they have, flourishing even in the darkness. Prisoners, too, are no exceptions. No matter how foul or loathsome one's own life and existence may be, human nature is abiding."

In the case of these two prisoners, their word is "ritual."
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SHF
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Post by SHF »

What? prisoners do feel remorse. At least some of them do,
and what 2 prisoners? theres only one....
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Post by Kenji »

No, there's two.

Two days ago, when I went through the Prison again, I killed two of them.
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Post by SHF »

but what does that have to do with ritual being said?
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