The Untold Truth Of Ben Linus From Lost

Ben Linus' use of the alias "Henry Gale" is one of the many examples of his mastery of deception. Interestingly, in L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," Dorothy's uncle was also named "Henry Gale." This wasn't the only instance where Ben used the name of a character from classic literature as an alias. One of the passports Ben used when he traveled off the Island was under the name "Dean Moriarty," a character from the essential 1957 Jack Kerouac novel "On the Road."

References to classic literature were a staple of "Lost." Several characters on the show were named after famous authors, scientists, philosophers, or other fictional characters. These included John Locke, named after the English philosopher of the same name; Charlotte Staples Lewis, whose name references "Chronicles of Narnia" author C.S. Lewis; and Desmond David Hume, who shares his middle and last name with a Scottish historian.

Since "Lost" was a very thematic show that focused on classic literary and philosophical notions like free will and the nature of good and evil, it makes sense that the writers crammed in as many of these references and callbacks as possible.