Last month, we explored the power of choice and how it can elevate your narrative and move it forward. However, choice is also a great catalyst for problems that ultimately serve to push your protagonist toward change. And it’s these complications that show how the problem of choice reveals the theme.
The Matrix Reloaded continues Neo’s story, examining the fallout associated with Neo’s decision to take on the role of The One. It raises questions about purpose, causality, destiny, and free will. Let’s use it as a case study to explore how the problem of choice uncovers themes.
Five Ways The Problem Of Choice Reveals Theme
- Raise Questions
- Question Of Purpose
- Question Of Causality
- Question Of Free Will
- Question Of Uncertainty
The Problem Of Choice Defined
Your protagonist may have made a major decision, but they likely don’t fully understand the reasons behind it or the consequences. The questions that come up will inevitably force you to explore the fallout of such choices, creating a paradox that organically creates conflict.
Although not as widely accepted as its predecessor, The Matrix Reloaded continues to explore the theme of choice and its ripple effects. While it offers plenty of action, its main focus is on posing deep philosophical questions about choice, examining various themes and perspectives while presenting them in engaging ways.
Raise Questions
Let your protagonist’s lie or misbelief shape their initial choices to show how limited their thinking is. Then use your narrative to gradually push them to make decisions that are designed to take them beyond where willing to go.
In The Matrix, the Oracle told Neo that he would have to choose between saving Morpheus’s life or his own. She explained the consequences of his choice, revealing that one of them would die. Neo ultimately decided to save Morpheus, which led him to take on the role of The One.
In Reloaded, Neo faces new questions. What is he supposed to do? How can he end the war with the machines? Where does the path of The One ultimately lead? Naturally, he goes to the one person he believes has all the answers. Neo comes to this conversation not as the naive person he once was but as a skeptic. At the end of the day, he is wary of the Oracle’s nature as a program inherent to the Matrix. This presents a paradox because he can’t discern whether she’s really there to help him or not.
The Oracle explains that the matrix is a harmony of programs working together. But she also explains that there are rogue ones that cause chaos behind the scenes. She also hints that Neo is essentially a program too, revealing he is destined to return to the source.
The Oracle clearly explains that Neo’s devotion to Trinity is directly linked to his decision to take on the role of the One. Now, he needs to understand why he made that choice. It’s a question that naturally raises more questions—questions that will push Neo forward as he chooses to follow the Oracle’s guidance and seek to retrieve the Keymaker from the Merovingian.
Question Of Purpose
In the search for answers, the question of self and identity will inevitably come up. This will naturally lead your protagonist to question their purpose. Expand on these questions by presenting moral arguments that challenge their beliefs.
Immediately after his meeting with the Oracle, Neo is faced with the literal embodiment of the ripple effect caused by his decision. Agent Smith appears, revealing that he is no longer a slave to the system. He attributes this new existence to Neo’s actions that led to his termination. Consequently, he has returned with a new purpose—one that highlights a core theme about the significance of Neo’s choice.
It’s no coincidence that Smith identifies himself as one of the rogue programs that the Oracle told Neo about. His choice to remain within the matrix and his ability to replicate himself perfectly symbolize the tangible consequences of Neo’s decision to accept the role of The One. It’s a paradox that raises the question of whether there was an ulterior motive behind the events that have already happened and the decisions that set them in motion. And it’s those questions that motivate Neo to keep seeking answers.
Question Of Causality
Deep and probing questions can provide profound philosophical answers, but they can also be simplified through logical reasoning. Counter your protagonist’s beliefs by deconstructing them with a more logical explanation.
Up until now, Neo has believed he is part of a greater destiny. This belief has been strengthened by Morpheus’ faith in him and by the Oracle’s guidance and instructions. To some extent, it is an argument that aligns with Smith’s view of purpose. However, more questions arise when everything is turned upside down as Neo sits down to a meeting with the Merovingian.
The Merovingian breaks down everything Neo has been told by using logic to simplify it. He dismisses the ideas of predestination and choice, seeing them as illusions created by those in power to control others. To him, there is no real truth but causality—a conclusion based on the logic of cause and effect. This not only makes Neo’s journey more complex by raising new questions but also causes him to doubt everything he’s believed so far. It’s a masterful way to illustrate the paradox of choice and show how it can fuel the internal struggle of the protagonist while pushing the story forward.
Question Of Free Will
Inevitably, your protagonist will question whether their choices are an act of free will or part of some preordained plan outside of their control. Present them with a no-win situation that will force them to ultimately gamble on themselves.
Neo finally reaches the source, where the path of The One is said to end. While he initially hopes to destroy the Matrix and end the war with the machines, he unexpectedly encounters the creator of the Matrix itself, the Architect.
The Architect embodies the paradox of predestination. He combines all the thematic ideas of destiny, purpose, and causality and reduces them to calculations and programming—programming that essentially predestined Neo to make the choices he did, leaving him with only two possible outcomes that are in line with the Architect’s perfect harmony of mathematical precision.
This ultimately leads Neo to realize that the problem of choice is at the core of his predicament because the choice itself is actually a system of control. But there is something about Neo that separates him from his predecessors. The purpose and why behind his choice is love. And it’s that love that leads him to risk everything to not only save the woman he loves but also find another way to address the problem of choice.
Question Of Uncertainty
Your protagonist’s view on destiny should ultimately shape their actions and choices. However, such a risk should come with a cost and bring up new questions and challenges, which will inevitably leave their fate and the fate of their world in limbo.
While Neo returns to the Matrix and saves Trinity, he now understands that the fate of Zion and humanity is all but sealed. He reluctantly admits that Zion will fall within hours and that everything they were told, including the prophecy and what the Oracle conveyed, was a lie.
With no clear way forward, Neo and his friends must quickly evacuate the Nebuchadnezzar, narrowly escaping the attack of patrolling sentinels. That’s when Neo suddenly senses a change, as abilities that were previously only available to him within the matrix are now present with him in the real world.
Neo relies on his own free will to stop the sentinels and their attack, but he quickly collapses and slips into unconsciousness. This demonstrates that despite all the questions and challenges he’s faced, his determination to push forward toward a solution remains what defines him. He’s able to protect his friends but is ultimately plunged into a coma, leaving his fate and the fate of his world uncertain.
Summing It Up
Exploring the problem of choice to reveal theme involves introducing various thematic arguments to challenge your protagonist’s beliefs at every step. This creates an internal journey to find answers to questions that will ultimately propel the story forward, contributing to its overall structure.
Neo’s story so far perfectly illustrates how choice can be central to a narrative. Next month, I’ll wrap up this series by examining The Matrix Revolutions and the Price Of Choice.
What are your thoughts on the Matrix Trilogy and how it explores choice? Do you have your own interpretations? What questions and answers did it inspire you to consider? I’d love to hear your insights. Keep letting your creative light shine! And most importantly, keep writing!
Until next time,
