Finally yes, one of the reasons I started reading this was because I saw the name Sisyphus on the title.
So the hounds belong to Guwon, which would make Guwon Sisyphus right. So what is this monotonous task that he is carrying out. I thought, like you said, this need to create this utopian world when there is an impending apocalypse. Or maybe he thinks it’s an utopia, but for everyone else it’s a dictatorship. So the task becomes useless in a sense even thought his intentions are good the execution cancels all the good out?
OR some type of twist. Guwon being Sisyphus might be too obvious. But then he did literally mentioned the ROCK at the top of the hill. The actual Sisyphus never manages to get the boulder to stay at the top. So I’m thinking that rock is gonna have to come down as a plot device literally in the future.
(Apologies I got excited halfway through writing it and now I don’t even know what I was trying to say)
Are you saying that he is already dead and this is his hell
Nah i get it, the task is trying to keep the "Town" and its people safe, its like a never ending cycle because something will always go wrong and then he has to start over agin, him trying to keep everything and everyone in order night be his downfall.
OMG THE ROCK, HOW COULD I FORGET?!? it could signal the completion of an endless task, and it's success. But yeah if it all comes tumbling down and the successful state of the completed task is the fragile peace and the people's revolt changes that, then it would confirm our theories.
Idk if they'll do something ridiculously on the nose and try to make Guwon push it up or smt, but it's huge. He may die. Lowkey losing where I thought I could go with this
Yeha you've summed it up nice and succinctly!!
A reply to a comment I wanted to make a topic because I want to hear more people's opinions:
Sisyphus is a myth about a King who was punished for hubris by the gods, he was sent to the Underworld to push a giant boulder up a mountain only to have it roll down again. He would be burdened with this monotonous task forever.
Now the Underworld may be the outside world, or fuck even the inside world of their little civilization. In which case, at least now, Guwon is Sisyphus. Always acting to maintain the monotonous never-ending task of attaining peace or a functioning society. However, I don't know if I would consider him hubristic,maybe in his belief that he is a leader,but he literally is and he does acknowledge that he needs multiple people to run shit. But the "hounds" part would make sense.
However, if Sisyphus is meant to be teach then maybe his hubris is thinking he can change Guwon, or thinking he can save the others. His punishment could be to remain trapped in the metaphorical underworld that is their little civilization, tasked with the monotonous task of what though? Being a teacher? Being Guwon's lover? Would the hounds then be the actual hounds and Guwon, who have the physical power to ensure he never makes it out of the underworld?
Idk I lowkey ended up with more questions than answers.