The name Thomas means "twin" which could be a reference to him having two identities; Thomas, the dude in the pod who is dreaming a life and Neo, the Messiah who will destroy the Matrix and free the people.

Anderson - The Greek root "andr" (from andros) means "man." The ending "son" refers to him being "man's son" or "Son of Man," another reference to the Messiah.

Neo - The name "Neo" means "New". Thomas Anderson, "Son of Man" will become a "New person" when he is unplugged from the Matrix, so his names show his character (just as Yeshua often renamed his apostles.) Neo is also an anagram, "one" and "eon."

The main character that Thomas/Neo represents is the Messiah, Yeshua, which I will point out as we come to the scenes. He can also represent:

• In Buddhist theology, a man named Siddhartha attained enlightenment (freedom from suffering) and became known as the Buddha, which means "the Enlightened One."
  
• He could be another 'Everyman' figure: Words that begin with the "neo" suffix include neonatal (which refers to newborns, and Neo will be newly born) and neophyte (which is another word for beginner, novice, or a new convert.)
  
• "Doubting Thomas," the apostle who would not believe Yeshua had been resurrected until he saw the wounds in his hands and feet himself.

We will call him Thomas until he Morpheus and the crew wake him in his pod.

Scripture says that when a sinful man comes to salvation, he is a "new creature, the old has passed away" (2 Corinthians. 5:17).

DVD Script
(fairly close, anyway)

Notes

(THOMAS' APARTMENT: Notice the technology that dominates the room. Thomas (Neo) is asleep.)

The music playing in the background of this scene is Dissolved Girl by Massive Attack.

SCREEN: Wake up, Neo.

Sleep is a metaphor for death or for being lost...Thomas is lost in this Matrix world, even though he doesn't know it.

Thomas is also asleep, or dead spiritually, as well as asleep in his pod.

His computer, we see, is in a search mode...specifically it is searching for information about Morpheus but we can take it as a metaphor of Thomas' life...he is searching for something that he knows he is missing in his life.

Trinity (the person putting the messages on Thomas' screen) is not in the Matrix, just as God is outside of our world. She seeks Thomas/Neo out, making it easier for him to find her...after all, he was searching. "Keep seeking and you will find..." (Matthew 7:7); "No one can come to Me unless the Father - the one who sent me - draws him..." (John 6:44)

THOMAS: What the... ?

SCREEN: The Matrix has you.

THOMAS: What the hell?

(He presses 'CTRL X')

'Ctrl X' is an escape keystroke...it is used to close a program or stop an action in a program.

Thomas spends some time trying to control his computer (and his life) until he gives up and tries to escape it instead. Only when he is willing to truly face up to the truth of his life will he find a way out.

We, too, must face the truth of our life...the truth that we are all in sin and need Yeshua to bring us back into a relationship with God.

SCREEN: Follow the white rabbit.

(He presses the Escape key twice...)

SCREEN: Knock, knock, Neo.

(He immediately hears 'knock, knock' on his door.)

Each of Thomas' 'knocks' (his pressing of the Escape key) are answered by a 'knock' on the computer, and then a 'knock' on the door. An omniscience, or 'supernatural insight', is hinted at here.

Perhaps, too it is a way of telling him he can't escape his destiny that easily. It reminds me somewhat of Peter being given a chance to redeem himself 3 times after he has denied Christ 3 times. Like, 'hey, dope...here's another chance...'

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him," (Revelation. 3:20). Trinity's prediction of the knocks on Thomas' door also parallels the omniscience of God.

THOMAS: Who is it?

CHOI (O.S.): It's Choi.

Choix, pronounced 'Choi' is French for "Choice"

His girlfriend is duJour - "of the Day"

The movie is filled with choices Thomas/Neo must make that will shape who he is, thus shaping the fate of the world.

We, too, face choices every day that shape us, and shape our world. And our eternity.

We also see here that the apartment number is 101...remember Neo is an anagram of one and he is The One. The 1's could also represent that he is alone here. Room 101 also crops up in George Orwell's novel 1984. It's the room that contains the thing you fear most in the world; in this world, it is being controlled by the Matrix.

THOMAS: You're two hours late.

CHOI: I know. It's her fault.

Door can represent new opportunities or developments in life as well as the invitation to enter an unexplored area of yourself. They are transitions, as from life to death, and pathways between safety and danger.

Choi, like most of us, blames someone else for something only he could have controlled...whether or not he would be late for his appointment.

THOMAS: You got the money?

CHOI: Two grand.

THOMAS: Hold on.

The book Thomas keeps his stash in is Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulations.

Published in 1981, Baudrillard argues that our "postmodern" culture is a world of signs that have made a fundamental break from referring to "reality." This creates a world of hyperreality where the distinctions between real and unreal are blurred. Robert Tilton becomes a simulation of religion; Ronald Reagan a simulation of politics; and Kurt Kobain a simulation of marginality. The lines are blurred between facts and information, between information and entertainment, between entertainment and politics. The masses get bombarded by these images (simulations) and signs (simulacra) which encourage them to buy, vote, work, play,... but eventually they become apathetic (i.e. cynical).

The chapter we see when Neo opens the book is 'On Nihilism' (Nihilism, from the Latin "nihil" meaning "nothing" (1a): a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless (1b): a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths ("there is no truth") (2): a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility.)

Thomas lives in the epitome of a 'simulacra', a world that has no underlying truth. His world is based on a chemical response feed to him by a computer.

Thomas is obviously searching for answers to his life, but he will not find them in these books, nor will he defeat the Matrix using the rules of the Matrix. He must look outside of his world just as we must search for answers outside of ours, through Yeshua and God.

CHOI: Hallelujah! You're my savior, man! My own personal Jesus Christ!

THOMAS: If you get caught using that...

CHOI: I know, I know. This never happened. You don't exist.

There are several examples in scripture, mainly in Matthew, Mark and Luke, where Yeshua heals someone then tells them not to tell anyone what has happened. This dialog should remind us of that and hint that Thomas is not yet ready to disclose his powers to the world (indeed, he doesn't even know about them, yet.)

As Neo, Thomas will die and return to life, just as Yeshua did, so Choi is, in essence, prophesying here. (You don't, yet, exist fully.)

THOMAS: Right...

CHOI: Something wrong, man? You look a little whiter than usual.

THOMAS: My computer...You ever have the feeling that you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?

Thomas is in a state here where he is starts to feel that he is asleep and needs to wake up. He will soon understand that better than he may want to!

CHOI: All the time. It's called mescaline. It's the only way to fly. It sounds to me like you need to unplug, man. A little R and R. What do you think, Dujour, should we take him with us?

DUJOUR: Definitely.

'Unplugging' is exactly what Thomas needs...what we all need. To unplug from the lies of the world and accept our heritage as children of God!

Often in the movie doors will signal a choice, as they do here.

Thomas is given presented with the choice to walk accompany the group or stay closed in his apartment.

THOMAS: I can't. I have to work tomorrow.

DUJOUR: Come on. It'll be fun. I promise.

(He notices her tattoo -- a small white rabbit.)

THOMAS: Yeah. Sure, I'll go.

The white rabbit, a nod to Alice in Wonderland and the dream world they both are in. It is another moment when Thomas must make a choice...does he go with them, or does he stay home and in his state of bare awareness that there is more to life than he has experienced so far?

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