Thesis on "Cast Away (2000): A Modern Robinson Crusoe"

Thesis 3 pages (1155 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Cast Away (2000): A modern Robinson Crusoe

The choice of the protagonist Chuck Noland's profession in the film Cast Away is very deliberate. The film unfolds the tale of the FedEx executive's life on a deserted island, after his plane crashes into the ocean, leaving him the sole survivor in the midst of uncharted waters. FedEx is a company that addresses the modern world's obsession with time and speed. At the beginning of the film, the fanatically dedicated Federal Express employee has been working in Moscow and Asia, trying to eliminate every last bit of waste from the supply chain of the company. He is pasty and overweight, but doesn't care -- all that matters is his job. Before his fateful flight, his life is secure, and he confidently tells his fiancee he will see her when he returns.

Chuck's fiancee Kelly Frears is similarly time-obsessed. She regrets how much Chuck's schedule takes him away from her, but gives Chuck her grandfather's pocket watch as a Christmas present, when he gives her an engagement ring. The plane crash forces the protagonist to slow down, and concentrate on the most essential elements of life. Suddenly, Chuck is without a schedule, without any sense of time or future, and his only duty is to survive. He has no one to please but himself. His only relationship on the island is with a volleyball on which he paints a face and names Wilson, after the company that manufactured it. He talks to himself, and no one answers back when he cries out for aid, except the echo of his own voice. He is entirely reliant upon his inner life and outer strength for survival, and the last vestiges of his previous life, a few FedEx packages that wash up upon the shore.Continue scrolling to

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