Lord Of The Flies And Castaway Comparison

“Fear is a survival instinct; fear in its way is a comfort for its means that somewhere hope is alive” (Sturgeon). In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding and the movie, Castaway, directed by Robert Zemeckis, both stories involve a person(s) getting stranded on an island. In both the novel and the movie, a group of boys and an individual demonstrate that over time that fear and the will to survive is the only thing that is driving them to make the decisions they make. They will do things that display savagery and uncivilized behavior in order to beat nature. While some may argue that the urge to gain power is what leads one to make decisions and act upon it, it is clear that fear and the will to survive is what many people act upon

In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, it is shown when the boys are having a feast after they killed their first pig and the rain comes. When the boys start to fear that the rain wouldn’t stop they see a creature emerging from the woods. Not knowing the beast was actually simon, “out of terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind. ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood’… It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming rose before the beast was like a pain” (Golding 152). In the quote the boys are viciously killing Simon because they think that he is the beast, they are in fear which demonstrates that fear causes one to think irrationally and act upon it. It is this very quote that proves that fear will drive one’s decisions and actions because it caused the boys to act without thinking, ultimately leading them to kill Simon due to the fear of the beast. Overall, this establishes how fear drives one’s decisions and actions. Along the same lines, the topic of how fear influences a person's actions and decisions is also seen in the movie Castaway. The main character, Chuck Noland is stranded on the island by himself, he can’t start a fire, he can’t find food, and can’t find water. This leads him to feel helpless and afraid

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, The boys have just landed on the island are have gathered together. They talk about what they need to survive and how they will be rescued, when the meeting comes to an end Ralph mentions that, “there’s another thing. [They] can help them find [them]. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice [them]. So [they] must make smoke on top of the mountain. [They] must make a fire” (Golding 38). In the quote, the first assembly is happening right after the crash. They all group together and decide what their priorities are so they can get rescued. They all decided that they need fire, shelters, and food. It is in this very quote that survival is what drives one’s decisions because even after a plane crash, the surviving boys gather up and decide what they need to survive with. No matter what has happened, they all had the will to overpower the traumatic experience and decide and act upon their decisions. Along the same lines, in the movie, Castaway, Chuck Noland also demonstrates that survival is what influence one’s decisions. In movie Castaway, Chuck is seen doing many things that show how the will to survive impacts his decisions and actions. This is demonstrated when it is his first few days on the island, he