Author William Golding of "Lord of the Flies" and director Robert Zemeckis of "Cast Away" use a range of stylistic conventions such as setting , character/conflict and symbolism to explore the theme of survival. These texts encourage us to consider the physical and psychological aspects of survival. Contextually, “Cast Away” was filmed in 2001, around the same year that the September 11 attacks took place in New York. William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" was released in 1954, a few years after World War II. The novel and film were created during a time when people were dying on a massive scale. The director and the writer were trying to give people hope. Hope was given through the creation of a novel and film sharing the same theme of survival. Both the novel and the film present many tips and skills for surviving difficult situations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Both Zemeckis and Golding used setting through the introduction of characters and time periods. While William Golding's novel is set in the 1950s, "Cast Away" is set later, between 1995 and 2000. "Lord of the Flies" takes place on an unnamed, uninhabited tropical island in the Pacific Ocean during a fictional world war. The main characters of the novel, the boys arrive on this unknown island when their plane crashes unexpectedly. Similarly, “Cast Away” also takes place on an island, but unlike “Lord of the Flies,” the location was on a small island in Fiji. The main character Chuck Noland played by Tom Hanks arrives on the small island in the same way as the boys in "Lord of the Flies", his plane crashes due to stormy conditions. The boys before arriving on the island were just a few English boys in the middle of the World War. They were being airlifted to a safer location, when suddenly their plane was shot down. The boys found themselves scattered alone on an unknown island and could not find each other. Noland, the main character of "Cast Away", is on a business trip for FedEx with his partners. Unlike Lord of the Flies, Noland's plane crashes into the sea and has to watch the plane sink into the ocean with his friends on board. The director uses a medium close shot of Hanks' face, this shows his expression but also lets the audience know how hard he is struggling to stay afloat. Comparing the two contexts leads us to the conclusion that these two texts take place in situations that are impossible to survive. Zemeckis creates empathy for Noland as the audience sees him in a state of shock, aware of the situation he finds himself in. Golding presents them as children who are afraid of war and who have crashed on an island without any adults. empathy towards them. Another stylistic convention is character and conflict. Through descriptive writing and direction, Golding and Zemeckis introduce their main characters/conflicts. The main characters of the novel are Ralph, Piggy and Jack. Ralph is an athletic and charismatic protagonist, whom the group elects as leader. Ralph is represented by Golding as the main representative of order and civilization, all characteristics of a great leader. Jack is the antithesis of Ralph, he has a strong will, he is wild, purple and desires power more than anything. Piggy is an overweight, intellectual and talkative boy. Of all the boys, Piggy is the most reliable and loyal. Throughout the novel, there is heated conflict between Ralph and Jack, when Ralph is chosen as..