Author William Golding of “Lord of the Flies” and director Robert Zemeckis of “Cast Away” use a number of stylistic conventions such as setting, character/ conflict and symbolism to explore the theme of survival. These texts encourage consideration of the physical and psychological aspects of survival. At the same time, “Cast Away” was filmed in 2001, more or less the same year the September 11 attacks occurred in New York City. “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding was released in 1954, a few years after the Second World War. The novel and film were created at a time when people were dying on a large scale. The director and the author were trying to give people hope. Hope was given through the creation of a novel and a film that shared the similar theme of survival. Both the novel and the film showcased numerous tips and skills on how to survive in difficult situations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Zemeckis and Golding both utilized setting through the introduction of characters and time periods. While William Golding's novel was set in the 1950s, “Cast Away” is set in the later period, from 1995 to the 2000s. “Lord of the Flies” is set on an uninhabited and unnamed tropical island in the Pacific Ocean during an imaginary world war. The main characters of the novel, the boys, arrive on this unknown island when their plane crashes unexpectedly. Similarly, “Cast Away” is also set 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 similar to the boys in "Lord of the Flies", his plane crashes due to stormy conditions. Before arriving on the Island, the boys were just a couple of English boys in the middle of a world war. They were transporting a plane to a safer place, when suddenly their plane was shot down. The boys found themselves lost alone on an unknown island and were unable to find each other. The main character of "Cast Away" Noland is on a business trip to FedEx with his partners. Unlike "Lord of the Flies", Noland's plane crashes into the sea and he has to watch the plane sink into the ocean with his friends on board. The director uses a medium close-up shot of Hanks' face, this shows his expression but also makes the audience understand how much effort he is experiencing trying to stay afloat. The comparison of the two settings leads us to the conclusion that both texts are set in situations in which it is impossible to survive. Zemeckis creates empathy for Noland as the audience sees him in a shocked state of realization of the situation he finds himself in. Golding presents them as children who are afraid of war and crash-land on an island without adults, the reader is made to feel 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, who the group elects as leader. Ralph is represented by Golding as the chief representative of order and civilization, all characteristics of a great leader. Jack is the antithesis of Ralph, he is strong-willed, wild, purple and desires power more than anything. Piggy is overweight, intellectual and a talkative guy. Of all the.