REALISTIC PORTRAYAL OF HUMAN RESILIENCE AND SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DANIEL DEFOE'S ROBINSON CRUSOE AND ROBERT ZEMECKIS'S CAST AWAY

Abstract

Daniel Defoe was a renowned English essayist and writer well known for writing fiction on adventures. He gained immense popularity for his famous masterpiece Robinson Crusoe, one of the first novels produced during the eighteenth century in the English language. Most of Defoe's novels depict realistic aspects of life, and Crusoe is no exception. It illustrates the protagonist's adventures, who finds himself stranded on a remote island due to a shipwreck. Defoe may have based it on the real experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a sailor from Scotland. The study aims to compare and contrast Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe" and the movie adaptation "Cast Away" directed by Robert Zemeckis, to explore the common themes and cultural differences and examine the characters' transformation through the lens of existential theory.

Existential philosophy explores man's existence through free will, choice, and self-introspection in a world full of chaos. The focus of research is to analyze the various aspects of existential philosophy, like estrangement, anxiety, alienation, and fear, and offer an insight into man's psychological and spiritual transformation. Both protagonists, Robinson Crusoe and Chuck Noland, struggle to survive on an uninhabited island and experience severe physical and psychological displacement. They exhibit man's innate need for companionship, the true spirit of resilience, and self-discovery in extreme isolation and despair. The research aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the universal experience of man's quest for meaning in life in the face of adversities and the portrayal of hope for survival and spiritual awakening in literature and film.