Throughout the four texts ‘Of Mice and Men’ written by John Steinbeck, ‘Cast Away’ directed by Robert Zemeckis, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ by The Beatles, and ‘Foreign’ written by Carol Ann Duffy, all share the theme of loneliness of which is explored through connections – characters and the setting. The connections that the text creators use often demonstrate how lonely characters maintain relationships with one another, and how the setting of each text influences how loneliness is portrayed within the story.
In the two texts ‘Cast Away’ by Robert Zemeckis and ‘Foreign’ by Carol Ann Duffy, the connecting theme of loneliness is shown through setting. ‘Foreign’ is set in a city, which is described as “strange” and “dark” – but what’s important is that…show more content… We live our lives day by day around people who would be considered foreign, yet we don't look at the world from their perspective – perhaps they struggle with communicating with us, and we disregard that. We also see a similar link with setting in ‘Cast Away’, which also shares the idea of isolation being caused from the setting. Chuck Noland has the problem where he ends up alone on a deserted island, which links to the name of the text ‘Cast Away’. Much like ‘Foreign’, Chuck becomes alone and is living in an entirely different world than others, and he has to adapt to the new environment that he lives in – which is similar to how the character in ‘Foreign’ experiences loneliness because he is unfamiliar with his surroundings due to the character being an immigrant. Although ‘Foreign’ does not have a drastic change of setting unlike ‘Cast Away’, from the busy town of Memphis to a deserted island, the second stanza of ‘Foreign’ the poet talks about how the character was at home – “Then you…show more content… ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set during ‘The Great Depression’, a global economic downfall during the 1930s, and is set in Soledad, California. The town Soledad is a clever use of symbolism by Steinbeck, as the word translates to ‘Solitude, Isolation’ in Spanish – and can be foreshadowing events of loneliness to come. Most of the story is set on a ranch, where the characters are forced to work due to the economic crisis, and this starvation of basic resources by something as simple as a job has left people restless, but more importantly lonely. This type of setting is influenced through personal experience, as John Steinbeck was born around this area of California and lived through ‘The Great Depression’. The bunkhouse setting depicts loneliness when Steinbeck writes “Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk.” This can be symbolism of how the people that reside there, will always be in “dusk” – which links in with the name of the setting “Soledad”, sharing the same connection with how people who are in “Soledad” are also in “Solitude and Isolation”. A similar connection is shared within the text “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles – where the setting has made the character Eleanor Rigby seclude herself, defining her as one of the “lonely people”. The song “Eleanor Rigby”