Vanessa Wrights

Chuck Noland's Hero's Journey

A hero's journey is where the hero has learnt to deal with obstacles in his or her life. Chuck Noland is a systems engineer for FedEx, in the movie Cast Away. I believe that Noland is a hero, because he has survived in nature and found out what he was capable of doing independently.

Noland was separated from the love of his life, Kelly Fears, his comforting home, and his daily routine, when leaving for his trip. He received a phone call during Christmas dinner and had to leave. When exiting the vehicle, he struggles to depart the love of his life. When landing on the island, everything is new to him. This was the start of a dramatic change in his life. Noland was very observatory in his surroundings and used them to better himself.

Noland starts to lose a lot of weight, grows long, unhealthy hair and a beard. He uses wood to make a boat, leaves to start a fire, a water jacket as a cover, a cave as shelter, an unopened package as his motivation, and the fish and crab in the water as his food source. Wilson is the mentor of the movie as well as Noland's best friend. Wilson is a volleyball, that was found in one of the FedEx packages that was discovered floating on the shore. Wilson helped to support Noland in all of his decisions.

Noland was rescued floating in the middle of the island, on the creatively built boat. Returning home, he went back to look for the love of his life, Kelly. He created a life on the island, faced with negative traits such as suicide and starvation. He survived no matter what the situation came about. He never did get the love of his life back, but he was grateful to have his life back in his control.

I have talked about a hero named Chuck Noland, who intended to take a trip when his plane takes an unexpected crash; Leaving him on a remote isolated island to survive for his life. He is considered a true hero in my eyes, because he survived a life that many think is impossible! He did whatever he had to do to provide for himself. Chuck Noland, not only represents a hero, but an archetype of today's society.