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{{tropelist|Tropes in ''Cast Away'' are [[Product Placement|brought to you by Federal Express]].}}
* [[Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder]]: Interestingly, {{spoiler|Kelly was fully willing to drop her new husband for Chuck, but [[Did Not Get the Girl|both Chuck and Kelly realize that being together would be impossible]].}}
** It's an interesting bit of trivia that according to the commentary that the scene {{spoiler|was the part of the movie that confused watchers between the ages of 14 and 20 in the test audience. They were either too accustomed to the idea of the protagonist [[Happily Ever After|getting the girl in the end]] or weren't yet emotionally ready to grasp the sheer complexity of adult relationships.}}
* [[The Aloner]]
* [[At the Crossroads]]: {{spoiler|The ending. Two possible paths to his future. It's all very symbolic.}}
* [[Beard of Barbarism]]: Chuck has plenty of time to grow some pretty wild facial hair during his time on the island.
* [[Bloody Handprint]]: Wilson.
* [[Brick Joke]]: At the start of the movie the female welder sends a FedEx package to her husband in Moscow, who we see is cheating with a young Russian girl. At the end of the movie his name has been cut away from the sign above the entrance to her house.
* [[California Doubling]] : The movie was filmed on one of the small uninhabited islands belonging to [[Fiji]], even though the movie's island is supposed to lie somewhere south of the Cook islands.
* [[Can You Hear Me Now?]]: Portrayed realistically here.
* [[Chekhov's Armoury]]: After a while, Chuck opens the Fed Ex boxes that washed ashore with him, and the contents appear to be comically useless for his situation: video tapes, a volleyball, ice-skates and such. He finds a use for all of them, ''especially'' the volleyball.
** In an interesting case, the writers chose these items by drawing them from dozens of others out of a hat, then asking survival experts how they could be used.
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: As mentioned under [[Gallows Humor]], Chuck remembers his dentist was Dr. Spaulding. When he returns, he discovers {{spoiler|Kelly has married Dr. Spaulding's colleague (Jerry Lovett) and started a family with him}}.
** Also qualifies as [[Chekhov's Gag]] as the audience assumes it's a throwaway line.
* [[Chekhov's Hobby]],: aA very subtle one: Right before the family diner scene, the audience briefly sees Chuck's sailing certification and sailing awards. No wonder then that {{spoiler|he finds the right solution to overcome the powerful wave that prevented him from leaving the island and manages to do it when the weather conditions are optimal.}}
* [[Climactic Music]]: There is no music until {{spoiler|after Chuck escapes the island}}. The first musical cue is ''powerful''.
* [[Companion Cube]]: Wilson the volleyball, whom Chuck talks to in order to keep from going insane due to loneliness.
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* [[Deserted Island]]: 80% of the movie.
* [[Did Not Get the Girl]]: And it makes sense, too.
* [[Driven to Suicide]]: {{spoiler|It's gradually revealed that Noland tried to hang himself.}} {{spoiler|Planned, he planned to kill himself. Good thing he did a "dry run" first with a dummy, or else he would've just broken his legs and died of exposure or dehydration.}}
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Chuck Noland''': So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to.}}}}
* [[Exact Time to Failure]]
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* [[Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated]]
* [[Robinsonade]]
* [[Say My Name]]: {{spoiler|"WIIILLLLLLSOOOOOONNNNNNN! I'm sorry, Wilson!" Yes, only Tom Hanks can yell that line, believably, at a volleyball}}, and not make it [[Narm|sound stupid.]]
* [[Scenery Porn]]: But totally necessary, so we the audience know just how alone and isolated Chuck Noland really is when he's on that island.
* [[Setting Update]]: ''Cast Away'' is ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'' <small>IN THE MID-LATE 90S WITH A VOLLEYBALL AS FRIDAY!</small>
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* [[The Tooth Hurts]]: Chuck already has a bit of a toothache before he gets stranded on the island, but it only gets worse once he's there, forcing him to remove the rotten tooth. With an ice skate and a rock. Feel free to faint now.
* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Seriously. Don't watch the trailer until you've seen the film.
** Even more frustatinglyfrustratingly, Zemeckis openly admits to spoiling his films in trailers on purpose, saying that marketing shows that audiences want to know what EXACTLY what they're going to. Thus, most of the suspense of the film is sapped upon seeing said trailer.
* [[The Un-Reveal]]: We never find out what's in the last FedEx box. Hell, we never even find out why he didn't open it. (Seesee [[MacGuffin]], above).)
** One popular theory is that the wings on the package were a symbol of hope for Chuck.
** Another is that he left one package to keep himself grounded. "I'm still a civilized human being, isolated in survival mode or not. Someday I will deliver this package, dammit!"
* [[Unstoppable Mailman]]: Even after being stranded on an island for years, he still delivers the last package. (Strictlystrictly speaking, he doesn't. Like the song said, he "[[Elvis Presley|Return[s it] to Sender]]".).
 
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