The theme of isolation hopelessness in the poem "The Castaway" by Derick Walcott

 Derek Walcott was verymuch interested travelling and he might have come across that he might have rejected by the people ( white people) of other countries because of his mixed identity. In this poem  Derek Walcott himself convaying his pain which he felt in an isolated area. 

The title Castaway means, the rejected and devastated life in darkness . This poem depicts the theme of broken identity, isolation and also describes the power of nature, and  the power of the landscape or an ocean. 

In this poem he is going to emphasize the horror of silence and boredom.  In this poem Derick Walcott explains the brokenness of the life by taking his own example. 

The poem begins with the feeling of an Isolated person who is casted out in an island, and waiting to get out of that place , the poet tells that, 

"The starved eye devours the seascape for the morsel 

Of a sail".

The horizon threads it infinitely.

Though he has an optimistic hope like a youth and whenever he think of his youth he gets great energy which restore the power, energy, and capacity to do anything. 

The poet tries to say that there is no living hope, with which we can also assume that the poet suggesting that the people who are living in the Caribbean island can't trust their own environment and they are living in fear because the area may be filled with calmness and greenery but at the same time it's also horrific and distractive with the darkness. 

"Pleasures of an old man:

Morning: contemplative evacuation, considering

The dried leaf, nature's plan"

In the poem he also praises the nature and talks about it's importance and at the same time he also opines  that,  how isolated people are so lucky, but very shortly he speaks negative about himself and says that though he is blessed with the nature, he misses the better opportunity.

"The silence thwanged by two waves of the sea.

Cracking a sea-louse, I make thunder split"

He compares his life with waves  and visualize that his life has not changed much , but he tells that the power of the waves  could break anything. Admiring the mighty power the poet is searching  across the ocean and in the shore sand to get some chance to get away from there.  

The poet observe the ocean with survival expectations, but he couldn't find any ship or human to rescue him from his lonely life. Even though the person trying to contemplate himself, but in his life he is finding only emptiness and nothingness.

"Nothing: the rage with which the sandfly's head is filled"

The poet brings the theme from the Bible and speaks about  the 'Genesis' which is the first book of the Bible and describes about the creation of the world and as well as the creation of first man Adam. 

"We end in earth, from earth began. 

In our own entrails, Genesis".

Though the poet is not addressing Adam directly, one can sense that  the  poet is trying to imagine about that  how Adam felt isolated and  lonelyness in the Eden garden, in the same way the Caribbean people felt alone and isolated. 

"The ripe brain rotting like a yellow nut"

The poet wants to say that every human brain has its own talent which we all aware of it,  but when the person living in isolation he can't use his intelligence in a better way. 

This poem brings the theme of hallucination feeling,  unhomeliness, and Derek Walcott himself he feels isolated and helpless , with the poem "Castaway" Derick Walcott  has tried to portray and to share his lonely life with his readers.