荒岛小说这一题材具有强烈的象征意义，基本遵循了人遭遇海难、流落荒岛和回归社会的情节模式。《鲁滨孙漂流记》、《蝇王》和《昨日之岛》三部代表性作品可以充分表现出荒岛小说在空间意义、欲望表征以及终极指向三个方面哲学意义的流变。从《鲁滨孙漂流记》中昂扬自信的时代精神，到《蝇王》对这一精神的摧毁，再到《昨日之岛》中温和的反思性重建，展现出从绝对到相对，从一元到多元，从“务实”到“务虚”的转变。

Desert island fictions usually have a typical theme, mainly following the plot mode that a person suffers shipwreck, goes through many dangers on a desert island, and returns to society finally. The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Lord of the Flies, The Island of the Day Before, these three representative works apparently show the changes of philosophical connotations of desert island fictions in terms of space meaning, desire representation and ultimate orientation. While the confident spirit in The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is destroyed in Lord of the Flies, it is rebuilt reflectively and gently in The Island of the Day Before, which reveals a turn from absolute to relative, unitary to multivariate, and “reality” to “retreat”.