All thought of intercepting the northbound steamer has now been abandoned as the mission evolves once again. With it goes all notion of using the silver for any political or social purpose. Nostromo's hope to "find the Isabels" is deeply symbolic, standing for the People trying to find their individuality in the gulf of subjective isolation and the dead end of social fidelity. Without the island, Nostromo's fidelity demands death -- the Isabel literally represents the only chance to retain both his integrity and his life, to escape the narrowing trap of the People's dream-ideal.