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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Beach, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tourism and Authenticity
Power, Control, and Human Nature
War, Violence, and Escapism
Secrecy, Fear, and Paranoia
Summary
Analysis
Richard, Étienne, and Françoise go to meet the “spiv.” They take off in his well-worn boat. Richard is fascinated by golden fish he sees swimming in the water. They eventually reach a deserted island, where they pay the spiv, and he leaves them. Richard has never been on a deserted island before and decides to explore for half an hour while Étienne consults his maps. Richard walks along the shore to a glade, thinking about how he feels like he’s becoming a different person in Thailand, almost feeling disconnected from himself as if he’s possessed. He comes back to Étienne who says he thinks he’s worked out what island the beach is on. They have lunch.
This passage shows how as the story continues, Richard increasingly finds himself living in a fantasy. The deserted island and map are all elements that could come from an adventure story. Richard’s feeling of being a different person shows how he is seeking to transform himself, revealing a dissatisfaction with his former life. An adventure offers the promise of leaving his old life behind, but Richard’s expectations don’t always align with the reality of what he experiences during his time trying to find authenticity at the beach.
Themes
