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Chapter 58
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 smokes the joint Keaty left and heads for the beach. It’s Sunday, one of the few times when the whole camp is in one place, with some playing football on the beach and others playing frisbee or swimming. Richard confronts Bugs about his claim that Bugs discovered the orchard. Everyone is surprised, even Sal, but Bugs denies the accusation. Eventually, Bugs gets angry and throws a papaya at Richard. It turns into a fight, and Richard knocks Bugs down with one punch. He then throws a frisbee at Bugs, breaking Bugs’s nose. Bugs admits he lied, then Françoise asks him to swim. But it turns out this was all Richard’s fantasy while smoking.
While previously, many of Richard’s fantasies were sexual or romantic, focusing on Françoise, this fantasy is focused more on violence and on getting even with Bugs. This reflects how, after killing the shark and spending so much time on military-style missions, violence has increasingly become a part of how Richard thinks. Richard’s fantasy is about power and shows how underneath it all, he is not really looking for the utopian communal lifestyle that the beach supposedly provides.
Themes
His fantasy over, Richard arrives at the beach, and Keaty wants to show him something in the water. Richard struggles to see it at first before he realizes that there are little creatures in the water creating a phosphorescent glow. Gregorio explains this phenomenon only happens certain nights and that no one knows the exact source. Étienne hands Richard Gregorio’s diving mask and says there’s more to see.
Themes
