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Chapter 8
Themes
and Colors
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 François make it to Ko Samui, where they plan to meet up with a fisherman. They find huts to stay in, part of another backpacker community. Richard goes for a swim and eventually Étienne joins him. Soon after getting in the water, however, Étienne complains of stinging jellyfish. Richard teaches Étienne the safe way to hold a jellyfish without it stinging. Eventually, Françoise enters the water and suggests they all swim farther out.
Richard’s ability hold a jellyfish without it stinging him shows that he is not totally naïve about the world around him. Still, Richard’s ability to control a jellyfish gives him an inflated idea of his control over nature in general, and he will learn the consequences of this way of thinking later in the novel.
Active
Themes
