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Chapter 94
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 makes it to Christo’s tent. Against all odds, Christo is still breathing. Jed predicts right away that Richard is leaving. Richard confirms that the plan is to depart that evening, after Tet. Jed replies he’ll only join Richard if Christo is dead by then. Richard warns Jed of all the consequences that will come from Jed staying behind, being stuck on the island with Sal. Richard offers to euthanize Christo, but Jed angrily refuses. He says Christo will probably die in time regardless and that in the meantime, Richard must leave.
Although Richard was not willing to kill Karl for Sal, he does offer to kill Christo as a way of allowing Jed to leave the island. While the morality of the situation is complicated, since it seems that Christo is indeed dying regardless, this shows how, as much as Richard doesn’t want to be the killer some people see him as, he has nevertheless become more hardened in his time at the beach.
Active
Themes
