On the Beach 4 5 by Nevil Shute 6

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T e a c h e r’s n o t e s 1

3 On the Beach 4 5 by Nevil Shute 6

INTERMEDIATE S U M M A R Y

n the Beach was first published in 1957. It was made BACKGROUND AND THEMES O into a film in 1959 starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire. The story is set in the fictional future, In 1957, when On the Beach was published, nuclear war was and assumes that an atomic war has taken place. The atomic at the forefront of people’s minds. The Cold War between the bombs and the fall-out have destroyed the nort h e rn E a s t e rn block and the West made the danger of war hemisphere of the world. The radioactive dust is slowly moving frighteningly real, as both sides gathered arms and threatened south, killing everything in its path. Lieutenant Commander in each other. The world seemed more vulnerable than ever the Australian navy, Peter Holmes, is appointed liaison officer before, and On the Beach dealt with issues few people were on board Scorpion, an atomic submarine. He is to work under prepared to confront. American Commander, Dwight Towers. The submarine is sent on a short journey to investigate the eastern and northern Shute was convinced that On the Beach was going to be a coasts of Australia, and a longer cruise to the north to failure, and was pleasantly surprised when it proved to be a determine if there is any sign of life. The story focuses on five huge success, drawing new readers to his works. Since then it main characters – Peter, his wife, Mary and baby daughter, has been referred to and taught by pacifists, philosophers, Jennifer, their friend Moira, and Dwight Towers. It shows how theologians, and political scientists, as a vivid picture of the they face impending disaster, and how they personally horrific consequences of nuclear war. confront the fate that awaits them. Shute set his novel in the year 1962 – a few years into the future. The title of the novel is fundamental to its key theme. The beach is a place where earth and water meet. It is often ABOUT NEVIL SHUTE associated with beginnings and endings, and in this case is symbolic of the end of life on Earth. Nevil Shute Norway was born on January 17th 1899 in Ealing, Shute used an extract from T.S.Eliot’s poem, The Waste a suburb of London, which was then on the edge of the Land, at the front of the full version of his novel. These lines country. Shute had a lifelong passion for aeroplanes and said can be directly related to the story : they were ‘the best part of my life.’ Playing truant from his hated Hammersmith prep school, Shute would visit the ‘In this last of meeting places Science Museum in Kensington, where he immersed himself We grope together amongst the model aeroplanes. And avoid speech Shute’s elder brother, Fred, died at the age of 19 in the First Gathered on this beach of the tumid river ..... World War. Shute believed it was his fate to die in the same This is the way the world ends way, and tried, without success, to get into the RAF. For the This is the way the world ends final three months of that war, he guarded the mouth of the This is the way the world ends Thames Estuary as a private soldier. Not with a bang but a whimper.’ After obtaining an engineering degree at Balliol College T.S.Eliot Oxford, Shute began his career as an aeronautical engineer. Melbourne can be seen as the last of meeting places where He began writing in the 1920s under his two Christian names people struggle to live their lives, not mentioning the (Nevil Shute) because he was worried that a reputation as a impending doom, whilst the tumid river of radioactive dust novelist may undermine his engineering career. Shute formed moves slowly towards them. The last four lines are particularly his own aeroplane construction company, Airspeed Ltd. which significant. The world dies not with the bang of the atom he built up to a thousand employees by the time he left in bomb, but through the slowly fading whimper of suicide and 1939. radiation sickness. At the start of the 2nd World War, Shute joined the Royal The novel ends on the beach. Dwight Towers takes his Naval Volunteer Reserve as an ‘elderly yachtsman’. After two submarine out to sink it in the bay, leaving Moira watching on days, he was pulled out to work on the design of the beach, where she then takes her suicide pills. unconventional weapons, and by the middle of the war had On the Beach is a story of desperate hope and final been made a lieutenant commander. resignation. All the way through there is the thought that After the war Shute became a full time author. He wrote 25 maybe Australia will be spared, that the radioactive dust will be books over a period spanning 30 years. In 1949 he moved to washed away by the rain before it reaches Melbourne. One Australia with his wife and two daughters, where he gained a scientist insists that the radiation in the north is lessening and reputation as an ‘Australian’ writer. He died in 1960. that soon life will be able to exist there again. This is the motivation behind the submarine’s journey to the shores of

Canada. The strange unintelligible radio signals emerging chemist on the board: ‘It’s probably going to be a difficult sporadically from Seattle for two years give out a message of decision for religious people.’ Ask students what he is hope that someone just might be alive there. This hope too is talking about. They discuss: dashed when the cause – a broken window frame rocking in a) Is he right? Why/why not? the wind – is discovered by the exploration party. This theme b) How difficult would they find the decision? of hope runs parallel to the resilience of humans to disaster. c) What would their decision be? The main characters in the novel refuse to accept that the world will end. They try to blot out the inevitable by continuing Chapter 6 to live normal lives. Peter and Mary plan their garden for years In small groups, students discuss whether they think Nevil ahead, Moira starts a typing course to better her skills, Dwight Shute gives a realistic picture of the world after a nuclear Towers buys presents for his family in America, even though he war. Make a list of the things they disagree with and knows they are dead. anything they think should have been included. They then Shute was first and foremost an engineer, and his books write down all the feelings they have as they read about the always contain an extraord i n a ry amount of technical dead world. The groups report back to the rest of the class. i n f o rmation, written in an easily understood style. His Chapters 7–9 characters are practical people who get on with their lives If possible record a radio news broadcast. Play this to the stoically and efficiently. The characters and the technical class and have a discussion about the way the information information in On the Beach is typical of Shute, but the is presented. Divide the class into small groups. Ask storyline is not. He generally likes his heroes and heroines to groups to produce a short radio broadcast about radiation solve their problems through logical and practical thinking. sickness, the car race, life in Melbourne, or from the last Shute had a wide readership by the time he wrote On the people alive in the world. They may include interviews if Beach, so that the novel made an instant impact. The day they wish. Each group reads their broadcast to the rest of before he died, Shute remarked on the power of the popular the class. Discuss which broadcast was most successful in novelist, who is able to ‘play the part of the enfant terrible in conveying the information, and why. raising for the first time subjects which ought to be discussed ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK in public and which no statesman cares to approach’. In this way, an entertainer may serve a useful purpose.’ In small groups, students discuss what might happen to the world now that humans have died out. Each group writes a scenario for the next 100 years. Each group reads Communicative activities their ideas to the class and the class votes on: a) the most inventive and The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections b) the most realistic of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, and supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises Read the section from TS Eliot’s poem The Waste Land printed on the front of this factsheet. Students discuss the covering shorter sections of the book, see the relevance of the poem to the book. photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class readers but, with the exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, can also be used by students working alone in a self-access G l o s s a r y centre. It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’ sections at the back of the book. (Definitions are based on the Longman Active Study Dictionary.) Ask students to work in pairs. Students imagine that an atomic war has created a huge cloud of radioactive dust Chapter 1 which has killed the rest of the world and is coming admiral (n) a high rank in the British or US navy towards their country. What would they do? What effect aircraft (n) a plane or other vehicle that can fly would the death of the rest of the world have on their cart (n) a vehicle with two or four wheel that is pulled by a horse country? Have a class discussion after students have coal (n) a black mineral that is dug from the earth and burned to talked in pairs. produce heat detector (n) a piece of equipment that makes a signal if it detects ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION something Chapter 1 fuel (n) a substance such as coal, gas or oil that can be burned to Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a card produce heat or energy with the name of one of the main characters with the letters Lieutenant Commander (n) an officer with a hign rank in the navy in the wrong order. The group decodes the name and navy (n) the part of a country’s armed forces that is organized for writes a few sentences to describe that character. Using fighting a war at sea the first person, the group reads out a sentence to the rest nuclear (adj) using or connected with nuclear energy of the class, who must guess the name of the character. radiation (n) a form of energy that comes especially from nuclear reactions Chapters 2–3 signal (n) a sound or action that you make in order to give information Divide the class into small groups. Ask each group to write to someone a section of these chapters through the eyes of one of the submarine (n) a ship that can stay under water characters. They must write in the first person. Groups read their work to the class. Class discusses whether this style Chapters 2-3 suits the novel. Why/why not? loud hailer (n) a thing shaped like a tube that is wide at one end, that you speak through to make your voice louder Chapters 4–5 Prime Minister (n) the leader of the government in some countries Divide the class into small groups. Write the words of the radioactive (adj) containing radiation

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Student’s activities 1 On the Beach 2 3

Photocopiable 4 Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more other people.Pair/group-only activities are marked. 5

Activities before reading the book 6

1 Read the introduction and answer these questions. Chapter 2 INTERMEDIATE (a) What was the name of the factory Shute started? 1 Who... (b) What was Shute’s full name? (a) goes to church on Sunday morning? (c) How old was Shute when he died? (b) has never been in a submarine before? (d) What did Shute do in the Second World War? (c) plans to go back to his family in September? (e) What type of books did Shute write? (d) was below the surface in a submarine for 32 (f) What is Shute’s most famous book? days? (g) Where and when was the first nuclear bomb (e) already knows John Osborne? tested? (f) tells Dwight not to take anyone on board during (h) How many people died from the nuclear bombs the trip. dropped in 1945? (g) will take the milk to Mary when Peter is away? (I) Why did the people living on the Bikini Atoll have (h) wants to see the submarine? to leave in 1978? 2 Do you think the submarine will find anyone alive? Why/why not? Discuss with another student. Activities while reading the book Chapter 3 Chapter 1 (pages 1–11) 1 He r e are the answers. Write down what the questions are . 1 These sentences are mixed up. Put the correct two halves of these sentences together. (a) A large black dog. (a) Peter makes a cart ...... (b) A history of the war. to make electricity for the streetcars. (c) About 4,700. (b) The war lasted ...... (d) No, they wanted to change them. which can be pulled by a bicycle. (e) Because it was a port that was near to their (c) Peter travels by bike ...... factories. on two trips in Scorpion. (f) Egyptians in a Russian aircraft. (d) The Australians use coal ...... for 37 days. (g) When all the bombs had gone and all the aircraft were useless. (e) Commander Towers was in his sub ...... six kilometres to fetch milk. (h) They called through a loud hailer. (f) The Russo-Chinese war ...... (i) Because of the mines at the river mouth. came first. 2 What would you do if you had six months left to live? (g) The Arab-Israeli war ...... Discuss with another student. followed the Russo-NATO war. (h) Peter agrees to go ...... Chapter 4 when the war broke out. 1 How much can you remember? Do not look at the book. 2 Work in pairs. Student A works in business. Student B works at home. Have a conversation about how the (a) Moira and Dwight spend a morning together: war has changed your lives. (i) at the beach (ii) in church Chapter 1 (pages 11–23) (iii) shopping 1 Answer these questions. (b) Nes on the radio says that radiation : (a) About how many men are on board Scorpion ? (i) is slowing down (b) What fuel does Scorpion use? (ii) is going faster (c) What does Mary say when Peter tells her he has (iii) is coming nearer asked Dwight Towers to stay with them? (c) When Dwight visits Moira at her parents’ farm he (d) How far from Falmouth does Moira Davidson brings with him: live? (i) some clothes for her to mend (e) What two things does Moira think are not fair? (ii) some flowers (iii) an illness 2 Discuss with another student how Moira and Dwight (d) The Navy Department order Dwight Towers to behave because they think they may soon die. take the submarine to Seattle: (i) to pick up some men

(ii) to blow up the mines 3 ‘They had proved that Jorgensson was wrong.’ How? (iii) to examine the radio station 4 ‘There is no hope left after the submarine’s journey.’ (e) Scientist, Jorgensson, believes the radiation Discuss with another student. level: 5 Do you think Dwight is pleased to be made an (i) is getting less in the sea admiral? Why/why not? Discuss with another student. (ii) is falling in the north (iii) is rising in the north Chapter 7 (f) Osborne owns: 1 Who says this? Who to? What about? (i) a blue motorbike (a) ‘Would you like to stay with her during this time?’ (ii) a two seater racing car (b) ‘You can say well done if you like.’ (iii) the fastest car in the world (c) ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’ 2 Osborne is glad that he is not married. Why? Discuss (d) ‘I could take it this afternoon in the Ferrari.’ with another student. (e) ‘Have you killed anybody yet?’ (f) ‘It’s better than dying from radiation sickness.’ Chapter 5 (g) ‘You just take it friend.’ 1 Fill in the spaces in the sentences with these words: 2 Work in pairs. You are watching the car race. Talk mines below religious angry month about what is happening. Jennifer 240 for Mary buys San Francisco secretary car Chapter 8 (a) ...... is ...... when Peter tells her she 1 Are these sentences True (T) or False (F)? Correct the may have to kill ...... false sentences. (b) Osborne’s ...... reaches ...... (a) There is a lot of work to do on Scorpion. ––– kilometres an hour. (b) John Osborne thinks that Australia will (c) Scorpion will not go to ...... because there be the last place to die. ––– are unknown ...... (c) Dwight tells the captain of Swordfish to (d) Moira is learning to be a ...... sink his ship in deep water. ––– (e) Scorpion will be ...... the surface for about (d) Mary enjoys going to Melbourne because one ...... it is clean and friendly. ––– (f) Dwight does not like the ...... paintings. (e) John Osborne dies in the Grand Prix. ––– (g) Dwight ...... fishing equipment ...... (f) Moira and Dwight go to a hotel in the his son. mountains to fish. ––– 2 Work in pairs. 2 Peter says to Mary, ‘Don’t be unhappy. There’s Student A is Mary, Student B is Peter. Have the nothing new about death.’ Do you think this thought conversation when Peter tells Mary about the pills. makes Mary less afraid of dying? Discuss with Chapter 6 another student. 1 (a) At which of these places does the submarine Chapter 9 stop? What happens there? 1 Answer these questions – try not to look at the book. Norfolk Island Cape Flattery Kodiak Grays (a) What does John Osborne do with his mother’s Harbour Edmonds Los Angeles Santa dog? Maria Fort Bragg San Francisco (b) Why does Mary Holmes think they are lucky? (b) Put the places in the order that the submarine passes them. (c) Where did the war start? (d) Why can’t Moira die with Dwight? 2 Answer these questions: (e) Where does Dwight say he is going? (a) Why doesn’t the captain want to take the submarine close to the coast? 2 ‘Newspapers could help. They could stop telling lies.’ Is (b) What does Lieutenant-Commander Farrell see this a fair attack on newspapers? Discuss with through the periscope at the Columbia River? another student. (c) What has happened at Vancouver Island? (d) Why doesn’t Dwight want Ralph Swain to come back into the submarine? Activities after reading the book (e) What was made in Edmunds? (f) How long is Lieutenant Sunderstrom able to live Discuss with another student: outside the submarine? Why? How long does he 1 Why do you think this book is called On the Beach? stay in Santa Maria? 2 The danger of nuclear war was greater when this (g) How do Sunderstrom’s feelings change from the book was first published than it is now. time he first gets out of the submarine to the time 3 This is a book without hope. he gets back in again? 4 It is not the end of the world – only the end of the (h) How does Sunderstrom make sure he takes no human race. radiation into the submarine?

Published and distributed by Pearson Education Factsheet written by W S Fowler © Pearson Education 2000 Factsheet series developed by Louise James