Nevil Shute's Literary Analysis

Do people ever think about a radioactive dust cloud killing all of humanity? Nevil Shute did, and he wrote On the Beach to warn people about the dangers of nuclear war. Commander Dwight Towers, a character in On the Beach, took a crew of men in a submarine on a trip around North America. They explored the destruction of a nuclear war that created a radioactive dust cloud that is slowly moving south. The radiation levels become so high that nobody can survive them. Everyday people are changed by war.

The historical events that led Shute’s criticism are the Atomic Era and the Cold War. During both events, the advancing nuclear technologies created the capability of substantial destruction. When the first nuclear bomb was dropped to begin the Atomic Era, people became fearful of their futures. In On the Beach, a radioactive dust cloud was created by the previous war. Even people who weren’t involved with the war would end up dead and this frightened them. “‘Why should we have to die because other countries nine or ten thousand miles away from us wanted to have a war?’” (Shute 40). Shute uses the Atomic Era to lead his criticism because people were

Seeing that the Cold War lasted about 45 years, there was a considerable amount of destruction around the world. In On the Beach, Commander Dwight Towers and his crew explored the United States on their ship called the Scorpion. They saw firsthand the destruction of the cities and the damage that was done by the war that created the radioactive dust cloud. The crew discovered an area where the surface seemed untouched but no vegetation seemed to grow. Commander Towers stated, “‘I’d say that’s an air burst’...‘Perhaps a guided missile got one there.’” (Shute 184). Towns that people once lived in are now a pile of rubble. As can be seen, both the Cold War and the Atomic Era are historical events that led Shute’s