Nuclear War In Nevil Shute's On The Beach

On the Beach by Nevil Shute is an apocalyptic novel written in the mid-1950s. The non-fictional account tells the story of multiple people in Australia, and their life after nuclear war. The characters all cope with their approaching demise from radiation, and the story successfully shows the differences in each person’s handling of the situation. The Northern Hemisphere of the Earth has been destroyed by nuclear war and the only surviving people are those living in southern Australia. It is a known fact that radioactive dust is circulating and floating down towards Australia, and the minute population only has months to live. Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes is appointed to an office aboard a submarine, U.S.S. Scorpion, captained by, the American, Dwight Towers. Before the departure of the submarine, Dwight meets Moira Davidson at a party at Holme’s home in Melbourne. Her depression causes her to drink heavily, but Dwight and Moira fall in love as the story progresses. The submarine sets out for a short trip up the

“It’s like waiting to be hung,” she said bitterly. “Maybe it is. Or maybe it’s a period of grace.” This quote captures Moira and Dwight’s feelings about the situation everyone is in. Her depression caused by her lack of a future and the knowing of her death closer than it should be is like waiting to be hung. Dwight’s take on the situation is that it might be a period of grace. He takes the rest of his life to contemplate what is important to him and looks forward to seeing his family in heaven. This quote also shows the difference between their religious views, Dwight being in faith with the church to ensure his salvation and Moira’s escape with alcoholism. Shute created many characters, each with different views and handlings of the situation in their fairly normal lives, and I think that anyone could find the characters