On The Beach
By
Nevil Shute
Beach Blanket Bingo During the
The Cold War
The Cold War was a state of tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its satellite states) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others).
The dates commonly accepted for the Cold War is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine (a U.S. foreign policy pledging to aid nations threatened by Soviet
The Cold War
During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were involved in an arms race which lead to increasingly lethal weapons. This was especially true in relation to nuclear weapons. The two superpowers began stockpiling nuclear warheads that had increasing power and lethality.
The Cold War
The U.S. involvement in Korea and Vietnam was a direct result of the Cold War. During the 1980’s, we were involved in a number of Central American civil wars, attempting to halt the spread of communism via the “Domino Effect.”.
MAD
Why didn’t the U.S. and the Soviet Union start a nuclear war?
MAD
What prevented war during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.
The MAD doctrine assumes that
each side has enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the other side and that either side, if attacked for any reason by the other,
Comparison
1 kiloton equals 2,000,000 lbs. of TNT.
The largest conventional
On The Beach - Author
Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 1899 – 12 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in
Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.
He graduated from Oxford University with a degree in engineering science.
On The Beach - Title
The phrase "on the beach" is a Royal Navy term that means "retired from the Service." The title also refers to the T. S. Eliot poem The Hollow Men, which includes the lines:
In this last of meeting places We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river.
Printings of the novel, contain extracts from the The Hollow Men, including the the concluding lines:
On The Beach - Characters
Dwight Towers - The decent, soft-spoken captain of the American nuclear submarine. Although Dwight is considered a practical, rational man, he continues to believe—or at least pretend to believe—that his family is still alive in nuclear-war- ravaged America. Work is Dwight's salvation, and he continues to work hard whether he has to or not. He refuses to break rules, and remains loyal to the Navy and his wife until the end of his life.
On The Beach - Characters
Moira Davidson - A hard-drinking, tough-talking flirtatious single young woman from Australia. Moira prefers to dance and drink than face the reality that the approaching
radiation means she will never have the opportunity to fulfill her dreams. Even though she knows Dwight will never be disloyal to his wife, Moira becomes his good friend, bringing life and excitement to Dwight's last months. In turn, Dwight's influence helps Moira find some peace with their inevitable fate.
On The Beach - Characters
Jennifer Holmes - Peter and Mary Holmes's baby daughter. Jennifer is a constant source of worry for her mother, especially when her father returns from a voyage during which one of the submarine crew comes down with the measles.
On The Beach - Themes
Self-destruction
-The human race has self-destructed via a global nuclear war
-Moira Davidson drinks herself to oblivion, as does Douglas Froude, against his doctor's orders.
On The Beach - Themes
Humankind’s Destructive Relationship With Technology
-The characters in the novel have complex relationships with technology.
-Technological advances have made it possible to eliminate all life with one war, but Peter is still fascinated with the inner workings of the
nuclear powered submarine.
-Autoracing becomes a favorite pastime and spectator sport for the Australians.
On The Beach - Themes
Knowledge As Both Danger And Salvation
-While science is sometimes good for human society, science has also led to its ruin. In the novel, radiation will be one of the only lasting legacy of human scientific knowledge, making the link between knowledge and destruction clear.
On The Beach - Motifs
Work
-Many of the characters continue working despite their prematurely shortened lives.
-Peter is anxious to have another naval commission before it’s too late.
-Mary plans a garden and other projects around the house even though they won't see the fruits of their labor.
On The Beach - Motifs
Sanity
-The extreme events in the novel shift the characters' definitions of sanity, as nearly all the characters show a resistance to believing and accepting the reality of the situation.
-Dwight, a very practical and rational individual, still believes his family is alive and waiting for him in Connecticut. He even goes so far as to buy presents for his wife and kids.
On The Beach
What is a Cobalt Bomb?
-A cobalt bomb is a type of "salted bomb": a nuclear weapon designed to produce enhanced amounts of radioactive fallout, intended to
contaminate a large area with radioactive material.
On The Beach
What is radioactive fallout?
Nuclear fallout, or simply fallout, is the residual radioactive material
propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave have passed.
-It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a
nuclear weapon explodes. Fallout may get entrained with the products of a cloud and fall as black rain (rain darkened by soot and other
On The Beach
Cobalt Radiation Levels vs. Time
-An Sv, or Sievert is a measurement of radiation exposure on the body.
On The Beach
Cobalt Radiation Levels vs. Time
-If a cobalt bomb deposits intense fallout causing a dose rate of 10 Sv per hour, any unsheltered person exposed to the fallout would receive a lethal dose in about 30.
-After one half-life of 5.27 years, only half of the cobalt-60 will have decayed, and a person exposed to the radiation would receive a lethal dose in 1 hour.
-After 10 half-lives (about 53 years), a healthy person could spend 1 to 4 days exposed to the fallout with no immediate effects.
-After 20 half-lives (about 105 years), humans could remain unsheltered full-time. However, this yearly radiation exposure rate is on the order of 30 times greater than the peacetime exposure rate. As a result, the rate of cancer incidence in the survivor population would likely increase.
