Nevil_Shute




 * **__A Guide (Table of Contents) :__**
 * **Biography of Nevil Shute**
 * **Summary of On the Beach**
 * **Character Analysis**
 * **Discussion and Analysis of On the Beach**
 * **The Wasteland (quoted and discussed)**
 * **Symbolism**
 * **Explaining the Symbolism through Mythology**
 * **An Explanation of Radioactivity**
 * **On the Beach-A Movie**
 * **Related Works**
 * **Abstract**

Nevil Shute Norway was born in Ealing, London. His father, Arthur Hamilton Norway was an assistant secretary of the General Post Office in London while his mother, Mary Louisa Gadsden stayed at home. Nevil was educated at different schools in Oxford, Woolwich, and Shrewsbury. Shute was accepted to Balliol College, Oxford during World War 1 but he ended up spending the later stages of World War 1 in military service. After three months he returned to his studies and graduated in 1922. In 1922 Nevil Shute joined the de Havilland Aircraft Company. He worked as an aeronautical engineer. He became deputy chief in the Rigid Airship R100 project, which was one of the last of the British airships. In the R100 he was able to fly to America twice. This project ended after the 1930 R101 disaster. The year after that, Shute founded Airspeed Ltd., an aircraft construction company. Also that year, he married Frances Mary Heaton, a doctor. In 1926, Shute made his debut as a novelist with //Marazan//. Following that was //So Disdained// (1928), // Lonely Road // (1929), and //Ruined City// (1938). His company had been very successful and so he decided to resign and devote all his time to his writing. During World War II Shute served as a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and contributed to the development of a number of top-secret, specialized weapons. In 1944 he was in Normandy as correspondent. In 1945 he was in Burma as correspondent for the Ministry of Information. In 1950, Shute moved permanently to Australia, where he settled on a farm. His later novels were set in Australia where he was living. Nevil Shute’s career spanned thirty years and he published twenty five books, including his autobiography //Slide Rule// (1954).
 * [[image:http://brianchesnut.com/books/nevil_shute_larger.jpg width="296" height="271" align="left" caption="Nevil Shute" link="http://brianchesnut.com/books/nevil_shute_larger.jpg"]] __Bio- Nevil Shute:__**

Shute died on January 12, 1960, in Melbourne, Australia.

Nevil Shute wrote the novel On the Beach, on which this project was based.



__**Synopsis of book:**__ "It's not long now..." The phrase, perhaps ironic, perhaps lamenting, is used at least six times throughout the book. It refers to the deadly rain that approaches. The setting is eerie in a way, starting with the realization that without exception, everyone in the northern hemisphere is dead. The last survivors of the human race, and even life as it is known, huddle in Australia and other southern cities, the largest of these remaining being Melbourne. Throughout the book, the book discusses the reaction of humankind to the inevitable end. The reactions fo the different characters, coupled with the bland background on which they are shown brings a theme of the human spirit but also the sense of 'the world will go on without us'. Though some try to prepare for a future that will never come, and others write the history of the war that no one will ever read, levaing instructions for those to come after, several recognize the futility of the attempt. "They're writing a history."-Towers. 'But these people who come after," The girl [Moria] said', "They won't know how to read our stuff. They may be...animals." As the novel progresses, and the radiation comes nearer, there is a subtle shift in attitude, with some characters becoming more peaceful and accepting where those who had started out practical become reckless. During the course of the plot, one of the protagonists, Peter Holmes, gets a job on the //U.S.S. Scorpion// and the submarine makes two voyages, both of which return home. There is a quiet sigh from the world as the last survivors embrace their fate.

**__Character Analysis:__** This disturbing portrayal of Armageddon, brought on by human action, is not from a distant perspective, but rather expressed through a varied cast of characters. The main protagonists that we follow are below.   Peter Holmes, an officer of the Royal Australian Navy, aboard the nuclear submarine Scorpion, is the first character we meet, in his home. He awakens happy, but we do not know why. He awakens in a sense of 'pleasurable anticipation. Is it Christmas Day? No, he remembers stringing up the colored lights...' He and his wife Mary Holmes wake up and talk about how they're both sunburned (it is important for northern hemisphere readers to keep in mind that the seasons are switched in the southern hemisphere, so for Australia, Christmas comes in the middle of summer) Peter remembers that he has an appointment in Melbourne at the Navy, the Second Naval Member's office, implying that he has a job with the Navy, seagoing if he's lucky. In this confusion, major themes that permeate the rest of the book are foreshadowed, a love of life but certainty of death, made more bearable by some purpose to give reason to live. As he progresses through his day in that first chapter, the world around him becomes clearer, and with it knowledge of what has happened. Peter himself is accepting, saying that 'we all die anyway, now we just know when is all. We've got to just keep on living. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than just live out the rest of my days in peace. It's what we would’ve done anyway.'

Mary Holmes, his wife, takes the view of 'it might happen to the rest of the world, but if I don't acknowledge it, it is not real, and won't happen to me.' She doesn't talk about it, preferring instead to talk about the future as though the radiation isn't coming, planning the garden for next year, fretting over her baby Jennifer, and other concerns for a new mother. She continues denying it until the very end, even when she's sick from the radiation.

Dwight Towers, the commanding officer aboard //U.S.S. Scorpion //, an American who survived the nuclear war in ignorance, his submarine safely submerged. As the rest of the northern hemisphere is dead, he goes to Australia with his submersible and puts it in the use of the Royal Australian Navy. He is later promoted to Supreme Commander of the United States Navy, though the title was an empty one, as the only working ships were //Scorpion, H.M.S. Sydney, // and //U.S.S. Swordfish //. He realizes that the end of the world is coming, and that nothing can be done, so he decides to live it out, similar to Peter. Unlike Peter, though, his family is now dead, as they lived in the United States which had huge radiation fallout from cobalt bombs. He enjoys the simple things, commanding his submarine (//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">U.S.S. Scorpion //), spending time with his liaison officer Peter, and Moria Davidson, though he keeps their relationship strictly as friends. He still talks about his wife and children as though nothing happened, and he's just going home in September to be with them. He buys presents for his family and worries over not finding a pogo stick for his daughter, simple things like this. He seems slightly blinded to it, though he is in full acceptance.

Moria: originally very reckless, she drowns her disappointments at a shortened life in alcohol, parties, and late-night dancing. She hates to dwell on her impending doom, but sees it coming. Mostly, she's depressed that she'll never live out her dreams of traveling the world, as the places she wanted to go are now highly radioactive, and there's nowhere for her to travel. She meets Dwight Towers and is at first brash, but mellows as time goes on, reforming from her drinking habits and taking a course in shorthand and typing, a job she'd wanted to do but seemed pointless with the end of the world coming on. She is the last character alive at the end of the book, taking a cyanide pill at the very end with a swig of brandy.

John Osborne: A member of the C.S.I.R.O. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) and he works on submarine Scorpion as their resident radiation specialist. Basically, his job is to install, read, and manage the upkeep of the various instruments used to determine the level of radiation, if it's safe, and to avoid contamination of the crew. He's a very pragmatic character, though he progresses through the book a somewhat reckless person. Upon receiving his Ferrari and the special fuel he saved for it, he drives it at careless speeds and races in the Grand Prix, the last one ever to be run.

Using the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a resource, these are some views formed from reading the text and actual novel. Information on On the Beach can be found on page 280, if you would like to reference it yourself. Describing the novel as 'profoundly sad', a subtle approach to the 'most emotionally chilling depiction of the end of the world.' It goes on to describe how where other authors of this time period or subject would have described the horrors of those directly affected by the war, explosive bombings, or battling other survivors for dwindling resources in a destroyed and barren landscape, made rugged by extensive bombing and made dangerous by lingering radiation, usually riddled with plots about building underground shelters or trying to survive in some way, and experiencing a horrific death, explicitly described to frighten readers about the possible repercussions of nuclear war, Nevil Shute’s' On the Beach takes an almost gentle, quiet approach, starting with a hard idea to grasp-the entire Northern Hemisphere is already dead, remembered only by phantom radio signals, lingering ghosts of a dead civilization that stand only as prelude to the inexorable approach of the radiation cloud to the last few survivors. Laced with sharp pangs of hope and then soft, poisonous acceptance, and embracing of <span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">th <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">e inevitable, the last characters express their reactions to the end of the world throughout the book, some of them changing views as time goes on. 'Perhaps it's a period of grace'-said once but the idea permeates the rest of the book. The book itself may be interesting, but also the views it presents, the message it send the reader is profound. Near the very end, as Peter and Mary Holmes are already sick from the radiation and coming to the point where they are willing to take the cyanide pills are discussing the war that caused all the trouble. This passge is directly quoted. 'Presently she said, "Peter, why did all this happen to us? Was it because Russia and China started fighting each other?" He nodded. "That's about the size of it." He said. "But there was more to it than that. America and England and Russia started bombing for destruction first. The whole thing started with Albania." "But we didn't have anything to do with it at all, did we-here in Australia?" "We gave England moral support" He told her. "I don't think we had much time to give her any other kind. The whole thing was over in a month." "Couldn't anyone have stopped it?" "I don't know...Some kinds of silliness you just can't stop." He said. "I mean, if a couple hundred million people all decide that their national honor requires them to drop cobalt bombs upon their neighbors, well, there's not much that you or I can do about it. The only possible hope would have been to educate them out of their silliness."-On the Beach. While the characters may be discussing a fictional war here, it is important to stop and realize that this is Nevil Shute's direct adressing of the reader. This book was written in a time of great anxiety about nuclear warfare. The author is trying to convey a sense of what could happen should a big nuclear war break out. All it would take is one small country to instigate it (in this case Albania) and then everyone dies because of it. Through the novel, there is a subliminal message conveyed, a sense of 'this could really happen'. Many of the characters were showing a strong denial, and expressed that 'Maybe it'll happen to the rest of the world, but it couldn't happen to me!' and "This can't happpen to //me.//"-John Osbourne. And then, "But it can, and certainly will." This could be an attempt to address the reader and try to shatter those convictions, that self-security and sense of invincibility. He's trying to illustrate that a nucear war could happen, and everyone could die, in real life, if we're not careful. In essence, the message is more of a warning. Another expression used in the book, even recurring was Shutes' use of the word 'silliness' or 'silly'. It seems such an inconsequentail word, yet he uses it for the most serious topics. A few quotes, such as the one above, help to show how he uses this soft, gentle word to give his opinion. It seems that whenever this word crops up, he's trying to communicate with the reader directly. For example, he uses 'silliness' in the quote used above to describe the nuclear war itself, and the justification used. Somehow, that's not the adjective commonly associated with war, death, and destruction. Another time, this time said on the sumbarine Scorpion, in a conversation between John Osbourne, Peter Holmes, and Dwight Towers. "I suppose I haven't got any imagination." Peter said thoughtfully. "It's...it's the end of the world. I've never had to imagine anything like that before." John Osbourne laughed. "It's not the end of the world at all," he said. "It's only the end of us. The world will go on just the same, only we shan't be in it. I dare say it will get along all right without us." Dwight Towers raised his head. "I suppose that's right...Maybe we were too silly to deserve a world like this." -End quote. There again is the word 'silly' used to describe the actions and attitudes of humankind. It almost causes the reader to stumble, because it's such an unfamiliar way to describe what we think of when we hear about war, nuclear weapons, or radioactivity.
 * __Discussion (Book):__**

Some other facts that may be helpful to consider when reading this book: •The book was published in 1957, in the height of the Cold War, during which there was great concern about the proliferation of nuclear weapons • The book depicts the world after a nuclear war which has completely annihilated human life in the northern hemisphere. • Radiation fallout from the war is gradually making its way into the southern hemisphere, and will eventually take all human and animal life. •Northern Hemisphere readers need to keep in mind that the seasons are switched in the southern hemisphere, and many words used are English in base. Examples of these and their translation are: bathers=swimsuit jenny (a)=similar to a carriage or buggy, typically horse-drawn. Used in the book because the fuel is now in short supply in Australia, and so animal-powered vehicles and bicycles were in common usage. bullock=a cow grazier=landowner, farmer <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">


 * The Wasteland: (quoted and discussed) **

<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">//**The WasteLand T.S. Eliot:** (1992) (excerpt) "In this last of meeting places We grope together And avoid speech Gathered on this beach of the tumid river . ..

This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper."// This quote from T.S. Eliots' The Wasteland can be found on the title page of every edition of this book. This is where the title of the book, On the Beach, was derived from. It is, however, considerably less somber than the poem. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the characters grope together in Melbourne, the last large city on earth, on the beach of the 'tumid river' (Styx; the passageway to Hades, the place of the dead in Greek mythology), they may seem to speak little, but it’s because they are busy living to the last moment. There is discussion of the end of the world, though some characters (like Mary Holmes) try to pretend that it won't really happen. All of the characters have different views on it

Not much symbolism is present in the book, it's pretty straightforward. Perhaps interaction of the characters with water (swimming at the beach, fishing on the river) could be seen as symbolic of their (and all mankind’s) relationship with death. As in the quote from T. S. Eliot’s //The Wasteland,// the characters stand on the beach of the tumid river of death (The River Styx, the river you cross over into Hades, the place of the dead, in Greek mythology). They try to work with their knowledge of the inexorable approach of death, and it's proximity, in effect swimming in the river Styx, but not yet crossing over. They fish in the river, perhaps hoping for a reprieve. (The fish is typically used as symbol of life and nourishment.) For further symbolism, you could view the Grand Prix race, won by John Osborne in his red Ferrari, as a metaphor for finishing the race of life, and winning the final great prize.
 * __Symbolism:__**


 * __A Brief Summation of Greek Mythology:__** We used a lot of Greek Mythology in our explanartion of the book, so it was felt that a quick tutorial in the basics of the Greek Myths mentioned was appropriate.

In the Iliad, the river Styx is the only river of the underworld; in the //Odyssey// it is joined with Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon, which then flow into the main river Acheron. The river Lethe causes the shades of the underworld forget their former lives. But the river Styx was always the best known, and the most sacred. To the Gods, there was no oath more sacred than to swear by the river Styx. Some said the river was so foul that to drink of it brought instant death. Some said it bubbled with liquid fire. This river Styx served as a sort of crossroads where the world of the living met the world of the dead, and the world of the mortal met the world of the immortal. A point of no return. Greek Mythology Gods, mortals, and great heroes and villains made their way across the river Styx. Some crossed the river many times, but for most, it was a one way trip. As we allusioned earlier, the River Styx could possibly be referenced by the frequent interactions with water, as though the characters recognize their impending doom but are brushing with it often. Some interactions were the long voyages of the submarine Scorpion and Swordfish, there are two sailing races, the characters go swimming and fishing, and other similar water activities, perhaps parallelling with their brush with death. The approach of radioactive rain aside, John Oseborne and several others induldge in risky driving during the Grand Prix, reckless to the point of casualties in their racing, knowing that they didn't have long left, anyway. At the beginning of the novel, Moria Davidson has a very cavileare attitude in her own welfare, drinking heavily and going to late-night parties every night, careless and even self-destructive. She describes the knowing about the radioactivity 'like waiting to be hung'. Another Character, Dwight Towers, who himself has brushes with death in his long periods of time underwater, surfacing his submarine in dangerous radioactivity, even exposing himself to another crewman who might be contaminated, has a much different view. At first, he conceeds she might be right. "Perhaps..." He replies, "But maybe it's like a period of grace..." What they are: An amount of [|cobalt-60] mounted in a housing with walls having up to 8 inches of lead for protection, and with means for removing a lead plug to release a beam of [|gamma rays] for use in cobalt-beam therapy. [|Radiation Sickness:] Radiation sickness is caused by exposure to radioactive elements. It entails several stages of existence, before eventual death. There is no recovery from it, though by quirk of metabolism it is possible to survive a few days longer than other people, though death will soon follow. Symptoms include vomiting, inabillity to eat, tiredness, headache, loss of hair, teeth, and even tissue, appeacence of sores or open wounds on body, excessive hemorrhaging, and then death. Estimated lifespan after direct exposure ranges from three days to a week in the book, though it would take an extreemly high radiation level to warrent that. Typical phases of radiation sickness can be found at [|this] [|site].
 * __Radioactivity, an Explanation:__** Because much of the discussions presented, and in fact the book itself, requires a prior knowldge of [|Radioactivity]. The main type of bomb used in the war described in the book was a [|cobalt bomb.] This type of weapon was essentially nuclear in nature, dissassembling the nuclei in affected atoms, thus having a huge radioacive fallout.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">**__Becoming a Production:__** On the Beach actually was adapted to a movie, of which there are several versions. The 1959 adaptation, directed by [|Stanley Kramer] and starring [|Gregory Peck] and [|Ava Gardner], was not rated, is in black and white, runs 134 minutes and was released in Febuary of 2000. The 200 version, directed by [|Russell Mulcahy] and starring [|Armand Assante] and [|Rachel Ward], was released in DVD in 2005, and is a color production. It runs 109 minutes. Both are advertised as a post-apocolyptic movie. A description of one of them is as follows "The war is over. Nobody won. Only the inhabitants of Australia and the men of the US submarine Sawfish have escaped the nuclear destruction and radiation. Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition,another (Ava Gardner) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close... From acclaimed director Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones, Inheritthe Wind) and screenwriter John Paxton comes this spectacular movie landmarka film masterpiece with a message that will resonate as long as the world has the power to self-destruct at its own fingertips." Though for parts of this, the veracity is doubtful, as in the description of the submarine 'Sawfish', which is called 'Scorpion' in the novel. However, it does act as a visual portrayl of the book, shown in a movie format.

Against the Bomb: A British Peace Movement 1958-1965-Richard Taylor Age of Vulnerability-Michael Nacht America's Nuclear Legacy-Wayne D LaBaron Atomatic West-Bruce Findlay Hevly Beyond Nuclear Thinking-Robet W. Malcolmson Blood and Water-Dan Kurzman Caging the Nuclear Genie-Turner Stansfield Delimas of Nuclear Strategy-Roman Kolkkowicz Ending a Nuclear War-Stephen J. Douglass Exposure:Victims of Radiation speak out Humanizing Hell-George Delf Invisible Bomb-Frank Barnaby Life After Nuclear War-Arthur M. Katz Life Under a Cloud-Allen M. Winkler Nuclear Alert-Robert Jackson Out of the Nuclear Shadow-Smitu Mian Picturing the Bomb-Rachel Samra Prevent Doomsday-Vinson Brown Second Nuclear Age-Collin S. Gray Under the Cloud-Richard L. Miller
 * __Related Works:__**

This wiki works to explain key aspects of Nevil Shute, his life and the elements he expresses in his novel, //On the Beach//. It describes the characters and gives analysis about them and their views shown in the book. It explains some of the more obscurely known facts mentioned, such as English phrasing, radioactivity, the inner workings and effects of the cobalt bomb, and other helpful related aspects. It also includes a portion on related literature, that is, books written on a similar topic, usually revolving around a period of post-nuclear war. In addition, it talks about possible symbolism used in the book and gives examples of the text in which it is mentioned or allusioned to. It gives a brief backdrop of Nevil Shurte so you can better understand the book, summarizes the book itself in an effort to make it easier to understand the concepts as a whole. Also, it explain basic Greek Mythology related to the book and discusses the importance of the book, emulating a minor critique.
 * __Abstract:__**

Resources: Images found on Google Image, and can be found in their original context by clicking on them. More Related Works can be found at [|NetstoreUSA]