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On the Beach | Study Guide

Nevil Shute

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MLA

Bibliography

Course Hero. "On the Beach Study Guide." Course Hero. 18 Jan. 2018. Web. 5 June 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/On-the-Beach/>.

In text

(Course Hero)

APA

Bibliography

Course Hero. (2018, January 18). On the Beach Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved June 5, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/On-the-Beach/

In text

(Course Hero, 2018)

Chicago

Bibliography

Course Hero. "On the Beach Study Guide." January 18, 2018. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/On-the-Beach/.

Footnote

Course Hero, "On the Beach Study Guide," January 18, 2018, accessed June 5, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/On-the-Beach/.

Overview

On the Beach infographic thumbnail

Author

Nevil Shute

Year Published

1957

Type

Novel

Genre

Science Fiction

Perspective and Narrator

The events of On the Beach are described by an omniscient third-person narrator.

Tense

On the Beach is written in the past tense.

About the Title

The title On the Beach is taken from the novel's epigraph, which cites lines from British writer T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men." In these lines people gather along the shore of a "tumid river"—an allusion to the River Styx of Greek mythology, which the dead cross to arrive in Hades. This is the "last of meeting places" where the dead await their journey to the Underworld. The phrase on the beach also aligns with British naval slang meaning "retired from the service" or "awaiting reassignment." Both poetic and slang use of the phrase aptly apply to the novel's characters and the situation they face.

Summary

This study guide and infographic for Nevil Shute's On the Beach offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.

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