What happens in the book on the beach?

The novel details the experiences of a mixed group of people in Melbourne as they await the arrival of deadly radiation spreading towards them from the Northern Hemisphere, following a nuclear war a year previously. As the radiation approaches, each person deals with impending death differently.

Where does the movie on the beach take place?

A US submarine is on patrol when the Northern Hemisphere is destroyed by atomic war. They land in Melbourne, Australia where they live with the rest of the city which has less than 12 months to live. They travel back to the west cost of the US and witness the holocaust.

How did the book on the beach get its name?

For the novel, Shute expanded on the storyline. The story has been adapted twice as a film (in 1959 and 2000) and once as a BBC radio broadcast in 2008. The phrase “on the beach” is a Royal Navy term that means “retired from the Service.” The title also refers to T. S. Eliot ‘s poem The Hollow Men, which includes the lines:

Who are the main characters in on the beach?

On the Beach is a novel by Nevil Shute that was first published in 1957. Read a Plot Overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter Summary and Analysis. See a complete list of the characters in On the Beach and in-depth analyses of Dwight Towers, Moira Davidson, Peter Holmes, Mary Holmes, and John Osborne.

Where does the poem on the beach at night come from?

The 2000 film ends with a quote from Walt Whitman ‘s poem “On the Beach at Night”, describing how frightening an approaching cloud bank seemed at night to the poet’s child, blotting the stars out one by one, as the father and child stood on the beach on Massachusetts’ North Shore.

Is the movie on the beach based on a poem?

The 2000 film ends with a quote from Walt Whitman ‘s poem “On the Beach at Night”, describing how a father comforts his small daughter who is frightened as an approaching cloud bank blots out the evening stars one by one. Although Whitman’s poem resembles the plot of Shute’s novel, the book does not reference it, as it does Eliot’s poem.

Why was the Golden Gate Bridge not destroyed in on the beach?

The submarine approaches San Francisco, observing through the periscope that the city had been devastated and the Golden Gate Bridge has fallen. In contrast, the Puget Sound area, from which the strange radio signals are emanating, is found to have avoided destruction because of missile defences.