The Beach

Richard continues to throw up and then feels around to see how big the cavern is and how many passages there are. He finds four and starts to think about being trapped and dying there. In a panic, Richard thrashes around, screaming for help. Finally, he makes the decision to choose a tunnel and hope for the best.

Richard feels ready to give up and wonders if he is dying when his vision starts to turn yellow. With a final burst of strength, he kicks out and reaches the outside, and Jed is casually sitting waiting for him. Richard thinks about how traveling is like memory collecting for him, and that he pursues specific experiences, such as engaging in a riot or having a brush with death. He thus feels like his experience in the cave was just another to add to his growing list.

On the boat ride, Richard is excited to see Koh Pha Ngan, but soon feels anxiety about encountering the real-world again. Richard lights a cigarette, and Jed takes one too, clearly feeling the same anxiety. Richard relieves his mind by thinking of Françoise, and how she told Richard and Etienne they were equally good divers a few days prior, despite Richard knowing Etienne was much better. He wonders what the lie means.

They reach shore and look for a place to hide the boat. Maneuvering the boat under some trees proves difficult, but their spirits are raised when they start thinking about food and drink, and Richard and Jed head for Hadrin, the nearest restaurant. At the restaurant, Richard notices that the plastic chair and concrete floor feel strange and uncomfortable to him, and when he looks at his reflection in the mirror, he sees a stranger staring back. His skin is darker, his hair faded and matted, and he feels as though he has aged. Richard orders food and plays Space Invaders while he waits.

Jed and Richard split up as Jed goes to get rice and Richard shops. He uses his leftover money to buy soap, razors for his other male friends, and toothpaste for Françoise. He overhears some Australians discussing various places in Asia and Central America, using old names for them that no longer exist, such as referring to Cambodia as “Kampuchea,” a name used by a genocidal leader in the 1970s. When Richard comments on their strange use of terms, they act cold and offended, implying he has a mental illness. Richard walks away feeling sad and realizing that the culture on the beach is much different from the culture in the outside world. He feels disenchanted by Hadrin, noticing its cultural decay as tourism takes it over.

Richard falls asleep on a beach and awakes later with a start; he finds Jed at the café. Jed is angry having overheard people talking about Richard, his map, and the secret beach. Richard explains that Zeph and Sammy mentioned the beach first, but that Richard drew them a map in case he got lost while out on the islands. Jed tells Richard not to blame himself, and Richard hopes that Zeph and Sammy will just leave Thailand without attempting the trip. Jed tells Richard to keep it a secret as they head back to the boat, and they sleep on the beach, awaiting daylight.

Richard has a vision of Daffy in the motel room before he died. Daffy is singing the M*A*S*H* theme song (“Suicide is Painless” by Nick Drake) and talking about how he is getting ready to die by suicide. Richard tries to console him and convince him otherwise, but Daffy states it is already too late. He only wants Richard to do something with his ashes, as they will otherwise be left unclaimed. Richard promises to fulfill Daffy’s final request.

Richard awakes before Jed and collects some seashells to improve his necklace. He comes across a couple he spotted the night before, asleep on the beach with an empty pill bottle beside them. The woman is covered in sores and mosquitoes and the man is so thin that every bone is visible. Richard realizes the man is dead, but the woman is alive. Richard drags the dead man into the bushes to save the woman from waking up to a dead body.

Upon his return, Richard finds nobody wants to hear about the excursion and no one wants his gifts of razors or toothpaste. After a week of being back, however, the memory of Koh Pha Ngan slips away. Richard continues to worry about Sammy and Zeph, but they do not show up, and his worries start to subside after talking to Jed.

A rainstorm hits and Bugs stands in the rain, looking Christ-like. Sal criticizes the group’s laziness, so Richard goes off to fish with Gregorio, Françoise, and Etienne, and he wonders if others feel the same way about Bugs. Richard asks how they can catch fish in the rain, unable to see into the water, and Gregorio comments that they sometimes get very hungry when it rains. There is only one diving mask, so Richard goes out first by himself. After a few dives, a small shark appears and starts lunging for the fish around Richard. He sits on a boulder and waits for the shark to leave, but it stays, so Richard decides to trick it into coming close and spears it. The shark flails on the ocean floor as Richard waits for it to die.

Richard does not keep a travel diary or take photographs because these things seem to make all the non-recorded memories slip away. However, he wishes someone could take his picture when he comes out of the water holding the dead shark. Everyone gets a share of grilled shark as Richard retells the story of killing it and gloats in the attention. Afterward, Richard shares a joint with Françoise, Etienne, Keaty, and Jed, happy that Keaty and Jed are finally getting along. When Bugs comes over to congratulate Richard and talk about a shark he caught once, Richard only says strange things to him. Afterward, the others ask if Richard dislikes Bugs, but they are soon laughing together again.

Richard lies awake wondering why he dislikes Bugs. He thinks about the minor things that bother him, like Bugs’s competitive streak and arrogance, but he feels certain there is a deeper, more important reason why he instinctively dislikes Bugs, though he is not sure what it is.

The rain ceases five days later. After fishing, Richard and Françoise sunbathe together on the shore. Richard remarks how strange it is that he does not think of his parents or the outside much at all, and Françoise finds the mention of parents jarring. Richard realizes that he does not know much about the people he lives with. Richard takes the fish in and goes for a walk. Françoise leaves for the corals as Richard watches her until she disappears into the water.

Richard goes exploring in the less-walked portion of the jungle outside the camp. He stumbles across a papaya grove and then smokes a joint underneath a papaya tree. Holding onto a piece of papaya, Richard is soon surrounded by several small brown monkeys, each coming in for a piece. On his way back to camp, he comes across Sal and Bugs making love by the waterfall. Without any sense of awkwardness, Sal asks Richard where he was going and then invites him to walk back with her so they can talk.

Sal explains that Keaty is desperate to leave gardening detail, and the only person that can possibly move positions to provide room for Keaty is Richard. Expecting to be sent to the garden, Richard is relieved and surprised when Sal announces that he will instead be working with Jed on the outskirts. Sal cryptically remarks that Jed will explain the position in detail.

Richard tells Keaty the news, explaining that he thinks there is more to the story and perhaps he is being asked to supervise Jed. Richard admits he is relieved to be anywhere but with Bugs in carpentry. Keaty asks Richard if he will miss working with his fishing team, and Richard agrees that he will.

Richard feels sullen as he walks toward his fishing detail. It is as if he is already isolated from them, and when he tells them, Gregorio protests to Sal, but is unsuccessful, which Richard had already predicted. They sit together and smoke a joint, and Richard eventually invites Keaty over to join them, pitying him for likely feeling a similar sense of isolation. Keaty apologizes for causing so much drama, and they try to reason as to the cause of Sal’s decision. Some think that it is due to a conflict with the Thai marijuana growers, but others feel that it must be something else. That night, Richard lies awake thinking of his parents and home in England for the first time since his arrival.

Richard has a dream in which Daffy is a child and invites him into his room. It is much like Richard’s childhood room, filled with toys and comic books, particularly TinTin and Asterix. Daffy asks Richard what his favorite TinTin comic is, citing his own as Prisoners of the Sun. Next, Daffy pulls out a Time Magazine compendium of the 1970s and shows Richard the famous photograph of the girl running from Napalm in the Vietnam War. Richard is disturbed by the sight of it and closes the book.

Richard and Jed are on lookout, watching over a group of people that has gathered on the nearest island. They have been there for five days, apparently figuring out how to complete the journey. Sal is unaware of Richard’s connection to the visitors. Jed thinks it is best to wait until they attempt the commute and likely fail during one of its many obstacles, but Richard is unconvinced that will work. Richard realizes that the main purpose of Jed’s work is to look out for people coming to the island, which once included himself. During their time together, Jed confesses that Daffy was raging angry when he arrived, and that Daffy never spoke a single word to him. This was also the reason Jed was chosen for the lookout position. Richard worries about the group on the other island finding his and the others’ backpacks, and jokes that they should round them up and drop them off at sea.

Richard does not tell Keaty or Etienne about the visitors. Richard asks Keaty if Daffy left the beach because too many people showed up, and Keaty tentatively answers yes. Richard’s guard remains up around his friends as he worries about making a slip, and he regularly steers the conversation back toward fishing. Richard finds the lookout position growing on him, as the jungle, presence of danger, and fact that he is in an Asian country remind him of Vietnam.

On the 10th night of lookout detail, Richard and Jed are on their way back to camp when they stumble across a Thai drug farmer sleeping in the grass. Jed has his foot on the man’s rifle, and Richard remembers a trick from a show called Tour of Duty in which the sergeant slipped a rock onto a mine to save a soldier’s life. He uses the same tactic, putting the rock carefully on the rifle as Jed removes his foot. It proves successful, and Richard feels a strong sense of pride the whole way back to camp.

Jed and Richard are looking at the sunset on their way home one night when Richard decides to dive off the waterfall. Jed seems irritated and tells Richard to watch himself, and Richard is confused. When they get back, Richard goes to eat and discovers his dish has papaya in it, implying Bugs found the orchard. The cook, named Unhygienix, is happy with his new meal that he created, and tells Richard that Bugs found the orchard. Richard becomes angry that Bugs is taking credit, souring his mood, but he soon perks up when he finds a note from Keaty instructing him to smoke a joint and come see the phosphorescence on the beach.

Richard heads for the beach, fantasizing about getting into a fight with Bugs over the papaya orchard. In his fantasy, everyone comes to watch and defend him. Françoise is enamored by Richard’s strength as he beats Bugs, and together they swim off into the corals. He wanders the beach until he spots the group on the boulders deep in the water and swims out to meet them. He climbs onto the rock and watches Keaty dive down to disturb the algae so they glow like “a thousand tiny stars” (248). Richard is amazed, and then Etienne tells him to put the diving mask on to show him the glow from underneath.

The next morning, Richard describes the algae experience to Jed. He mentions the papaya issue with Bugs next, and Jed seems uninterested. Sammy and Zeph are still on the next island, frustrating Richard, who wants the situation to resolve somehow. Thinking about this, he realizes he hopes they make it to the island but does not reveal this to Jed. Richard watches the way Jed walks silently and tries to mimic him, pretending to avoid landmines and snipers. He deals himself three lives, and experiences several “game over’s.” When they reach the marijuana fields, Richard goes in to get some and forgets the knife. Jed tosses it to him, enabling him to free the plants. Afterward, Richard asks Jed if they would be killed should they be discovered, and Jed doubts it due to an effort to keep the peace and keep the island secret.

Jed and Richard arrive back at the camp and find no food or people anywhere. They hear moaning and become panicked. They discover that most of the camp is sick after Keaty fished a dead squid and Unhygienix cooked it. Richard goes to find Keaty and comfort him, but Keaty feels terrible and humiliated regardless of what Richard says.

Back in the longhouse, there is vomit everywhere and everyone is moaning and writhing in pain. The few people who are not sick, including Richard, desperately try to help everyone. Françoise is in deep pain, biting her lip and digging her fingernails into her skin. Richard attempts to comfort her, and she asks if she will be okay. Richard assures her she will and then goes to get her some water.

Richard finds Jed, who encourages Richard to eat to stay strong. When he makes it back to the longhouse, Bugs is defecating all over himself and begs Richard for help. Richard stares at him, refusing to help, and then starts insulting him for not helping himself. Richard’s hate for Bugs becomes truly apparent when one of the other women criticizes him for not helping and demands that Richard help her get Bugs outside. After, Richard rushes to Françoise with the water. Her condition is worsening, she is becoming delirious, and she can barely drink the water at all. He eases her down to rest and kisses her on the cheek for a few seconds. Etienne wakes up and sees Richard and demands to know what he was doing. Etienne tells Richard to go help someone else instead.

The night is difficult as Richard spends most of it awake. In the morning, Jed awakes Richard and forces him to eat while Richard thinks about the dead man on the beach in Koh Pha Ngan. Keaty is still missing, and Jed wants to stay at camp to help with the sick people. Richard is left to go to the lookout alone, but first he must find Keaty. Jed tells Richard to deter the visitors should this be the day they arrive. Bugs wakes up angry at Richard, but Richard ignores him, too excited to go into the jungle alone.

Richard finds Keaty asleep where he was the night before, and three Swedish campers, Karl, Sten, and Christo, soon appear, getting ready to go fishing. Richard rarely speaks to them and notes how “two of them ended up dead and the other ended up nuts” (274), yet he knows little else about them. They set off for their fishing task, and when Keaty wakes up, he seems doubtful about fishing again, but Richard assures him that nobody blames him for what happened. Richard lies to Keaty and tells him he is going to go sleep, and instead heads off to the lookout point.

Richard takes full advantage of his chance to go up to the lookout alone, and after his two-hour post of watching the people on the other island, he makes his way to the marijuana fields. Excited to see a drug farmer close-up, he soon comes across one and follows him until the guard stops to rest. Richard stays perfectly still and takes in every detail about the guard’s appearance. In a manner slightly removed from reality, he admires the guard and wishes he could make a movie about him.

Richard gets back to camp and finds out that there is little food because the Swedes have yet to return from fishing. He instantly knows that something is wrong, as they should have been back hours ago. He goes into the longhouse and sees two divided groups of people, arguing over the fact that Bugs punched Keaty after the incident the night before. Richard tells Bugs he is going to put a spear in his neck. Karl then comes in holding Sten. Sten’s side is completely bit off and his hand and wrist are split in half. Karl begins yelling in a frantic fit of emotion, and then manages to tell the others that a shark attack occurred.

Richard is the only one who seems to wonder where the third Swede, Christo, is amidst all the chaos in the longhouse. Etienne tries to give Sten CPR, but Sten is clearly dead and has already lost all his blood. He rushes out to the beach and cannot see Christo anywhere, and reasons he must be in the lagoon or caves somewhere. Richard starts swimming around the lagoon, stopping on boulders, and repeatedly calling for Christo.

Richard decides that Christo must be in the caves, and when he reaches the other end, he sees the empty boat floating on its own. It occurs to him that Christo might be stuck in the air pocket. Once there, he finds a quiet and injured Christo lying on a small shelf inside. Christo begs Richard to help him, but Richard stops for a moment, transfixed by the star-like phosphorescence inside the cave. He sees what looks like a comet in the water below, and wonders if it is a shark, but soon realizes it is something else, leading him out of the cave. Richard takes Christo on his back and helps him swim out of the caves. He calls out to Daffy, asking if he was the one Richard saw in the cave, and Daffy responds with a yes.

The camp-wide disagreement has settled somewhat, but there is still tension and confusion between groups and Bugs continues to assert himself as superior. Jed is staying at camp to help with first-aid for Christo, and Richard is left to perform lookout duties alone. Richard makes his way to visit Christo and finds him in the tent with Jed. Richard is criticized for stealing too much pot from the fields while he has been on his own, but he thinks he can continue to outsmart the guards. Jed remarks that the bruise on Christo’s stomach seems to be getting deeper and darker, but Richard seems unconcerned. Nobody other than Richard and Unhygienix come to visit Jed and Christo, each of them preferring to remain in blissful ignorance of his suffering. Richard comments on how Sten’s body, which is still nearby (they are also avoiding his burial) is starting to smell.

Sal stops Richard as he is trying to avoid her. She demands that he keep her properly up to date on the potential new arrivals on the other island, every single day, and in a stressful tone insists that the burial of Sten mark an end to the camp’s conflict. She notes she will be telling Bugs the same thing, and Richard suddenly feels guilty for adding to Sal’s stress, realizing he has nothing against her. Richard heads to the beach to check on Karl and his friends and finds that Etienne and Keaty have been arguing about whether to take Karl to the mainland. Etienne insists that Karl is in shock and needs help. He wants to take Karl, as well as Sten’s body, and leave them on the beach in Koh Pha Ngan. Keaty argues that they will be worse off there, and even if they are found and Karl is helped, he may eventually give the beach away. Richard agrees with Keaty.

Richard continues down the beach to where Karl and Françoise are. Françoise is happy to see Richard and thanks him for taking care of her while she was ill. She does not mind that he kissed her, and even gives him another kiss on the cheek to confirm it. Karl has dug a hole for himself on the beach sand and refuses to leave it. Françoise notes that he has started eating again, but beyond that only sits and stares toward the caves all day. Richard lies awake that night thinking of Françoise.

At Sten’s funeral, Sal speaks about his contributions to the camp, Unhygienix on his fish-catching skills and sportsmanship. He is buried near the waterfall, and as the grave is filled in many people start to cry. Richard thinks how Sten’s headstone, carved by Bugs, has only his first name, a symbol of the disconnect from the outside world and family. After the funeral, Sal asks everyone to sit down, and she makes a long speech about the tensions in the camp. She criticizes Richard’s threats of violence toward Bugs, the childish cliques that have formed, and the overall lack of empathy people seem to have for one another. She hopes that Sten’s death can bring everyone back together, and looks ahead to the upcoming Tet Festival, a celebration created to remember the first night ever on the beach. She sends Keaty and Bugs, the instigators of the conflict, to Koh Pha Ngan for supplies, and urges everyone to use the event to remember why they are here. She also denies Etienne his request to take Karl to the mainland. On the way back, the mood seems curiously uplifted, and Sal compliments Richard on saving Christo. Seemingly out of nowhere, Richard asks Sal if she likes him, and Sal hesitantly admits she does. Richard pushes her further, saying he must remind her of Daffy, and Sal surprisedly confesses that is true.

Richard starts getting visits from Daffy while alone on the lookout. When he realizes he is seeing and hearing Daffy in his waking consciousness, he worries he is losing his mind. When he reaches out to touch Daffy, he finds him warm and solid. Daffy scoffs at Richard when Richard becomes upset, telling him he is in Vietnam and that losing his mind is just part of the job: “In country, losing your shit comes with the territory!” (324). As the days pass, Richard finds himself getting used to Daffy’s more personified presence. After the funeral (timelines start to become disordered as Richard becomes disoriented), Richard asks Daffy about the Tet festival, but Daffy does not want to talk about it.

Daffy steers the conversation toward various war planes and making models, but Richard wants to know about Tet. Daffy admits he was terrible at building models, and Richard admits he was too, and that he used to light the failed models on fire and drop them out windows. A butterfly passes by, and Richard expects it to land on Daffy, but it does not. Daffy talks about how he loved Sal, much like how Richard feels about Françoise. Their conversation is soon interrupted when Daffy points out that the visiting people are on a raft and on their way over.

Richard goes back to camp, dreading giving Sal the news. He finds everyone at camp is acting normal and cheerful, which is unsettling given that Sten was buried so recently. People seem to just want to engage in small talk, but there is an underlying tension that is impossible to ignore.

Richard goes to visit Jed and Christo and finds the smell of vomit inside the tent hard to bear. Jed is upset, as nobody has come to visit Christo. Jed’s face is graying, and Jed tells Richard that Christo is about two days away from death; Sal is trying to keep it a secret. He asks Richard to feel Christo’s stomach, which is completely black and hardened. Richard blurts out that Sammy and Zeph are on their way, and Jed predicts that “if they make it to the beach, they’ll see Christo die. Everything here will fall apart” (336).

Sal stops Richard after he leaves the tent, sensing something is wrong. Richard gives her the news about the raft, and Sal becomes flustered due to the amount of pressure on her. Sal asks if Richard has told anyone other than Jed about the raft or Christo, and Richard assures her he has not. Sal says she needs to sleep to figure out a solution about the rafters, and when she stops talking and stares into space for over a minute, Richard quietly slips away, worrying for her mental health.

Richard goes over possible scenarios in his head, envisioning Sammy and Zeph finding Christo and Karl, arriving during Tet, and destroying what little morale is left. He considers the possibility of succeeding in stopping them from arriving at all, but wonders what will become of Karl, who will “stick around indefinitely, a constant reminder of [their] troubles, an albatross around [their] necks” (340). This statement refers to the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, about a sailor who is plagued by an albatross he kills. Richard goes to see Karl, whom Françoise has clearly been neglecting since Sal’s speech, and tells him he is an albatross and a black cloud. He demands Karl to “get sane” (341) so that he is no longer a burden, and Karl does nothing more than take a sip from his coconut water.

Richard goes back to camp and finds Etienne and Keaty still arguing about Karl, this time more passionately than before. Etienne accuses Keaty of not caring about Karl, and Keaty continually dismisses Etienne’s moral concerns about the situation. Richard attempts to calm Etienne down, reminding him to try to keep the peace, but Etienne finds this to be a joke. He does not recognize Richard anymore and leaves angrily. Before bed, Richard goes to see Jed one more time, but finds him asleep and Christo awake. Christo tells Richard he is in pain and seeing stars, and Richard comforts him by telling him Karl is beside him and to dream good dreams. He goes to bed to await the arrival of Sammy and Zeph.