What do you think of the beach community? Do you think they are really supportive of each other? Which characters do you think are selfish? Explain. Daily Journal26 November 2015

Literature Circle Roles Discussion Director Summarizer Word Master Connector Culture Collector Cartographer Character Curator

“Never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamilar, never fail to be polite, and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts? It’s probably worth it.” What do you think of this? Do you think it is a realistic philosophy?

Garland spent six months living in the Philippines. Much of that experience was incorporated into "The Beach," which he purposefully set in Thailand. "That's because Thailand is more of a Mecca for a certain kind of travel, the kind of backpackers in the book," he explains. "And I wanted to write a certain kind of book about travel.”

Discussion Why is a pristine beach in a remote, exotic location so desirable to the jaded backpack travelers? Why do they require someplace so exclusive, and from where do they get their feelings of superiority over the tourists and even the natives?

Discussion Why does Sal emerge as the leader of this paradise commune? Discuss the role of women in this novel. Compare the characters of Francoise and Sal. How do these female characters compare to the other novels we have read?

Discussion "This book is anti-traveler in a lot of ways. That was absolutely my intention. "The Beach" was meant to be a criticism of this backpacker culture, not a celebration of it.“ ~ Alex Garland Do you agree that this book is “anti-traveler?”

The backpackers that Garland parodies in "The Beach" have hailed him as a spokesman for a lifestyle that he rejected long ago. "These people say they aren't tourists, but travelers and think they are special, more sensitive. It's stupid. They're not." Garland admits the book is very much autiobiographical. Leo's character, Richard, he says, "is basically me, when I was 18 or 19.“

The concept of the hideaway island itself is also flawed. It hinges upon a realisation that whilst the touristification of Eden is inevitable, such a nirvana is also simultaneously both attainable and worth attaining for however long is possible. The Beach may therefore be read on a simple level as a tale of hope in the face of adversity. A temporary paradise is given meaning by the travails necessary to attain it, but the youth portrayed by Garland is unwilling to sacrifice too much in order to do so. ("A holiday resort seemed like a poor reward for the difficulties we'd had to overcome" p96.) In this context, the hopes of youth may be seen as an arrogant self-regard which cannot admit that the search of perfect souls such as themselves could go unfulfilled; the young people are the products of a culture which regards instant and overblown gratification as a supreme right.

00:19:00 – 00:21:00– Travel montage, fire on beach, romance 00:23:00-00:26:00 – Some major changes, does it lend to the story or detract? 00:27:00 – Farm, more changes 00:31:00 – waterfall, changes 00:37:00 – beach life 00:39:00 pursuit of pleasure, beach life montage 01:06:30 – beach life and tragedy