Penguin Readers Factsheets

level
E

T e a c h e rs n o t e s

1
2

The Beach

3
4
5

by Alex Garland
6

S U M M A R Y

Pearson Education 2001

ABOUT ALEX GARLAND

Alex Garland was born in London in 1970. After leaving school, he
spent six months in Southeast Asia, and he has returned there many
times since, most frequently to the Philippines. He graduated in history
of art from Manchester University in England and began his career as
an artist and freelance journalist. The Beach, his first novel, was
written in 1996 and soon became an international bestseller, with five
million copies sold worldwide. In 1997 it won the Betty Trask prize for
the best first novel by a writer under 35. Garlands second novel, The
Tesseract, was published in 1999.
In 1999 The Beach was made into a successful film starring
Leonardo di Caprio as Richard and Virginie Ledoyen as Franoise.

BACKGROUND AND THEMES

In recent years, increasing affluence and a taste for travel have
encouraged many young people of all nationalities to take time off
between school and university or between university and full-time
employment to explore the world. Many of them end up in Thailand, a
country famous for its beautiful unspoilt beaches and exotic lifestyle,
where living is relatively cheap. Travellers and backpackers can meet
there, share experiences and discover a world quite different from that
in which they have been brought up. Free from the restraints of home,
young people find it an exciting place to try new experiences and
enjoy themselves to the full. Like Richard, tienne and Franoise, they
are in search of adventure and for some, typical tourist activities such
as river-rafting and trekking no longer offer enough excitement to
satisfy them. Furthermore, the popularity of Thailand as a holiday
destination has meant that the beaches have become crowded and
the resorts touristy. The community of the beach are trying to find a
paradise that has not been spoilt by commercialisation.
Although laws against drugs are strict in Thailand, drugs,
particularly marijuana (dope), are relatively cheap and easy to obtain.
Smoking dope is part of daily life in the Beach community and there is
a ready supply because drug-dealers are using the isolated island to
cultivate fields of marijuana plants. Neither the dealers nor the
community can reveal the others secret to the authorities without
getting into serious trouble themselves, so they are able to exist in an
uneasy tolerance of each other. However, the arrival of yet more
travellers, this time bearing a map, is too much for the dealers to take
and they murder them and bring the mutilated bodies to the camp to
act as a warning to the others.
The Beach has been compared to Lord of the Flies by William
Golding (winner of the Nobel prize for Literature in 1983) which tells
the story of a party of schoolboys stranded on an island after their
plane is shot down during a war. In this novel, too, a community is
formed and at first all seems idyllic until divisions start to occur. Both
books portray a society isolated from the rest of the world which starts
to disintegrate under pressure, leading to a descent into primitive
tribalism, characterised by violence and a struggle for power. In Lord
of the Flies, the boys kill two of their number and are engaged in a wild
hunt to kill a third when they are rescued from the island. This is
echoed in the festival at the end of The Beach when the travellers
mutilate the dead bodies of the rafters and turn on Richard. Both
books suggest that civilisation is a fairly thin veneer and that without
the constraints of organised society, humans tend to descend into
barbarity.

THE BEACH

he Beach by Alex Garland tells the story of Richard, a young

backpacker from England who goes to Thailand looking for
adventure. At a guesthouse in Bangkok he finds a map pinned
to his door. It has been put there by the man in the next room who kept
him awake the previous night talking incoherently about a beach. The
man has now killed himself. The map shows the way to a secret beach
on an island in a National Park in the Gulf of Thailand where tourists
are forbidden to go. Together with a French couple, tienne and
Franoise, Richard finds the beach and the small community of
travellers, led by a woman called Sal, who have gone there in search
of a place unspoilt by tourism. They soon make friends with the others
and settle down to life in paradise. Each has a role to play in the life
of the community and their existence seems idyllic. However, tensions
develop within the group and things start to go wrong. As events spiral
out of control, the communitys inability to cope with a real crisis is
revealed. First there is an outbreak of food poisoning. Then a fishing
party is attacked by a shark, Sten is killed and his friends Christo and
Karl are left in need of medical help. The community is divided over
what to do. Some want to take Christo and Karl to a doctor and return
Stens body to the mainland so his parents can be told what has
happened. Others want to bury Sten to preserve the secret of the
beach and they turn a blind eye to Christo and Karls need for help.
Richard, meanwhile, is haunted by the knowledge that he may already
have endangered the secret of the beach. In a moment of rashness
before leaving Ko Samui, he had given a copy of his map to two
Americans, Zeph and Sammy, and he lives in fear that they will come
after him and he will get into trouble with the community for betraying
their secret. A further problem is that the travellers share the island
with drug dealers who are growing fields of marijuana. The fields are
guarded by armed men. The drug dealers are prepared to tolerate a
limited number of travellers on the island, but when Zeph and Sammy
and three Germans finally arrive on a raft carrying Richards map, the
drug dealers feel their secret business is threatened and they kill
them. Richard sees the rafters being beaten by the guards and he
hears the gunfire as they are killed. When Sal suggests to Richard that
he kill Karl to help protect the beach and restore tranquility to the
community, he is shocked and he refuses. Nevertheless, he is capable
of killing and he expresses no remorse at the death of the rafters. He,
Keaty, tienne and Franoise make the decision to leave the beach
secretly in the middle of a festival when everyone will be too stoned to
notice. Jed agrees to leave with them, but not until the fatally injured
Christo is dead. When Jed is asleep, Richard kills Christo.
Richard and the others put drugs in the food and prepare to escape.
However, the drug dealers invade the festival, bringing the dead
bodies of the rafters. They warn that they will not tolerate the secret of
the beach being revealed to other people and they produce Richards
map. Angered by the fact that they have brought this threat to their
community, some people start to attack the dead bodies and mutilate
them. Then Sal picks up the map and finds a note from Richard to
Zeph and Sammy on the back. They then turn on Richard and start
attacking him with knives. He is rescued by Jed, Keaty, tienne and
Franoise.
In the final chapter of the book, Richard is back home and he
reveals a few details of how he and the others escaped and how he
feels now looking back.

ADVANCED

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T e a c h e rs n o t e s
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of
text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and supplement
those exercises. For supplementary exercises covering shorter
sections of the book, see the photocopiable Students Activities
pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class
readers, but with the exception of pair/groupwork questions, can
also be used by students working alone in a self-access centre.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

1

THE BEACH

Write these words and phrases on the board:

traveller Thailand secret beach drugs
community fish escape guns help
Ask students to work in groups and to try to guess what
happens in the story. If any students already know the story,
they shouldnt tell the other members of their group. They
can say warm if the guesses of the others are close to the
truth or cold if they are not.
Tell students that this book is about a group of young people
who have found a beautiful beach on an isolated island in
the Gulf of Thailand. They are not supposed to be there, but
they are tired of touristy resorts and have started their own
community, living in secret in this fantastic place. Put
students into small groups and ask them to imagine they are
part of this community. How long would they like to stay
there? How would they find food? What skills do they have
which would help the community? What problems would they
have? How would they prevent other people from finding out
about the beach? Groups report back to the class.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Chapters 12
In pairs, students write the interview between Richard and the
policeman. They then act it out for the class.

Chapters 34
1

Students read Richards description on page 18 again and

draw a sketch of the beach as seen from the top of the
waterfall.
In groups, students write as many sentences as they can
giving information about the following characters. They then
read them out to the class and see which group has the
most information.
Sal Mr Duck Bugs

Chapters 56
1

In pairs, students discuss the following:

Imagine you live at the beach. What things would you miss
from the World? Richard and Jed are about to do a Rice
Run. What things would you ask them to bring back for you?
In small groups, students make a list of the things that have
started to go wrong for the people at the beach. They then
decide which are potentially the most dangerous and put
them in order.

Chapters 78
Chapter 8 is called Paradise to Hell. In groups, students
discuss in what ways paradise has changed to hell for Richard
and the others.

Chapters 910
In small groups, students choose a scene from these chapters
and act it out.

Pearson Education 2001

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

1

In pairs, students discuss the character of Richard. Is he the

sort of person they would like to have as a friend? What do
they think about his actions in the book? Was he right to kill
Christo?

In small groups, students discuss the following question:

Which of these sentences do you most agree with? Give
reasons.
(a) Richard is glad that he had an exciting adventure in
Thailand and would probably like to go travelling again.
(b) Richard knows that he is lucky to have escaped with his
life and now regrets going in search of adventure.

Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. Most
of them are practised in the Before You Read sections of exercises at the
back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active
Study Dictionary.)
Chapters 12
backpacker (n) a traveller whose luggage is carried in a bag on
their back
bitch (n) an offensive word for a woman you dislike
coconut (n) a large brown nut with white flesh, which is filled with a
liquid
cool (adj) a word used about something or someone you like or
admire
coral (n) a hard substance formed from the bones of very small sea
animals
dope (n) an illegal drug, especially marijuana
gulf (n) a large area of sea partly surrounded by land
idyllic (adj) very pleasant and peaceful
joint (n) a cigarette that contains marijuana
lagoon (n) an area of sea water that is separated from the sea by
sand
paradise (n) a place or situation that you like very much or that is
very beautiful
resort (n) a place where a lot of people go for a holiday
stoned (adj) very relaxed or excited after taking an illegal drug
suntan (n) when your skin goes brown from being in the sun
Chapters 34
chest (n) the front part of your body between your neck and
stomach
clearing (n) a small area in a forest where there are no trees
cliff (n) a high steep rock or piece of land
deserted (adj) empty and quiet because people have gone away
longhouse (n) a large building where many people can live and
sleep
mask (n) something that covers all or part of your face in order to
protect it
Chapters 56
moan (n) a long low sound made by someone who is in pain or very
unhappy
panic (v) to feel so frightened that you do things without thinking
clearly
squid (n) a sea creature with a long soft body and ten tentacles
vomit (n) the food or drink that comes out of your mouth when you
are sick
Chapters 78
smash (n) a violent hit
trauma (n) the shock caused by an unpleasant and upsetting
experience
Chapters 910
ferment (v) if fruit is fermented, the sugar in it turns to alcohol

Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Helena Gomm
Factsheet series developed by Louise James

level

Penguin Readers Factsheets

level
E

Students activities

The Beach

2
3

Photocopiable

Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more

other students. Pair/group-only exercises are marked.

Activities before reading the book

1 Look at the picture on the front of the

book.

(i) Richard arrived in Bangkok.

(a) Who are the people in the picture?

(j) Richard gave a copy of his map to

Zeph and Sammy.

(b) Where are they and what are they

doing?

(k) The man in the next room gave

Richard a joint.

2 Individually or in pairs, read the

Introduction at the front of the book.
Then answer the following questions.
(a) What is the difference between a
tourist and a traveller?

(c) What do you think could go wrong to

turn paradise into hell?

Activities while reading the book

Chapters 12
1 Put the following events in the order in
which they happened

(l) tienne and Franoise went river

rafting in Chiang Mai.

Chapters 34
1 The following sentences are false.
Correct them and say what you know
about each situation
(a) They put their backpacks in plastic
bags to carry them across to the
other island.
(b) As soon as they had swum across to
the other island, they set off in search
of the special beach.
(c) The dope plants were growing
naturally on the island.
(d) The men they saw in the dope fields
looked friendly.

(a) Richard met Zeph and Sammy.

(e) To get down to the beach they had to

climb down the waterfall.

(b) Richard, tienne and Franoise went

to Ko Samui.

(f) Richard felt comfortable and at home

as soon as he reached the camp.

(c) Mr Duck killed himself.

(d) Richard was woken up by the man in
the next room.
(e) Richard was interviewed by the
police.
(f) Mr Duck pinned a map to Richards
door.
(g) Richard showed the map to tienne
and Franoise.
(h) tienne and Franoise arrived in
Thailand.

Pearson Education 2001

2 What do you think about the community

at the beach so far? Would you like to
live there? Why or why not?

Chapters 5 & 6
1 Make a list of the people who have
appeared in the story so far. What do
you know about each of them?
2 Choose the right answer.
(a) Why is Jed angry when he comes
back from buying the rice?
(i) Because Richard has fallen

THE BEACH

(b) The beach is described as paradise

on earth and heaven on earth. What
sort of place do you imagine
paradise and heaven to be?

ADVANCED

Penguin Readers Factsheets

Students activities
asleep on the beach and they are
now late.

1 Complete these sentences.

(ii) Because Richard did not go with

him to help buy the rice.

(a) If Richard hadnt killed Christo, Jed

wouldnt ...

(iii) Because he has found out that

Richard gave Zeph and Sammy a
map showing the beach.

(b) If Karl hadnt escaped with the boat,

Richard might have ...

(b) Why does Sal move Richard from

fishing to working with Jed?
(i) Because she knows he is
responsible for Zeph and Sammy
trying to find them.
(ii) Because Keaty wants to move
from gardening to fishing.
(iii) Because Richard is no good at
fishing and has never caught any.

THE BEACH

Chapters 910

3 Chapter 6 is called Disaster Strikes.

What are the three disasters in this
chapter?

(c) If the others hadnt rescued him,

Richard ...
(d) If Sal had found out about their plans
to escape, she ...
(e) If Richard hadnt given Zeph and
Sammy a map, the dope guards ...
2 In pairs, discuss what you think Richard
means when he says I carry a lot of
scars.

Activities after reading the book

Chapters 78

In small groups, discuss these questions.

1 Match the names of the people to these

sentences.

(a) How has Richards experience at the

beach changed him?

Richard
Sten

tienne

Christo

Jed

(b) Do you think he has become a better

person or a worse person?

(a) This person has been killed by a

shark.

(c) What things has he done that he may

regret?

(b) This person has been badly injured

by a shark.

(d) Why do you think Daffy Duck left the

beach and killed himself?

(c) This person thinks they should let

Stens parents know what has
happened.
(d) This person looks after his badlyinjured friend.
(e) This person has a fight with Karl.
2 Do you think Richard feels responsible
for the deaths of the rafters? Find
evidence in Chapter 8 to support your
opinion. What could Richard have done
to prevent their deaths?

Pearson Education 2001

Published and distributed by Pearson Education

Factsheet written by Helena Gomm
Factsheet series developed by Louise James

level