The Beach

Garland was living in the Philippines when he wrote The Beach and was inspired by the jungles and South Asian culture there, as well as the unique dangers that island jungle life presents. Likely because Thailand is home to approximately 1430 islands, it serves as a suitable choice for a mysterious hidden island with a beach that is unknown to the world and protected by national laws. The beach encampment is heavily inspired by Thai culture, with bamboo huts and a diet based mainly on fish and fruits. Thailand has more than 25 protected National Marine Parks, and it instates strict laws on fishing and the capture and transport of flora and fauna to promote conservation. Thailand has a tropical climate, which comes up regularly in the novel as a source of suffering and hardship for the characters as they acclimatize to the hot, moist atmosphere, and likely adds to their mental states and delirium. Thailand is also a major tourist destination, with 11.4 million people visiting Thailand in 2022 (Sriring, Orathai. “Thailand Beats 2022 Tourism Target With 11.15 mln Foreign Arrivals.” Reuters, 2023). Although many of its natural areas are protected, tourism tends to ravage the natural landscape over time as hotels and resorts replace wildlife and people make their mark.

One of the novel’s themes centers around Humanity’s Slow Destruction of Nature, and Richard regularly comments on how Thailand’s islands are slowly being destroyed by tourism. Each time he hears about Thailand, a new island seems to be the top destination, and the previous popular place becomes a slimy, drug-ridden tourist spot. When Richard and Jed return to Koh Pha Ngan, they are disappointed to find it even worse than they remembered. Drug use in Thailand is a major problem, with about 2% of its total population considered to be experiencing addiction and almost 40% of its youth using illegal drugs (Kongjareon, Yamol, et al. “Pride-based Violence, Intoxicated Sex and Poly-Drug Use: A Vocational School-Based Study of Heterosexual and LGBT Students in Bangkok.” BMC Psychiatry, 2022). Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan, both popular tourist islands, are locations where drug trading and smuggling are frequent, as illustrated by “Full Moon Parties” that promote illicit drug use. During his time in Thailand, Richard uses cannabis, and on the island where he lives, the cannabis farm supplies the people with enough to be stoned all the time. Richard soon finds himself losing touch with reality, in part due to the isolation, and in part due to his drug use, illustrating The Blurring of Dreams, Hallucination, and Reality. The presence of the drug farmers is a constant danger throughout the story, and Richard fools himself into believing he can outsmart them, treating it like a war game. The drug farm on the island also becomes part of the beach’s ultimate destruction after the farmers find out that Richard left a map for people on the mainland.