Given that this baby takes place after World War III, as the few remaining survivors await death via radiation cloud, On the Beach spends a lot of time brooding on the nature of death. In fact, we see a whole host of different ways that people deal with their impending doom. Some people party harder than Mick Jagger in 1975. Others dive headlong into their work. Some just give up and buy sports cars. Although each one expresses it in his or her own way, these characters are all dealing with the same, unenviable knowledge that they and everyone they know and love will soon be dead. Good grief.
Questions About Mortality
- What does the location of each character's death say about him or her?
- Which characters fear death? Which characters don't?
- Is the use of euthanasia pills ethical? Why or why not?
- How do the people of Australia express their fear of death?