Warfare Quotes in On the Beach

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

The short, bewildering war had followed, the war of which no history had been written or ever would be written now. (1.24)

After all, there won't be anyone around to read history textbooks when everything is said and done. That's a scary thought. Even scarier is how little these survivors actually know about the conflict that turned their planet into a nuclear wasteland.

Quote #2

Here he learned [...] of the Russo-Chinese war that had flared up out of the Russo-N.A.T.O. war, that had in turn been born of the Israeli-Arab war, initiated by Albania. (1.52)

So, the apocalypse was caused by...Albania. Huh. We're not trying to throw shade or anything, but that isn't quite what we expected. It wasn't Russia? Not the U.S.? As it turns out, the big boys didn't even enter the fray until the bombs had already started dropping— and by that time, it was already too late.

Quote #3

"Why should we have to die because other countries nine or ten thousand miles away from us wanted to have a war?" (1.302)

It's hard to argue with Moira's point, but the words "war" and "fair" are rarely mentioned in the same breath, unless you're saying something like, "Goodness gracious, there isn't anything fair about war." (You should probably say that in an Australian accent for accuracy's sake, too, by the way.)