Paradises are always the final destination of travelers but are inevitably spoiled by them in the end. The ideal paradises must have astonishing beauty and heavenly peace. By their very nature, paradises are essentially isolated from people to avoid pollution. Because paradises are irresistible to travelers, more and more travelers would go to the paradises to experience their beauty and peace. But the destruction and the disturbance brought by travelers eventually put paradises in jeopardy. Hence, to live in the paradises is initially a joy but turns out to be a disaster. The Beach illustrates this problem that all travelers have. In short, travelers are unaware that they usually spoil the paradises in two ways. The first way is that they ruin the environment of the paradises. The second way is that they destroy the peace of the paradises.
Most travelers have a tendency to bring worldly things, more or less, to where they settle. This is the first way that the travelers ruin the environment of the paradises. In fact, in order to make their lives more comfortable, travelers like to develop the paradises. This development includes transportation, housing, and entertainment. One example presenting the housing development of the paradise in The Beach is, “At first glance, the camp…[has] a large, dusty clearing surrounded by trees, with some huts and a few tents. At the far end was a larger building, a longhouse, and beside it the stream from the waterfall reappeared” (20). Another example showing the entertainment development of the paradise is, “Sal had organized a huge team of football” (27). Indeed, too many developments make the paradise become very plastic. As a consequence, paradises are no longer paradises since travelers ruin the natural beauty of the paradises.
The other way is that travelers destroy the peace of the paradises. After travelers settle in the paradise, they are predisposed to form groups by their nationalities, their characters, their professions, their hobbies, and their benefits. Gradually, they separate into several different groups. As Richard, the book’s main character, said, “This, then, was the politics in the camps, and we all had to deal with the situation in our own way” (61). Sometimes, conflicts happen between the different groups. Because the first arrivals take possession of the paradise, they often try very hard to push newcomers out. This desire is also shown in the book; as Sal said, “The beach is my life, Richard, but it’s yours too” (80). If this strong desire is threatened, the first arrivals will even kill people to protect their possessions. For example, in the book Richard said, “[Sal] wanted me to find Karl and kill him”. In this situation, a paradise to a maniac is just like a beautiful wife to a crazily jealous husband. Unfortunately, paradises become bloody worlds because, on some levels, humans are animals. Therefore, paradises are no longer paradises because travelers destroy the peace of the paradises.
No matter where the travelers go, no matter what paradises the travelers find, paradises become spoiled when too many travelers go there. Travelers love the paradises but always insensibly ruin the natural beauty and the peace of the paradises. If there were no travelers, there could be paradises. Maybe the real paradises can only exist in travelers’ dreams.
Garland, Alex. The Beach. Harlow : Viking, 1996.
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