Dwight Towers

Character Analysis

Although no one escapes On the Beach scot-free, Dwight Towers might be in the roughest spot of them all. With his family dead, his homeland destroyed, and his whole world shattered, Dwight is left to pick up the pieces best he can—before losing them all once more.

A Rude Awakening

Just put yourself in Dwight's shoes. You're a naval officer in charge of the submarine Scorpion, which has just submerged for several weeks. Another day in the office. When you emerge, however, you make a startling discovery: World War III has broken out. Your homeland has been destroyed. Everyone you've ever known and loved is dead. And it's just a matter of time until you go down for the count, too.

Okay, now that you've wiped away the tears (we see you, bro), you probably have a better understanding of this dude's plight.

Dwight's biggest pain is the loss of his family. Not a surprise. What is surprising, however, is how he copes with it. Instead of accepting their deaths and mourning, he pretends as if they're still alive, buys them gifts, and frequently talks about how he "would be going back to them in September, home from his travels" (2.16). September, by the way, is when the radiation cloud will hit Melbourne.

Like the other characters in On the Beach, Dwight needs something to hold on to. Does he really believe his family is still alive? Surely not. But he has to behave as if they are, just so he can keep going. He turns to his family to cope with his trauma. Maybe he even thinks he's honoring their memory best this way.

Moira-vation

Moira is pretty useful in helping Dwight cope, too. She's an energetic, passionate, and sharp-witted young woman, her manic pixie dream girl-esque energy jolting a bit of the depression out of him. Despite his feelings towards her, however, Dwight refuses to dive in headlong, telling her that he's "got a wife at home" who he's "played straight with" for the "two years that [he's] been away" (8.89).You might think that Moira would respond to this with a resounding "Bye, Felicia," but it actually only makes her admire him more. She even has a pogo stick custom-built for him because he wants to give one to his daughter.

Although the will-they-won't-they tension is compelling, everyone involved knows that nothing is going to happen. That's the kind of dude Dwight is. He's the kind of dude who has "to do things right, up till the end" because "that's the way [he] was trained" (8.105). The kind of dude who doesn't allow booze on his ship because Uncle Sam says no. The kind of dude who feels so loyal to his family that he can't move on after their deaths.

Though, of course, there's not really that much to move on to.

Ultimately, even Dwight's death reflects his sense of duty. After the radiation cloud hits, he sinks Scorpion at high sea to prevent evildoers (like, uh, who? rabbits?) from accessing its secret files. It might not be the ending we wanted for Dwight, but it's very much in line with the guy we've come to know over the course of On the Beach.