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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Long Long Way, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Youth, Naivety, and Growing Up
The Horrors of War
Family, Camaraderie, and Love
Political Conflict and Divided Loyalties
Resilience and Shared Humanity
Summary
Analysis
Willie rejoins his company in a quiet sector of the front lines. He turns 21 years old, Christmas passes, and then it’s January 1918. Willie and his comrades hear that the Irish battalions in reserve at home won’t be coming to Flanders; instead, they’ll be sent to England. Christy Moran says the British don’t trust the Irish anymore. Since the battalions have shrunk in numbers so much and there are no spare officers, Christy is the platoon’s new leader. The soldiers hope that the Americans will enter the war soon.
Because of the ongoing social and political unrest in Ireland, the leaders of the British Army now seem to doubt Irish soldiers’ loyalty. This bias against Irishmen feels alienating and insulting to Willie and his comrades. Meanwhile, the severely diminished battalions are evidence of the terrible casualties that the British Army has suffered over the course of the war.
Themes
Willie wonders who sent the anonymous letter to Gretta. He’s angry about the letter—the sender destroyed his future. He knows it can’t be Pete O’Hara, because O’Hara is too close of a friend. When he mentions the letter to O’Hara, O’Hara sympathizes with Willie’s anger. Meanwhile, the soldiers constantly receive false alarms about enemy activity.
Willie feels like his life is over now that he has lost his relationship with Gretta. Moreover, he feels betrayed, though he can’t imagine the traitor being one of his own good friends. Willie trusts O’Hara enough to believe that O’Hara would never hurt him to this degree, exemplifying how strong Willie’s bonds with his fellow soldiers are.
Themes
One day, a piece of shrapnel from a shrapnel bomb cuts through a young English soldier’s leg. Christy Moran and Willie stare dazedly at the boy and his severed foot. The stretcher-bearers arrive, mildly comment that the boy doesn’t look good, and take him away, leaving his foot behind. Christy Moran looks at all the blood and whispers ironically, “Happy days.”
Christy, Willie, and the stretcher-bearers have seen so much death that they’ve become nearly desensitized to awful sights of blood and pain. They respond with detached numbness—and dark humor, in Christy’s case—to shield themselves from the emotional pain of witnessing such suffering.
Themes
On another morning, a thick fog gathers, and a heavy bombardment begins. Willie’s company can’t see any enemies approaching through the fog, so for hours they simply huddle in the trenches and wait. Christy Moran tries to call for help, but the phone in the dugout is dead. Several hours later, the soldiers see a mass of German soldiers marching toward them. Christy first tells the terrified men to fire, but soon he orders them to pull back instead. Joe Kielty stays behind to cover them. Christy, Willie, O’Hara, Timmy, and the other soldiers of their company run into the woods, where the attack eventually ceases.
Although Willie and his comrades are experienced soldiers at this point, every battle brings fresh terror and the looming threat of death, which the men are desperate to escape. Joe Kielty’s selfless choice to stay behind reveals not only his courage but also his love for his fellow soldiers.
Themes
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In the woods, Willie sits next to O’Hara, who has been shot in the side. O’Hara confesses that he wrote the letter to Gretta, although he immediately regretted sending it. He explains that he wrote the letter after telling Willie the story about the Belgian woman because he felt small and angry that Willie had hit him. In the middle of his confession, O’Hara dies.
O’Hara’s confession complicates Willie’s relationship with him immensely. On one hand, O’Hara is the traitor who ruined Willie’s future. On the other hand, O’Hara is now another fallen comrade whose death causes Willie sorrow.
Themes
The next morning, Willie rests against a tree. His helmet falls over his face, and suddenly a great noise envelops him. Willie wakes up on a stretcher with his chest burning and his legs screaming in pain. He looks around him and sees beautiful girls who have no tongues. Then he falls unconscious again.
Caught in an explosion, Willie suffers physically from the devastating violence of war. As he wakes up in an ambulance and imagines that the nurses are mutilated like the Belgian woman from O’Hara’s story, his nightmarish vision reflects his internal agony and disorientation.
Themes
