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Chapter 21
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
In a military hospital, a nurse treats Willie’s injuries. Willie has burns and lacerations all over his body, and his head and left arm won’t stop shaking. Christy Moran sends Willie a letter telling him that the same explosion that injured him also killed Timmy Weekes.
Willie’s trauma from the war is both physical and emotional. As he recovers from his bodily injuries, Willie also deals with more grief. That yet another one of his friends has died in the war while he has survived contributes to Willie’s pain and loneliness.
Themes
An Irish officer visits Willie and reports that the British government has been trying to establish conscription in Ireland. Privately, Willie agrees with the nationalist opposition to this attempt. The officer also proudly declares that the Irish Convention has failed, and that Home Rule is “a dead duck.”
As Willie aligns more and more with Irish nationalism, he also grows more confident in his own opinions, especially his belief that no more Irishmen should be sent to fight in the war for England. In addition to demonstrating Willie’s personal growth, this scene also alludes to important political developments that began in Ireland during the last year of World War I by referencing the historical Irish Convention and the final defeat of Home Rule.
Themes
After a month or two, Willie has started to recover. The nurse uses a mirror to show him that he has the mark of a harp and crown over his heart. Willie realizes he was carrying Christy Moran’s medal in his pocket when the bomb hit him, and the explosion seared the medal’s design into his skin. Willie says he doesn’t mind being branded by the symbols.
Willie is now permanently marked with the emblems of Ireland and the British Empire, symbolizing that his life is inextricably bound to both his homeland and England. Importantly, Willie accepts that he can’t sever these ties of belonging.
Themes
One day, Willie asks the nurse to hold him. She refuses initially because it’s not allowed, but she acquiesces. In the embrace, Willie thinks of Gretta and imagines her as an old woman. He wishes he could have grown old beside Gretta. Then, Willie believes a miracle happens. His shaking stops. Willie thinks suddenly that the nurse is a sad person and wonders if her sadness has cured him.
Although Willie’s romantic relationship with Gretta is over, Willie’s enduring love for Gretta remains a valuable source of comfort and hope for him. Willie’s lasting bond with Gretta and this moment of intimacy with the nurse both benefit Willie so powerfully that they seem to heal him, illustrating the vital importance of human connection.
Themes
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In June 1918, Willie writes a letter to his father from Shropshire, England. He says he’s been in the hospital but reassures his father that he has healed and will return to the war soon. He praises his father for being a good parent and expresses his love and admiration for him. Later, Willie reflects that he has lost faith in King and country, though he remains somewhat loyal for his father’s sake. Willie concludes that kings and rebels don’t matter, because ultimately Death is the only powerful thing in the world.
Despite the rift that has formed between them, Willie still loves and thinks highly of his father. At the same time, Willie has also learned how to think independently from his father. Willie no longer believes in serving the British crown as his father does, and he comes to his own understanding about war—namely, that war drains all meaning and sense from the world, trapping humans in an endless cycle of violence and death.
Themes
