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Chapter 22
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 is happy to return to his regiment, although he generally feels weak, broken, and tearful now. He reads in the newspaper that the members of the 16th Division are almost entirely gone, and that the Irish are no longer trusted to fight in the war. Willie despairs bitterly that the British army is “deriding” the Irish soldiers for their “own slaughter.”
The war has left Willie emotionally wounded, and he feels lonelier and more disheartened than ever before. Additionally, British prejudice against Irish soldiers makes Willie feel scorned and abandoned by the army. Nevertheless, Willie looks forward to returning to the Western Front because he yearns to be back in the company of his friends.
Themes
When Willie rejoins his platoon, he happily greets Joe Kielty and embraces Christy Moran, who gives him one of Timmy Weekes’s books—a Dostoevsky novel—to keep. Willie is grateful to Christy and feels a surge of love for Timmy Weekes.
Willie and his friends find joy in being alive and together once more. Importantly, they also understand each other’s grief for their fallen comrades. Christy’s kind way of honoring Timmy Weekes not only brings Willie comfort but also enhances Willie’s love for his fellow soldiers.
Themes
After the summer of 1918, Major Stokes hangs himself in a barn. He leaves behind a note to his wife apologizing for his cowardice. American troops enter into the war now, and the question of conscription in Ireland is dropped. No new Irish soldiers come to Flanders. The only Irishmen in the war now are Willie, his fellow soldiers, and others like them who have survived thus far. As the war continues, the Allied forces push the Germans back to their own country, losing thousands of men in the process.
Major Stokes’s suicide reveals the harsh psychological toll that war takes on military officers. Meanwhile, the war progresses onward in spite of devastating losses. Such large-scale violence is horrifically costly, yet the absurdity of war means that the fighting continues anyway.
Themes
Willie understands now that his own countrymen will no longer accept him as an Irishman. Moreover, Willie believes Ireland itself is gone. He wants to try to better comprehend Jesse Kirwan’s philosophy now that it resonates strongly with his own new ideas about home and loyalty.
Willie has matured. He finally knows his own mind. He’s more certain in his beliefs, aware of the limitations in his understanding, and open to expanding his knowledge. Specifically, Willie wants to learn more about Irish nationalism, although he’s now bitterly aware that other Irish people view him as a traitor for serving in the British Army. Moreover, Willie fears that the Ireland he knows has been eroded away by recent conflicts, and he feels that he has lost his homeland.
Themes
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Willie’s company arrives at St. Court. German troops with their artillery are amassed there near a bridge. At night, Willie and 300 other soldiers await orders for an attack. Suddenly, Willie hears a German voice singing “Silent Night.” The song enchants Willie, and he contemplates peace, holiness, and the end of the world. Willie wonders if any soldier’s ordeals throughout the war have had any meaning, and he feels alone. He joins in the song and is shot. Joe Kielty catches him before he falls. Just before he dies, Willie sees four angels with the faces of Jesse Kirwan, Father Buckley, the first German soldier Willie killed, and Captain Pasley.
As soon as Willie hears music, he yearns to find meaning and solace in it. By joining in the song himself, Willie reaches out for human connection with the German singer, thus humanizing the enemy soldier. However, Willie’s attempt to find meaning and connection tragically fails because war destroys meaning, hope, and life. Through Willie’s final vision of the four men whose noble and sacrificial deaths shaped the course of Willie’s life, the novel elevates these characters to a holy status.
Themes
In October 1918, James Dunne sends a letter to Willie, not knowing that Willie has already died. In the letter, James asks Willie to forgive him for being angry and promises his love for his brave son. The Dunne family gets the letter back along with Willie’s uniform, a porcelain horse figurine, and a Dostoevsky novel. Years later, Dolly emigrates to America and takes the Dostoevsky book with her. James Dunne goes mad and dies in a psychiatric facility.
In the end, James Dunne loves and approves of his son as firmly as Willie always loved and admired his father. James Dunne’s sincere apology reveals that familial love is ultimately stronger than any tension that once arose between him and Willie. Additionally, Dolly’s possession of the Dostoevsky novel as a keepsake shows her continuing love for Willie.
Themes
Christy Moran and Joe Kielty bury Willie where he died. They mark the grave with a wooden cross, and Christy notes the grave’s location on his map before their platoon must move on to pursue the Germans.
By commemorating Willie’s death, Christy and Joe Kielty demonstrate their care and love for Willie, their fallen friend. Therefore, the novel ends by emphasizing the strong bonds between fellow soldiers.
Themes
