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Chapter 5
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 knocks on the door to his family’s quarters in Dublin Castle. Maud answers the door, but at first she doesn’t recognize Willie. Then she excitedly pulls him inside and calls for Annie. Willie, still wearing his uniform, wants to bathe first before his sisters hug and kiss him because he’s dirty and infested with lice. Maud and Annie ready a bath for him, delighted to have their brother back and hear him laugh.
The war has changed Willie so significantly that he almost looks like a different person, as though becoming a soldier has distanced Willie from who he used to be before the war. However, Maud and Annie’s love for Willie hasn’t changed, and their enthusiasm at seeing their brother again shows how strong their familial bonds remain.
Themes
Willie stands at the window as disturbing thoughts arise in his mind. He remembers the day in 1913 when the Dublin Metropolitan Police clashed against the crowd in Sackville Street. Specifically, Willie recalls that four men were killed that day. He wonders why those four deaths bother him so much when he’s seen so many more deaths since then. Willie also remembers that he worked for Dempsey during the workers’ strike, which makes him a “scab.” For the first time, this troubles Willie. Moreover, he feels like a traitor for having these thoughts at home.
While Willie has been away from home and at war, his perspective has shifted. He feels more uncomfortable than ever before about the 1913 Sackville Street riot, with the implication that he’s especially disturbed by his father’s involvement in the police violence that day. Moreover, Willie now seems to regret that he was oblivious to the workers’ strike. However, as Willie starts to form his own feelings about the conflicts in Dublin he’s witnessed, he feels guilty for doing so, as if he fears he’s not allowed to develop opinions that might differ from those of his family.
Themes
Willie’s father arrives with Dolly, who rushes to hug her brother. James Dunne calls his son a hero. Then he dons an apron and bathes Willie with tenderness and precision. When Willie is dry and dressed in his old work clothes, Willie’s father embraces him. Being held feels strange and comforting to Willie.
As he bathes Willie, James Dunne expresses his great love for and pride in his son. He also demonstrates that even though Willie is no longer a small child, he’s still protected and cared for by his family. James Dunne’s strong fatherly affection is soothing to Willie, exemplifying the power of familial love.
Themes
On the last evening of his furlough, Willie sits in pleasant silence with his father, whom he feels a strong love for. His father says he’ll retire in a few years. After a long pause, he asks Willie if it’s “rough out there” in Belgium. Willie says that it is, and his father admits that he thinks about the war and prays for his son. Willie says he’ll be alright.
Willie’s father is aware that Willie faces great danger at war, even if Willie doesn’t talk explicitly about the perils that threaten soldiers’ lives on the Western Front. Although his speech is restrained and full of understatement, Willie’s father manages to convey the strength of his love for Willie, as well as the depth of his concern for Willie’s safety. He also reveals that he turns to faith for solace when Willie is away.
Themes
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The next morning, Willie walks Gretta to work. He asks her to send him more letters, and Gretta promises to try. She thinks of Willie often but is usually too exhausted from her work as a seamstress to write. Willie wants to be formally engaged to Gretta, but she refuses to enter into an agreement with him until the war is over and Willie knows his own mind. Willie is unhappy with Gretta’s insistence on waiting, but Gretta assures him that she loves him and wants to be his wife. That evening, Gretta visits Willie outside the barracks’ gates. By the canal, they kiss and have sex.
Whereas Willie’s attitude toward marriage is naïve and sentimental, Gretta’s is practical and businesslike. Gretta’s pragmatism seems born of necessity. As a lower-class woman, she has to think carefully about her livelihood and future prospects. However, Gretta isn’t unfeeling. She reciprocates Willie’s love, and by initiating a sexual relationship with Willie, she makes it clear that she’s devoted to him.
Themes
