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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tomorrow, When the War Began, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
War, Law, and Morality
Family, Friendship, and Love
Coming of Age, Transformation, and the Loss of Innocence
Writing and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
As everyone tries to relax after the trip to town, Homer speaks up. The way he sees it, they all have three choices. One, they can stay in Hell, hide out, and do nothing. There is no shame in that, he says. After all, they owe it their parents and each other to stay alive. Second, they can go to the Showground and try to get their parents out. But that, Homer says, is seriously dangerous—their weapons are like cap guns compared to the soldiers. Or, Homer concludes, they can “do something else to help the good guys,” which, he adds, is them, in case anyone is confused about that.
Homer’s reference to their group as the “good guys” and his implication that it might not be initially clear that he is talking about them again points to their moral dilemma. They have been forced to do awful things to survive, and they question if such actions mean they are morally compromised. Homer argues that it doesn’t—they are still the “good guys” regardless of what the war has forced them to do.
Themes
Robyn isn’t sure what to do. She doesn’t know what is right or wrong anymore, but she is pretty sure she can’t just sit and do nothing. They say the war is a “clean invasion,” but Robyn thinks all wars are dirty and evil. It wasn’t “clean” when they blew up Corrie’s house, and it isn’t “clean” to kill people, Robyn just hopes they don’t have to do too much more that is “filthy and foul and rotten.” Fiona speaks up next. She really just wants to go to the Hermit’s hut and hide until the war is over. She doesn’t feel brave like the rest of them, and she is worried that when push comes to shove, she will fold under the pressure.
Robyn’s conflicted feelings further suggest that traditional notions of right and wrong don’t apply during war. It has already been established that Robyn is quite religious, and she knows the traditional notions of right and wrong better than anyone. Robyn, however, is confused, too, and this further reflects the moral dilemma they have all been thrust into because of the war. Robyn’s mention of the “clean invasion” again implies that war can never be ethical or moral, regardless of the reasons behind it.
Themes
Ellie gets the impression that Chris will agree to do whatever the rest of them do, and Lee says he would fight if he could. Ellie feels like Fiona; she doesn’t know if she can rise to the challenge. She thinks about the bullets, and the lawnmower, and the shovel truck and doesn’t know if she can handle all of that again. Still, she thinks they should do something, mostly because, like Robyn, she can’t stand the thought of doing nothing.
Ellie and Fiona specifically worry that they won’t have the courage to fight once they are put to the test. Ellie has already proved otherwise, but Fiona isn’t sure that she has grown and matured quite like the others. In many ways, Fiona is still a scared kid, and she doesn’t think she will make it if things get serious in town.
Themes
The group begins to brainstorm ideas, and they decide the road to Cobbler’s Bay is their best bet. That is where much of the action seems to be localized, except, of course, for the Showground. They agree to leave the next night, and Ellie takes a walk alone, without Lee. She climbs down Satan’s Steps and watches as a dragonfly lands and eats a mosquito. The dragonfly finishes eating and flies away. That is how it is in nature, Ellie thinks. Nothing is “evil” or “vicious,” it is just nature. “Yes,” Ellie thinks, “evil is a human invention.”
The dragonfly and Ellie’s thoughts of “evil” as “a human invention” harken to her thoughts of Hell and her moral struggles with killing. Ellie isn’t “evil” because she has been forced to kill; she feels evil because others have told her that killing is the epitome of evil. Ellie’s circumstances mean she must look beyond blanket assumptions such as this, which further reflects her growing maturity.
Themes
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