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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
They get to Corrie’s just before the sun comes up. Every muscle in Ellie’s body hurts, and as she peddles the bike, she sings random songs in her head. She can’t bring herself to think about the lawnmower and the soldiers. Ellie can’t wrap her head around the fact that she probably just killed three people and that Robyn and Lee are missing, so she keeps singing. At some point, Ellie realizes she is singing out loud, which is the only sound. No one speaks, and the decision to go to Corrie’s seems to have been made silently.
The group makes the decision to go to Corrie’s silently, which underscores the clear connection of their friendship. They are in sync with one another, and they can anticipate each other’s movements and thoughts. Ellie clearly can’t emotionally handle the stress of being forced to kill in order to survive. Such violence would be difficult for anyone, but as a young teenager, Ellie is particularly struggling.
Themes
Ellie pulls up to Corrie’s porch and sits staring. For how long, she doesn’t know, but Homer gently guides her into the house. Inside, Corrie makes coffee, and Fiona sits staring. Homer wanders around, gathering food and silverware. The kitchen feels empty without Lee and Robyn, but they slowly begin talking, and they are soon all talking over one another. Homer stands up and throws a glass mug against the fireplace, shattering it. “Greek custom,” he says, telling them to speak one at a time.
Homer and his family are Greek, although he was born in Australia, and he frequently mentions his heritage. Ellie’s episode of silently standing outside of Corrie’s house suggests that Ellie is still having trouble processing the fact that she has likely just killed 3 people. She checks out for a moment, but Homer’s gentle guidance reflects his innate goodness and love for his friend.
Themes
Ellie takes a deep breath and tells Homer and Fiona what she saw at the Showground with Corrie and Kevin. As she gets to the part about the lawnmower and the soldiers, Ellie begins to have trouble. She just can’t believe she has killed people. She feels “permanently damaged,” like she will “never be normal again.” The soldiers exist in a weird place in Ellie’s mind. She never saw their faces and knows nothing about them—if they have families or if they are good people—so they don’t seem quite real to her. Still, Ellie feels “guilty and ashamed.”
Ellie is obviously struggling with the moral implications of killing the soldiers. Her feelings of being “permanently damaged” and her fear that she won’t be “normal again” implies that she can’t go back to the basic good person she was before. She can never be an “ex-murderer,” like the Hermit. Ellie is “guilty and ashamed” because she believes killing others is wrong, and now she fears she is a bad person.
Themes
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As Ellie tells the lawnmower story, she nervously shreds a cereal box. Homer puts his hand on Ellie’s, calming her, and Corrie stands behind her, placing her arms around Ellie. Fiona sits stunned, unable to believe what she is hearing. Kevin stands alone and quiet. Homer tells them all not to feel bad. “This is war now,” he says, “and normal rules don’t apply.” As soon as those people invaded their country, Homer contends, they “tore up the rule book.” Now, whatever they have to do is fair game. Ellie thanks Homer; his words really do help.
Homer and Corrie’s love for Ellie is clear, and they seem to give her the strength she needs to tell her story. Kevin presumably stands alone and quiet because he was intricately involved in blowing up the lawnmower and killing the soldiers, and he is struggling with the morality of his actions, just like Ellie. Homer’s comment that “normal rules don’t apply” during war implies that traditional ideas of morality and right and wrong don’t exist during war, when difficult decisions must be made to survive.
Themes
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Ellie asks Homer what happened on the way to Fiona’s, and Homer says it wasn’t as exciting as their experience. They did see some overturned police cruisers and ambulances, and the shops in town have clearly been looted. And blood, Fiona says, lots of blood. But no bodies. In town, Fi heard a noise, so they snuck into a public men’s room. They hid in the janitor’s closet in the back, and three soldiers came in to use the bathroom. Thankfully, they never checked the janitor’s closet. They spoke a language neither of them recognized, and while they don’t know what language it was, Homer says it definitely wasn’t Greek.
Again, since Homer and Fiona don’t recognize the language the soldiers speak, readers can infer that the invading force is not a bunch of disgruntled Australians and is definitely coming from a foreign country. The overturned police cars, ambulances, and blood all suggest that the takeover was not a peaceful one, and that it involved violence and possibly even death. The invasion was also organized and powerful, since it led to such widespread destruction and societal breakdown.
Themes
Once Homer and Fiona arrived at Fiona’s, Fiona saw a few people in the park nearby. Homer didn’t see them, but Fi swore they weren’t soldiers and yelled to them. The people stopped and talked amongst themselves and then ran away. Fi’s house was empty just like the rest, but, Homer says, he is sure they are all okay. They are being held at the Showground or somewhere else, and will be released when all of this over. On their way back to Robyn’s house to meet the others, they passed a house that had obviously been blown up. They hoped to see Robyn and Lee on the way, but they didn’t.
The presence of people in the park who are not soldiers implies that there are others who have not yet been captured by the invading power, which suggests the soldiers may be short on manpower, since they have not yet had the chance to secure the entire town. Homer’s optimism reflects his innocence and love for his family—he doesn’t want to believe that something bad has happened to them, even though the blown up house near Fiona’s suggests the soldiers are dangerous and not afraid to kill.
Themes
Homer says that he and Fiona heard the gunshots from the Showground, and they saw the fireworks display from the lawnmower. When his story is finished, he suggests they sleep. It isn’t likely that anyone will search all the houses in the district today, and they will probably start in town. Ellie agrees but suggests they plan an escape route just in case. Corrie says they should sleep in the gardening shed, that way someone can sit watch in the treehouse outside. Homer agrees, and then he says they should clean up the house so there isn’t any evidence that they were ever there. Ellie looks at Homer and can’t believe how he is changing. He hardly seems like the kid they all know, the one who can never be trusted.
The sound decisions that the group makes in this passage suggests that all of them are growing up and maturing under the stress of the war—and especially Homer. Homer’s suggestion that they sleep is reasonable and deliberate, and he is clearly thinking about the soldiers and possible danger. Ellie and Corrie’s suggestion for an escape route and a place to keep watch also displays rational and responsible thought. They are clearly thinking ahead, since they are worried about the soldiers finding evidence of them, and this is further evidence that they are all growing into adults.
Themes
