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Chapter 22
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
Ellie isn’t sure where their story begins, but she knows that it isn’t over yet. It has been over a week since Kevin drove off with Corrie, and Ellie tries not to think about what might have happened. Maybe Corrie died, or maybe they never got to the hospital. Ellie doesn’t know. Their story is finally up to date now, and Ellie hopes the others are happy with it. She keeps thinking about how important leaving a record is. Take the Hermit, for example. If they hadn’t found the records in his hut, they would only know the legends about him, which really told them nothing.
This passage again reflects the importance of storytelling, but it also highlights its limitations. Local legends proved insufficient in fully telling the Hermit’s story, and Ellie doesn’t want the same to happen to them. In leaving a permanent record, others will know the sacrifices they have made and the risks they have taken. That way, if Corrie is dead, her death won’t have been in vain.
Themes
Ellie doesn’t know how long they will be in Hell. They have chickens, and they planted a garden. They even have a few ferrets, which are what Kevin and Corrie were getting the night Corrie was shot. They never even knew the soldiers were there until Corrie was shot, and then Kevin ran with her in his arms all the way to Ellie’s house. Ellie thinks of “loyalty, courage, and goodness,” and wonders if they are “human inventions,” too, like evil and Hell.
Kevin’s obvious inherent goodness and his bravery in responding to Corrie proves, to Ellie at least, that people can be both good and bad. Kevin was certainly involved in killing the soldiers with the lawnmower, but that does not make Kevin evil. Ellie has learned that evil, as she formally understood it, is a catchall phrase people use to respond to acts that make them uncomfortable. Ellie has also learned that such blanket assumptions of good and evil do not apply in war, which is a very grown-up realization and more proof of Ellie’s growing maturity.
Themes
Ellie looks around at Homer, Robyn, Chris, Fiona, and Lee, and she knows they must all stay together. They fight and drive each other nuts, but Ellie doesn’t want to be alone and live like the Hermit. That would really be Hell, Ellie thinks. Ellie’s heart won’t let her believe that people are basically evil, regardless of what her brain says. Ellie just hopes that they can survive.
Ellie’s desire to keep their group together again underscores the importance of love and friendship in the novel. Ellie mentions in the beginning that the war has taught them what really matters, and what really matters is their friendship and the love that they feel for one another. The war obviously isn’t over, and they don’t know much about their parents, but Ellie implies that as long as they have friendship and love, there is still hope for survival and a better future.
Themes
