Personal Response
Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden, is a novel that shows us the kinds of changes people go through when they are faced with adversity, and why those changes occur. It shows us how one situation can affect each person differently.
In the novel Fiona starts off by being the “perfect girl” in the group. She has been well brought up by a wealthy family. “She looked like she had never done any hard work in her life, never been in the sun, never got her hands dirty.” In the beginning she is depicted as being small, delicate and fragile but as the story progresses Fiona shows that she is willing to do what the others thought she couldn’t. She helps Ellie to steal the petrol tanker and blow up the bridge, even though she lacks the experience and physical strength of the others she manages to cope with the jobs given to her. She shows us that the war has made her a stronger and more resilient person.
We see the theme of change in the character of Homer. He starts off by being irresponsible and immature. The picture you get of him in the beginning is that he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions, he likes to cause trouble and he doesn’t care what people think about him. As the war begins Homer realizes that he can no longer muck around and play games like he did before the war started. He has to take responsibility for his actions. “Homer was becoming more surprising with every passing hour. It was getting hard to remember that this fast thinking guy, who’d just spent fifteen minutes getting us laughing and talking and feeling good again, wasn’t even trusted to hand out the books at school.” Through unlikely circumstances Homer has had to become a mature and responsible leader for the group.
We also see Ellie change through the novel. At the beginning of the novel we learn about Ellie’s life as a country girl who is a ‘tomboy’. Ellie was brought up on the farm and had no worries doing practical farm things like: driving the
In the novel Fiona starts off by being the “perfect girl” in the group. She has been well brought up by a wealthy family. “She looked like she had never done any hard work in her life, never been in the sun, never got her hands dirty.” In the beginning she is depicted as being small, delicate and fragile but as the story progresses Fiona shows that she is willing to do what the others thought she couldn’t. She helps Ellie to steal the petrol tanker and blow up the bridge, even though she lacks the experience and physical strength of the others she manages to cope with the jobs given to her. She shows us that the war has made her a stronger and more resilient person.
We see the theme of change in the character of Homer. He starts off by being irresponsible and immature. The picture you get of him in the beginning is that he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions, he likes to cause trouble and he doesn’t care what people think about him. As the war begins Homer realizes that he can no longer muck around and play games like he did before the war started. He has to take responsibility for his actions. “Homer was becoming more surprising with every passing hour. It was getting hard to remember that this fast thinking guy, who’d just spent fifteen minutes getting us laughing and talking and feeling good again, wasn’t even trusted to hand out the books at school.” Through unlikely circumstances Homer has had to become a mature and responsible leader for the group.
We also see Ellie change through the novel. At the beginning of the novel we learn about Ellie’s life as a country girl who is a ‘tomboy’. Ellie was brought up on the farm and had no worries doing practical farm things like: driving the