Tommorow When the War Began

TWTWB essay

Tomorrow When the War Began’ by John Marsden, tells the story of seven teenagers who go up in the mountains of Wirawee to camp but arriving home has brought them to realise that their town has been invaded. The war has forced the characters to change in many ways, bringing on characteristics such as responsibility, leadership, courage etc. All characters have changed dramatically during the war, some however have changed more than others.

Change is the most important theme in tomorrow when the war began and is experienced by all characters. Elli is an example of significant change. Ellie is described as strong in mind and body, having worked on a farm for all her life. She is very stubborn, which gets her into trouble with her friends and endangers her life at one point. Everyone has good and bad sides to their personality and Ellie is no different. Her loyalty to her friends, love of her family and intelligence are amongst these. Along with Homer, she is also looked on by her friends as a leader of sorts and the others come to look to her for ideas. Ellie develops throughout the series from an outgoing, down-to-earth farmer girl, to a die-hard war machine. The Lawnmower explosion is a key example of Elli Changing from a simple country girl to a fighting war machine, this change also brings distress to her when a song keeps playing in her head. Therefore, it can be seen that change is significant event that happens to Elli.

Leadership is developed by the characters to fight the war. Homer is a clear example of such change. Homer Yannos can be described as a reptile, troublemaker, immature etc. In his teenage years Homer Yannos has built a wall to hide behind, a wall as a disrespectful, insensitive, uncaring person. Homer has a very forceful personality and while he despises weakness, he also has a lot of trouble dealing with others who also have strong characters. One of the constants of Homer's life is his competition with his best friend, Ellie. They compete continually and have done so all their lives. At the same time, Ellie really is the best friend he has in the world, someone who respects and admires him, a respect and admiration that he returns. Homer is a very laid-back person. He jokes about his Greek heritage, and even makes up games about it. Homer grows up fast. Homer's character is developed throughout the story from an immature, young farming boy to a mature logically thinking Australian freedom fighter. Homer (going from the troublemaker to the independent leader) shows the quality of leadership through the whole story such as when the group is scavenging through Corries house he manages the food and ammunition that they have. Marsden uses the war to represent how the conflict that exists changes them. In addition, it can be drawn from this that homer yannos turns from a school prankster to a leader.