Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Code Name Verity, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
War, Women, and Gender Roles
The Horrors of War
Resistance and Courage
Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
Maddie writes that she’s been in France for five weeks at this point. She’s cycled twice to the field, once to show Paul. He’s going to get an RAF plane to take pictures so they can get the field approved. When she’s not biking, Maddie has been caring for chickens and learning to wire explosives. Paul has also kept her updated on the Georgia Penn situation. The regional head of the Gestapo, Ferber, told her no, but she’s going to try again and go straight to the local captain. She seems crazy, but she’s amazing. Hopefully, Maddie will be going home tomorrow (November 16).
Maddie’s day-to-day life is a mixture of covert Resistance operations and mundane farm chores—real life doesn’t stop for the Thibauts just because there’s a war happening around them. Maddie characterizes Penn as someone who’s extremely brave and cunning—much like Julie. Seeing this side of Penn casts a new light on Julie’s account, since it’s clear now that Penn is working both sides and is effectively fooling the Nazis.
Themes
