Grief and Healing Theme in Good Night, Mr. Tom

In Good Night, Mr. Tom, people don’t heal from grief by avoiding emotional pain. Instead, it is only when people remember their dead loved ones and let themselves suffer that they can heal. The novel illustrates its model of grief through its two main characters, widower Tom Oakley and young William Beech, who is evacuated from London to Tom’s village during the Nazi bombing of London in World War II. Forty years prior, Tom lost his young wife Rachel, an avid painter, and their newborn son to scarlatina (also known as scarlet fever). In his grief, Tom shuns everything that reminds him of Rachel to avoid emotional pain—even putting away for decades the paint box he made her. Yet when William is assigned to Tom’s rural cottage during the mass evacuation of London, Tom notices William’s artistic talent. To encourage William, Tom takes out Rachel’s paint box and makes his first trip to the town art store in 40 years—steps that, to his surprise, reduce his grief and make his memories of Rachel happy rather than painful. Similarly, when Will’s best friend Zach dies during the Nazis’ September 1940 bombings of London, William enters an emotionally dead state, puts away presents that Zach gave him, and tries to avoid anything that will remind him of Zach. It is only after Will teaches himself to ride Zach’s bicycle and allows himself to feel all the ways that Zach’s friendship changed him that Will exits his emotionally dead state and begins to heal. Thus, the novel suggests that people shouldn’t avoid grief: we must remember our dead loved ones and let ourselves suffer to celebrate and benefit from our loved ones’ memories.

Grief and Healing ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Grief and Healing appears in each chapter of Good Night, Mr. Tom. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.

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Chapter

Grief and Healing Quotes in Good Night, Mr. Tom

Below you will find the important quotes in Good Night, Mr. Tom related to the theme of Grief and Healing.

Underneath the attic, Tom sat in his armchair with Sammy collapsed across his feet. He held a large black wooden paint box on his lap. He raised the lid, gazed for an instant at the contents and quietly blew away the dust from the tops of the brightly colored pots.

Related Characters: Tom Oakley, William Beech, Rachel

Related Symbols: Rachel’s Paint Box

Page Number and Citation: 29

Explanation and Analysis:

After Tom puts Willie to bed his first night in Little Weirwold, Tom takes out Rachel’s paint box and blows the dust from the paints. This gesture foreshadows Tom’s decision to offer the paints to Willie in the next chapter. Symbolically, it also foreshadows how Willie inspires Tom to take out and metaphorically dust off his capacity to love. The narrator will later reveal that Tom has been avoiding social connections for the 40 years since Rachel’s death because too many people remind him of Rachel. Additionally, the fact that Tom put mementoes of Rachel in the closet with his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit.

He raised the lid and stared at the brightly colored pots. “Paints?” he inquired.

Tom grunted in the affirmative. “Bit old, but the pots’ll do. You paint?” Willie’s face fell. He longed to paint. “Nah, ‘cos I can’t read.”

“The ones that can read and write gits the paint, that it?”

“Yeh.” Willie touched one of the pots gently with his hand and then hastily took it away.

Related Characters: William Beech (speaker), Tom Oakley (speaker), Rachel

Related Symbols: Rachel’s Paint Box

Page Number and Citation: 33

Explanation and Analysis:

On the morning of Willie’s first full day with Tom, Tom offers Willie his dead wife Rachel’s paint box, which he has been keeping shut away in a cupboard with his spare sheets for approximately 40 years. As Tom loved his wife deeply and withdrew from society after her death, his decision to offer Willie her paint box shows how quickly he has developed fatherly affection for Willie, which will help him move past his paralyzing grief and rejoin his village community. Willie “long[s]” to paint and clearly desires the paints Tom has offered him, touching them “gently” and with Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui di

Since Rachel’s death he hadn’t joined in any of the social activities in Little Weirwold. In his grief he had cut himself off from people, and when he had recovered he had lost the habit of socializing.

Related Characters: Tom Oakley, Rachel, William Beech, Zach Wrench

Page Number and Citation: 75

Explanation and Analysis:

While Willie and Zach are having their first conversation back at Tom’s cottage, Tom goes to a village meeting about joining civilian organizations to help the war effort. When he appears, people stare at him, because he has been avoiding “social activities” since his wife Rachel died approximately forty years ago. This quotation briefly describes the status quo of Tom’s life before the outbreak of World War II and Willie coming to live with him. As such, in the larger context of the novel, it helps to show how aiding the war effort and caring for a young child change Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate la

Since her death he had never wanted to touch anything that might remind him of her. Trust a strange boy to soften him up. The odd thing was that, after he had entered the paint shop, he had felt as if a heavy wave of sadness had suddenly been lifted from out of him. Memories of her didn’t seem as painful as he had imagined.

Related Characters: William Beech, Tom Oakley, Rachel

Page Number and Citation: 109

Explanation and Analysis:

On Willie’s ninth birthday, which occurs shortly after he arrives in Little Weirwold, Tom gives him various art supplies that he bought at the paint store his dead wife Rachel used to love and that—until Willie arrived—Tom had been avoiding for 40 years. This quotation makes clear that Tom has been repressing both his grief and his memories of Rachel: he himself is aware that he has been avoiding “anything that might remind him of her.” Yet he is also aware that Willie, the “strange boy” in question, is “soften[ing] him up.” Out of affection for Willie, Tom braves the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima

“Everythin’ has its own time,” he whispered, and he blushed. “That’s what Mister Tom ses.”

Related Characters: William Beech (speaker), Rachel, Miss Emilia Thorne, Tom Oakley, Mrs. Beech/William’s Mother

Page Number and Citation: 155

Explanation and Analysis:

Miss Thorne, who is directing the Christmas show, has recast Willie in the show’s main role after the mother of the London evacuee who was supposed to play the role took him back to the city. As Miss Thorne begins rehearsing with Willie in the main role, she gently warns him not to rush, and he responds, “Everythin’ has its own time.” This phrase, which originates with Willie’s guardian Tom Oakley, recurs throughout the novel. In the immediate context of this scene, “Everythin’ has its own time” means that Willie doesn’t need to rush to develop his potential as an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. M

Tom grunted. “I ent ‘ere to listen to meself. One more time.”

Related Characters: Tom Oakley (speaker), Rachel, William Beech

Page Number and Citation: 162

Explanation and Analysis:

After Little Weirwold’s organist and choir director goes to fight in World War II, Tom volunteers to step in for him. Tom hasn’t played the organ since his wife Rachel’s death decades ago, yet when he plays the organ at choir practice for the first time, the music he makes is so beautiful that the choir members don’t sing so they can listen to him. When Tom figures out what’s going on, he chastises them, telling them he hasn’t come to the practice to listen to himself. This quotation sheds light on Tom’s motivations and character. Though a talented musician, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. A

“Oh, Rachel,” he said half aloud to the sky. “What would you do?” and he saw her, in his mind, swing round in her long dress and flash her dark eyes at him.

“Kidnap him,” she said laughingly.

Tom gave a start. Rachel wouldn’t have said that. On second thoughts, Rachel would.

Related Characters: Tom Oakley (speaker), William Beech, Mrs. Beech/William’s Mother, Rachel

Page Number and Citation: 228

Explanation and Analysis:

Tom has found Will severely beaten and abandoned inside a locked closet with his baby sister’s corpse—incontrovertible evidence of Mrs. Beech’s severe abuse of her children. Tom takes Will to the hospital for medical treatment and plans to bring him home to Little Weirwold later, where Will himself wants to go. Yet because Will has no biological or legal relationship to Will, the hospital authorities tell Tom that Will is going to be placed in an orphanage. Tom walks outside the hospital and asks his dead wife Rachel what to do—and the imaginary Rachel in Tom’s head suggests that Tom Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspicia

After they had died, he had bought the pot of blue paint and placed it in the black wooden box that he had made for her one Christmas, when he was eighteen. As he closed the lid, so he shut out not only the memory of her but also the company of anyone else who reminded him of her.

Related Characters: Tom Oakley, William Beech, Mrs. Beech/William’s Mother, Rachel

Related Symbols: Rachel’s Paint Box

Page Number and Citation: 240

Explanation and Analysis:

After Tom “kidnaps” Will from a London hospital to keep him from being placed in an orphanage and brings him back to Little Weirwold, Will has a series of terrible nightmares about how his mother violently abused him and how the nurses sedated him against his wishes during his subsequent hospital stay. Will’s screaming nightmares have an intense emotional effect on Tom, reminding him of how he felt when his artistic wife Rachel and their infant son were dying of scarlet fever. After they died, he hid away the paints he had bought her—one for each month of her pregnancy Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut

“Better to accept than to pretend he never existed.”

Related Characters: Geoffrey Sanderton (speaker), Zach Wrench, William Beech

Related Symbols: Zach’s Bicycle

Page Number and Citation: 299

Explanation and Analysis:

Zach has died in the September 1940 Nazi bombings of London while visiting his injured father in a London hospital. Will, devastated by his friend’s death, has put away all his mementos of Zach to avoid painful memories. One day, Will’s art teacher Geoffrey Sanderton, an injured veteran, addresses Will’s avoidance and withdrawal by telling him the story of his own dead best friend, killed in action during World War II. At the end of Will and Geoffrey’s art lesson, Geoffrey advises Will: “Better to accept than to pretend he never existed.” Geoffrey’s quotation suggests an important aspect of grief. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Mo

As he rode, his coat flapping behind him, the crisp wind cooling his face, he suddenly felt that Zach was no longer beside him, he was inside him and very much alive. The numbness in his body had dissolved into exhilaration.

Related Characters: William Beech, Zach Wrench

Related Symbols: Zach’s Bicycle

Page Number and Citation: 304

Explanation and Analysis:

Will’s best friend Zach has died in a Nazi bombing while visiting his father in a London hospital in September 1940. After Zach’s death, Will enters a period of emotional “numbness” during which he avoids all reminders of his lost friend. Yet eventually, he decides to teach himself to ride Zach’s bicycle, which Zach rode during their vacation together in summer 1940 and which has figuratively represented the boys’ friendship in previous scenes. When Will finally manages to ride Zach’s bicycle without falling off, he feels that Zach is “inside him and very much alive.” This quotation suggests that while Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nis

Grief and Healing Theme Analysis

Grief and Healing ThemeTracker

Grief and Healing Quotes in Good Night, Mr. Tom

Chapter 2: Little Weirwold Quotes

Chapter 3: Saturday Morning Quotes

Chapter 6: Zach Quotes

Chapter 9: Birthday Boy Quotes

Chapter 12: The Show Must Go On Quotes

Chapter 13: Carol Singing Quotes

Chapter 17: Rescue Quotes

Chapter 18: Recovery Quotes

Chapter 22: Grieving Quotes