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
As Ellie and Homer head out to look for Robyn and Lee, Ellie is looking forward to spending time alone with this new Homer, whoever he is. While they were camping, Ellie was growing interested in Lee, but a day of separation has her looking at Homer. Ellie laughs to herself. They are in the middle of a war, and she is thinking about boys. As they get closer to town, Homer grows serious, and by the time they near Robyn’s house, Ellie is tense. They check the hill but see no sign of Lee or Robyn, so they decide to go to Robyn’s house.
Ellie’s romantic thoughts about Lee and Homer suggest that even during times of great stress and war, love is still an important part of life and can’t be ignored. This passage also speaks to the profound change Homer is going through. Ellie knows him better than anyone—they have lived their entire lives as neighbors and friends—and even Ellie doesn’t recognize this new, mature version of him.
Themes
At the top of the hill, nothing much has changed in town. The Showground is still lit up, and the hospital looks operational, too. Outside Robyn’s house, Homer swears he sees movement inside. Ellie worries they are about to be ambushed, but they have to find out if Lee and Robyn are in the house. They creep to the door, and Ellie opens it, the door screeching with every inch. She feels sick to her stomach and can hear Homer behind her. A scraping sound comes from the next room, like furniture sliding on the floor. Ellie drops down, crawling across the carpet, and Homer does the same.
The fact that the hospital looks to be open and operation suggests that the soldiers are allowing the prisoners to seek medical attention, which also implies the soldiers aren’t looking to kill anyone—as long as they don’t pose a threat to the invasion, that is. Ellie and Homer go into the house even though they don’t know it is safe, which is a testament to their friendship with Lee and Robyn. In entering the house, Ellie and Homer put their lives on the line for their friends.
Themes
Ellie and Homer crawl behind a chair, just as they hear the sound of a rifle being cocked back. Ellie’s minds springs into action. The soldiers from last night had automatic weapons, she recalls, but the rifle sound now is clearly a single-shot. Ellie remembers that Robyn’s dad hunts with a single-shot rifle and decides to take a chance. “Robyn!” Ellie yells from behind the chair. “Ellie,” Robyn says and faints.
Like Ellie, Robyn appears ready to kill to ensure her survival, but she clearly doesn’t know she is aiming at Ellie and Homer. Ellie’s quick thinking is another sign of her growing maturity—she enters into each situation deliberately and with much thought.
Themes
Ellie and Homer splash water on Robyn’s face until she wakes up. They immediately ask about Lee. Robyn tells them that Lee has been shot. He’s okay, but the wound is big and takes up most of his calf. Lee is hiding at his parent’s restaurant, but they can’t get there now. The town is crawling with soldiers. Lee’s parents were nowhere to be found when they got there, and the apartment upstairs was trashed. Lee isn’t taking it well, Robyn adds.
Like everyone else, Lee deeply loves his parents and fears for their safety, which is evidence of the importance of family within the novel. Lee’s gunshot wound is also a chilling reminder that the war isn’t just a game—it’s a real conflict with real consequences—and it proves that any one of them can be shot and even killed at any moment.
Themes
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While Robyn and Lee were sneaking around town before Lee was shot, they found Mr. Clement, the local dentist, hiding inside an insurance agency with his family. He wasn’t too happy that they noticed him. He had been watching them and hoped they wouldn’t find him. Mr. Clement didn’t feel like talking, but he still told them a few things. Everyone is being held at the Showground, he said, and there are two kinds of soldiers: professionals and conscripts. The professionals are efficient and, surprisingly, not cruel. However, the conscripts are another story and can get pretty mean.
Just as the operational hospital suggests, the professional soldiers—the people who represent the invading country and military—don’t necessarily want to hurt anyone. Their intention seems to be to take over Australia with as little loss of life as possible, which suggests a more humane approach to war.
Themes
Robyn says there aren’t enough soldiers to search house to house, and they avoid trouble when possible. If they suspect trouble in a house, they blow it up instead of risking a shoot-out. Robyn and Lee were running when they suddenly heard gunshots. They didn’t know where the shots were coming from, but they knew the bullets were meant for them. Robyn ran into a building, not realizing that Lee had been shot, until he came limping behind her.
Presumably, the helicopter did see Ellie and the others hiding in Corrie’s house, which is why they blew it up. Clearly, the soldiers try to avoid hurting people when possible, but they will kill if they are threatened, evidenced by their attack on Corrie’s house and the shots taken at Lee and Robyn as they ran through town.
Themes
Robyn glosses over the story, but this is Ellie’s favorite part and exactly why it is important that they write down their story, Ellie says. Robyn was a total hero. She broke a window and carried Lee out on her back, kind of like those mothers who can lift cars when their kids are in danger. She carried Lee all the way to the restaurant, and then she went and forced Mr. Clement to come and help. Mr. Clement cleaned the wound and stitched it up. He even left needles, antibiotics, and pain killers and showed Robyn how to inject Lee. Ellie can’t believe it. Robyn hates needles.
Robyn is obviously being modest, but saving Lee required exactly the kind of risks Ellie talked about in the beginning of the novel. Ellie claims it is important for other people to know what they have done, and Robyn’s heroics are a prime example of this. Robyn risks her life to save Lee, and her effort is nothing short of amazing, which again proves that Robyn is also growing and maturing.
Themes
The bad news is that Lee can’t really walk, and the stiches won’t come out for a week—Mr. Clement taught Robyn how to take out stitches, too. They decide they need some kind of vehicle and begin to brainstorm. They list off anything they can fit Lee into: shopping cars, strollers, and wheelbarrows, and then someone suggests a forklift truck. Ellie suggests a bulldozer, and Robyn reminds them of the big shovel trucks at the city depot. Homer takes charge immediately. Ellie can drive, he says, and they will wait with Lee and put him in the shovel. Robyn looks at Homer in disbelief and asks if he has been taking drugs. Ellie suggests they hide a second car down by the cemetery and they immediately get moving.
Robyn looks at Homer in disbelief and asks if he is taking drugs because she can’t believe the transformation that has taken place in him. Robyn knows Homer as a troublemaker and a prankster who is never serious, not the guy standing in front of her willing to take charge and brainstorm elaborate plans and escape routes. This again proves that the war is forcing Homer to grow up, and he is no longer the irresponsible kid he used to be.
Themes
