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
Ellie looks at her watch. It is 3:08. She synchronized her watch with Homer and Robyn’s, just like in the movies. She pulls the strap tight on her safety helmet, which she found at the depot while snooping around for keys. She grabs six other helmets and throws them in the truck. The big truck rumbles as Ellie pushes in the clutch and slides it in gear. The engine stalls. There just isn’t time to get used to the truck, Ellie thinks.
The mention that Ellie and the others synchronized their watches like in the movies again underscores their young age and inexperience, as Ellie still relates what is happening to something imaginary like the movies. Still, Ellie’s ability to drive big trucks and heavy equipment underscores just how capable she really is despite her young age.
Themes
Ellie turns on the truck’s lights, even though she thinks it is a bad idea. Homer said it will confuse the soldiers and make them think it is one of their own vehicles. Ellie makes her way down the street, and Lee and Robyn come into view. Lee looks pale, and Robyn is nervously scanning the street. Ellie brings the shovel down low, and Robyn helps Lee inside. Robyn climbs in the truck, and Ellie yells for her to put on a helmet just as bullets begin to hit.
Ellie stops to grab the helmets and insists that Robyn puts one on when she gets in the truck, which again illustrates that Ellie is acting responsibly and trying to keep everyone as safe as possible. Ellie deeply cares about her friends, and this love is reflected in her constant concern for their physical safety.
Themes
Ellie puts the truck in gear, praying it doesn’t stall, and tears down the road. A vehicle is coming up on their side, a Jeep by the looks of it, and Ellie steers the truck to the side. She hits the Jeep just right, running it completely over. Ellie looks in the mirror and can see bodies in the mangled car, which looks like a giant boulder has been dropped on it. Ellie suddenly remembers that she hadn’t raised the shovel and wonders if Lee is okay.
Ellie has likely just killed the people in the Jeep, but her first thought is Lee’s safety, which again reflects the deep love Ellie has for her friends—especially Lee, who Ellie secretly has a crush on. Ellie thinks fast and does what she must to save her life and the lives of her friends, which again suggests she is growing up and is no longer a kid.
Themes
Robyn can see flashes from rifles behind them, and Ellie yells for her to hold on. Ellie hits the brakes, sending the car behind them directly into their bumper. The small car hits and skids, rolling to the side of the road. There are more gunshots, and Ellie hits the gas. The tires have been shot out, and she eases the truck to a stop, blocking the road like they planned. Ellie doesn’t see Homer and feels sick to her stomach, then he finally pulls up in a BMW.
Ellie again thinks fast in hitting the break, and she seems prepared to kill the soldiers in the car behind them if she must in order to get away. Ellie’s stomach hurts when Homer isn’t immediately there, which suggests she expects Homer to screw up and leave them hanging; however, Homer comes through, proving his new responsible nature.
Themes
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As they help Lee into the BMW, Homer says he figured they would escape in style. Robyn tells Ellie that she has blood all over her face and shoulders, but Ellie doesn’t think it is a big deal. They were bouncing around a lot in the truck, and she probably just hit her head. Robyn and Ellie ask Homer what they should do now. They can’t very well just drive to Ellie’s and lead the soldiers back to Hell and their friends. Homer has already thought of that and suggests they stop off at Chris’s house. His parents have a Mercury, and Homer knows where the keys are.
Here, Ellie and Robyn instantly look to Homer for guidance, which implies they trust him in his new role as the unofficial leader of their group. Ellie, too, is focused on the task at hand and doesn’t even seem to notice that she has what could be a serious wound. Ellie is so focused on protecting her friends and evading the soldiers that she doesn’t realize she has been injured.
Themes
Ten minutes later, they arrive at Chris’s house, and Ellie sinks the BMW in the nearby dam. She wipes the blood from her face and briefly thinks about what she has just done. Robyn and Homer cheer as the BMW sinks, and Chris emerges from the bushes. He’s been hiding in a tree since Commemoration Day, and he is more than happy to go with them to wherever they are going. They quickly catch up, and Chris tells them that the soldiers appear nervous and stick together, but they have gotten braver in the last day or so. They climb into Chris’s parents’ Mercury, and Ellie and Lee fill Chris in while Homer and Robyn sleep.
Homer and Robyn fall asleep so quickly because they are finally allowing themselves to relax now that they are out of immediate danger, which reflects just how much stress they are under because of the war. Ellie’s snap decision to sink the BMW in the dam again proves that she is thinking rationally about the future. They don’t want to leave any kind of trail that the soldiers will later be able to piece together. The fact that the soldiers are nervous and seem inexperienced suggests that the invading country is not a particularly strong one, and that they lack training and perhaps the proper supplies.
Themes
