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
On Monday morning, hundreds of foreign planes rip across the sky, followed by a handful of Australian jets. The group has just returned from Ellie’s house, where they grabbed more supplies, and a Bible for Robyn. They even went to a neighbor’s house and took more food, and they found some seeds for planting, too. They grabbed six chickens and some wire fencing and headed back to Hell. Now, Ellie sits talking with Lee.
It is ironic that Ellie stops to grab a Bible during the same trip she also steals food, chickens, and other supplies before going back to a place called Hell. Clearly, Ellie and the others must steal to survive, but it is still stealing, and it obviously weighs on their minds, just as murder and other violent acts do.
Themes
Ellie decides to take a walk in the creek and finds a narrow tunnel. She walks through the tunnel and finds a field of roses on the other side. What are roses doing in Hell? Ellie wonders, and then she notices the hut. The door is nearly covered with vegetation, but it is definitely a hut. She approaches the door and rips the vines away. What if the Hermit is still inside, Ellie thinks, dead on the floor? She goes inside and looks around.
Roses don’t naturally grow so deep in the bush, which means that someone has planted them. The roses and the hut lend some evidence to the story of the Hermit, and Ellie is instantly convinced she has found his hut. Her irrational fear that the Hermit is dead inside again reflects her age and naivety.
Themes
Ellie’s eyes adjust to the dark, and she can see shelves and a tea kettle. There is an old chest, so Ellie opens it, but it is mostly filled with old papers. She looks around a bit more and decides to head back to camp. By the time Ellie gets back, Homer is worried and asks where she has been. Ellie tells Homer that she found the Hermit’s hut and will soon give them all a guided tour.
Of course, Ellie’s search of the Hermit’s hut is rather fruitless, as she doesn’t find anything remarkable. However, the hut does prove that the Hermit existed and definitely lived alone in Hell, which Ellie was hesitant to believe until now.
Themes
