Symbolism In Tomorrow When The War Began

“In the midst of death we are in life.” – A quote which John Marsden uses shows a glimpse of hardship, teamwork and conflict that he has included into his novel “Tomorrow when the war began”. The novel stems from the first person perspective of Ellie Linton. The storyline follows a band of several teenagers pursuing a guerrilla war on the villain soldiers who invaded their hometown Wirrawee. The novel also expresses both the physical and mental changes that progress through each character during the invasion. As the characters grow throughout the novel, you are slowly able to notice their independence appear due to the fact that they are transitioning from teenagers to adults in a time of hostility. To visually recreate Robyn’s exterior/ stereotype of the quite, serious, church girl, and her interior of athletic, determined, understanding and faithful, I have created a physical representation of Robyn titled “The Reconstructed Bible” . This incorporates hand-made symbolic visuals to demonstrate how Robyn is more than just a stereotype and the personality traits that she has accumulated during the war outbreak.

You are able to see that the outside of the book is labelled “Bible” closely relating to Robyn’s stereotype of being the church girl, and the makeup of her personality before the invasion. This is a representation of Robyn’s exterior physically. This “stereotype” is a portrayal of what others may describe or think of her as a first impression. The “Bible” is a solid religious judgement and stereotype of Robyn and provides a clear view of what others think of