Tomorrow When The War Began Character Analysis

In the novel Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, many various responses to war are shown through Marsden’s use of characterisation and plot. The nature of these responses varies greatly from person to person, with each character having a distinctly unique response. In particular, Ellie’s response, which shows an increase of violent and aggressive thoughts and behaviour. Also, Robyn’s response, which involves unexpected physical strength, triggered when circumstances require it. Finally, Chris’s response, which displays a waste of his potential and capabilities as a result of persistent drug and alcohol habits, used to avoid the inevitable war taking place. All of these ideas illustrate the various responses to war shown in Tomorrow, When the War Began through the use of characterisation and plot.

Firstly, Ellie responds to war by becoming increasingly violent and aggressive in the way she goes about everyday life and the nature of her thoughts, as shown through Marsden’s use of characterisation. When Ellie finds out Chris has been sleeping when he was supposed to be on the lookout, her response is “[Chris] was asleep, and I was furious. I shouted, screamed, and then kicked him, hard. Even while I was doing it I was shocked at myself. Even

now, as I think about it, I’m shocked at myself. The thing that scared me most was the thought that maybe all the violent things I’d been doing… had transformed me… into a raging monster” (p157). The repetition of the line “I was shocked at myself”, once in past tense and once in present tense shows how astonished Ellie was and still is with her actions, suggesting that she would not normally act in this manner. The use of the metaphor “a raging monster” shows how depraved Ellie feels she has become in her recent behaviour. This is also shown in the quote “You don’t expect real life to be like that, not to that extreme. But I really felt for a moment like I could have killed Chris” (p157). Ellie’s use of second person to address the reader directly shows that she is using writing as an outlet to express her thoughts and emotions, which display evident violence and aggressiveness. Hence, Ellie responds to war by becoming increasingly violent and aggressive in the way she goes about everyday life and the nature of her thoughts, as shown through characterisation.

Additionally, Robyn responds to war with unexpected physical strength, which is triggered when circumstances in war require it. This is shown through Marsden’s use of plot. When Lee gets shot, Ellie describes Robyn’s actions as follows: “she ran to Lee, heaved him onto her back, across her shoulders, and carried him through the shattered door, kicking out bits of glass as she went. Now I know Robyn’s fit, and strong, but she’s not that strong” (p128). The use of kinaesthetic imagery conveys the magnitude of the courageous and daring actions Robyn took in order to protect Lee. In addition, the flashback Ellie recalls and writes down provides a broad insight into the enormous task Robyn accomplished. Hence, Robyn responds to war with unexpected physical strength, which is triggered when circumstances in war require it, as shown through the use of plot.

Finally, Chris responds to war by continuing to waste his potential and not using his capabilities to his advantage. Instead, he continues to persist with negative habits related to drugs and alcohol, using them to avoid the inevitable war taking place, as shown through Marsden’s use of characterisation. Chris’ reliance on drugs and alcohol are constantly brought up in various parts of the novel, including “[Chris] was… known for… using more illegal substances than you'd find in the average police laboratory. His motto was ‘if it grows, smoke it’.... everybody thought he was a genius” (p149) and “Chris had brought back a few packets of smokes and two bottles of port that he’d ‘souvenired’, as he called it (p215). The constant repetition of these ideas throughout the book shows that although people are aware that Chris is ‘a genius’, he squanders his potential by surrounding himself with drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, the constant mention of Chris’ problematic habits creates a clear sense of verisimilitude, reinforcing the indisputable fact that he continuously squanders his potential as a result of this fixation. The war only worsens Chris’ substance abuse issues, acting as an easy way out of the problem of war. Hence, Chris responds to war by continuing to waste his potential and not using his capabilities to his advantage, instead continuing to persist with negative habits related to drugs and alcohol, using them to avoid the inevitable war taking place. This is shown through the use of characterisation.

In the novel Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, many various responses to war are shown.

These responses are shown through characterisation and plot, as seen through Ellie, whose response shows an increase of violent and aggressive thoughts and behaviour, Robyn, whose response involves unexpected physical strength, which is triggered when circumstances require it and Chris, whose response displays a waste of his potential and capabilities as a result of persistent drug and alcohol habits, used to avoid the inevitable war taking place. In conclusion, many distinctly unique responses to war are effectively shown throughout the novel Tomorrow, When the War Began through Marsden’s use of characterisation and

plot.