Tomorrow When the War Began

Tomorrow, When the War Began

John Marsden’s novel ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ identifies, that some people’s reactions change when they are faced with difficult situations. These situations can bring out the leadership skills of some characters in the book, the courage which they posses, new found friendships and how these situations can also have a negative affect on some people.

Formidable circumstances in ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ bring out the leadership skills of some of the characters in the book. Homer has changed from being known as a rebel at school, to being one of the main leaders of the group. Before the war, Homer did not seem to worry about school or his reputation. He liked being involved in mischief and playing childish games such as ‘Greek Roulette’ which involved hitting your head on a window. “Homer was becoming more surprising with every passing hour. It was getting hard to remember that this fast thinking guy, who’d just spent fifteen minutes getting us laughing and talking and feeling good again, wasn’t even trusted to hand out the books at school.” This has showed in the novel that formidable circumstances can reveal the better side of people and show the leadership skills which they have.

This novel demonstrates the troublesome occurrences which the group face and how these occurrences uncover the courage of some characters. Kevin shows great courage towards the end of the novel where he risks his life to take Corrie to the hospital. “No, he said. “No. I don’t give a stuff what’s rational and what’s logical. Corrie’s my mate and I’m not going to dump her and run. It has to be me or Ellie because we’re the only drivers and Ellie, if you don’t mind, I want to do it.” Kevin has shown great courage, as he has risked his own life to make sure one of his closest friend’s life is safe. This displays that troublesome occurrences can effect some people and uncover the courage which they posses.

‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ explores that oppressive situations can let people build new friendships. Members of the group build new friendships and gain trust with people they did not know very well before the war began. Homer and Fi were two extremely different types of people. Homer was a rebel and a really loud type of person whereas Fi is very delicate and comes from a posh background. Although they are such different people, throughout