Sian

TWTWB assignment

**Tomorrow When the War Began ** **Sian Crowe 8D **
 * Task 1; **
 * 1) **The 3 choices Homer puts to the group could make or break their future as each choice could have the potential to seriously injure or kill one of the 8 friends. Each option has its pros and cons. The first one for instance is a good idea because the 8 could see whether their families were being treated correctly and weren’t in a bad state. But it would have been silly if they had tried to rescue their parents because it would have most likely ended badly, and what you’ve also have to consider with the 1st option is what Kevin said “Our parents wouldn’t want us dead for their safety”. The second option is the most logical because at least the 8 are trying to do something about the war and buy a few moments so they can make the ‘enemy’ weaker. The last option of just sitting tight sounds as useless as it is, and as Robyn said “I don’t just want to sit around and do nothing” wasn’t as appealing as the second option was. I still agree with Marsden decision to choose the second idea, as it doesn’t sound like the group are giving up, but that they will keep fighting and make a difference somehow.


 * 2) **Murder in some cases can be very wrong, but in other cases it’s maybe what’s expected. Take the Crusades as a very wrong example. Men were killing other men because of different religions which is one of the reasons it was called a holy war. What about the Bible when it says “Thou shall not kill”. The innocent lives that have been lost because of war are terrible. The other types of war in Afghanistan where Australians have had to leave their families to fight for their country because two countries don’t see eye to eye or are trying to invade each other, murder is expected.


 * 3) **The soldier’s weren’t right in letting Corrie suffer because the soldiers had killed many innocent lives in their invasion. The man on the radio stated that the country invading Australia in fact wanted to make a “clean invasion”, yet they were leaving horror and destruction in their wake. It just comes down to whether Ellie killing those soldiers because she was trying to protect herself and her friends was the right thing to do. Ellie had claimed that “I guess it means I valued my life more than theirs [The soldiers]” Corrie’s suffering to the soldiers shooting her seemed like it didn’t matter but to the 8 friends and Corries family they were losing someone very close to them, and what if the roles were reversed and the soldiers lost one of their family members or a close friend. They probably wouldn’t have let Corrie suffer. But then again the enemy is protruded as a faceless person.


 * 4) **In a way both arguments are fair. Australia does have a lot of land and it can be taken for granted a lot, and many countries have over population and not enough land to cater for this on going problem. But that doesn’t mean that just because Australia has a lot of land that other countries should just invade and take the land or country. Robyn can understand why the ‘enemy’ had invaded, but that doesn’t make it more right to invade because it’s not. It should be fair with both sides agreeing on something.


 * Task 2; **


 * //1) //**The leader of the group in this particular story is hard to pin point as each character shows a bit of leadership in different ways in the group. But the most obvious leaders in this story would be Homer and Ellie. Homer who embarks on a huge change throughout the book. His practical jokes at school had helped him to think about how to slow down the ‘enemy’ and how to think clearly when faced with danger. Ellie is another leader and more of the thinker for the group and when faced with danger she is the one that most people turn to. Especially since she is the only one who can drive, she had to show her leadership when saving Lee, because when the plan went slightly wrong she had to come up with an idea and take charge. She had a strong mind set.


 * //2) //**Two people who stand out, who show remarkable courage are Robyn and Fi. Robyn is the first. Being the Christian that she was she was very against a war, and following the Bible was how she lived her life. And when faced with the prospect of Lee dying because he got shot, she showed not just how physically strong she was but mentally strong as well. It would have taken a lot of will power to carry someone heavier than you up a staircase an away to safety and then helping Ellie in the truck when it was against everything she believed in. The other person who shows remarkable courage is Fi. Fi was out of her comfort zone as soon as the group went off camping. She was a girly girl and when the group went out to find out what was going on after they came back from camping she felt strange and awkward because instead of having people do it for her, she was faced with doing things herself. She once stated “I’ll probably do what I have to do, but the main reason I’ll do it is because I feel the pressure of keeping up with you guys. I don’t want to let you down.” She found the courage to go with Ellie and blow up the bridge and without Fi being brave the plan could have ended very badly.


 * //<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">3) //**<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Ellie and Lee friendship is very difficult one to keep. Ellie is very confused about her feelings towards Homer which makes her unsure about Lee. This created a bit of tension when Homer, Fi, Lee and Ellie are left alone. Ellie was getting very jealous of the relationship Fi and Homer were creating, but for some reason she felt very interested by Lee, and when she said this to Lee, he was misinterpreting how she felt about him. Lee wanted to talk things through about what was happening but Ellie still wasn’t sure she wanted a relationship. To make it even more difficult she kissed Lee but then walked away and acted like nothing really happened, this was giving Lee the idea that she wasn’t very loyal or interested in a relationship. It’s a very confusing relationship these two share, one that would have probably worked if they had just thought less about what might have happened and just went with the flow and address the issues.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Task 3; **


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">1) **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Ellie side of the story is how she sees everything. She can’t explain how the soldiers think or how the other 7 of her friends is feeling, she only writes about how they look and what they tell her. In a way she’s reliable with how deeply her thinking is and how she really thinks about all of her possibilities for the future. But then again she’s not reliable with what the others of the groups saw because she doesn’t know unless the group tells her what they experienced. Perspectives can change with different situations. Marsden had chosen Ellie because she was the character who thought about things deeply and felt things in a deep way. She is a very logical and sensible person who can be trusted with information, so that is probably one of the reasons the group had picked her instead of Chris. The other 7 picked Ellie “because she was the best writer out of the group.” but Chris wouldn’t have been a good narrator as he hadn’t been there from the beginning.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">2) ****<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Foreshadowing~ **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">means dropping hints about the future, for example; When Ellie brought up she had heard jets/planes flying really low in the night and Robyn and Lee had counted them to pass the time, the reader gets the hint that the jets/planes will be a significant part of the story. When the planes get brought up with the group they started to joke about it “It could be the start of world war III and we don’t even know.” Also gives the hint that it could actually be world war III. Or another example would be when Ellie had a dream in the barn at her house about Lee, and her feeling for him had changed after she woke up.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> Task 4; **


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">1) **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Each character changes throughout the novel, creating a better environment for the future. Their outlook on life as they knew it had changed and so the group had to change in order to survive. “We need to start acting like soldiers” stated Homer. Homer changed dramatically from the start of the novel to the end of the novel. From being the immature joker at school to becoming a mature the leader, he took control of the satiations and acted on them. Fi had changed a lot as well. From being the posh, perfect mannered daughter, who only ate Health foods and didn’t want to get her hands dirty. To changing into a confident person who eats anything and will do anything to protect herself and her friends.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">2) **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Homer was definitely clever to come up with the ideas. The new more mature side of Homer was a very smart person with great ideas. He did have his genius moments, or perhaps it was his strength and quick mind that made him the leader? But he didn’t just come up with the ideas himself. A lot of the credit went to Homer when most of the ideas were based on the group coming up with ideas. For example; how Homer did think of rescuing Lee but Ellie came up with the idea on transportation. I believe that to make a really brilliant idea, it’s a better chance having two brains instead of one, because after all different people have different ideas.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">3) **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">In different circumstances the things that Ellie is doing to hurt/injure her ‘enemy’ would be bad. Like for instance if she wasn’t at war with a different country and blew up the bridge she would be arrested or charged. But because she is in a war the things she does with her friends (like blowing up the bridge) would in some ways be expected.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">4) **<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Chris seems uncomfortable in the group and doesn’t quite fit in when it comes to group discussions. I understand he hasn’t been there with the group since the start and that he had different experiences being alone in his house for a week. He wasn’t use to the group’s routine and he didn’t quite understand the risk that he and the rest of the group needed to take. After being shaken by Ellie’s temper he realised he had done something wrong and he try to make up for it as best he could. But I believe that Chris does fit in because every single on of the people in the group has had a different experience during this war.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">1) The role that Hells plays in the novel is like a safe place where the 8 friends can hide from the horror of the war that is going on around them. Hell is acting like a parent with open arm when you’re frightened. The group must find a way to live in the beautiful surrounding, living how people are meant to be living in peace and harmony with nature. This beautiful landscape is probably referred to as hell because of the Hermit, who was devised as this horrible person, when in fact he was probably as kind and forgiving as the landscape. “it made me wonder how quickly houses fell apart if people weren’t there to look after them”
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Task 5; **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">2) The novel is suggesting that people and land belong to each other. Without one, there can’t be the other. The land provides for people, but people don’t always give back. People may have a connection or a special bond with the land like the aboriginal people. The earth made all these natural things and aboriginal people kept the natural element in what they desired.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">1) Ellie got the idea of using the ride on mower because Corrie had run into it by accident. Her breath from running had come in “gasping bursts” just like her thoughts. Looking around at all the objects the soldiers might think were humans gave her the idea of trying to distract the soldiers with the explosion. Kevin had caught onto the idea to “and we need a trail of petrol” therefore creating Ellies idea for the explosion.
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Task 6; **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">2) Marsden techniques to create tension in the scene are making the characters have slip ups when the plan is starting to work, for example. When Ellie was trying to lit the match “My hand got the shakes, I thought ‘we’re about to die because I couldn’t light a match” This creates the suspense that the 3 friends could in fact die because of the nervous feelings that were made by the soldiers. Marsden also creates tension when Ellie realises she has lead her friends into a trap. This gives the reader the idea that it’s going to end badly for the 3 friends. The suspense in the novel is what keeps the reader interested in the book.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">3) Marsden didn’t let the reader know too much about the soldiers because if the reader know a lot about this particular character the reader would end up feeling sorry for them, just like if one of the 8 friends died, the reader would feel sad because they learnt to like and grow with the character.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">4) The readers do not condemn Ellie because we do not know the enemy as much as the main characters the novel is based around. Marsden was very clever in making the soldiers faceless. We don’t know about their personal life, or what they did before they invaded and that’s why we don’t judge Ellie because the soldiers are the bad people, and most readers want the good guys to triumph over evil.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Task 7; **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The Famous Five: **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was set in 1942.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">When brothers and sisters Julian, aged 12, Dick aged 11 and Anne aged 10 find out that they cannot go on their usual summer holiday to Polseath and they are invited to their cousin Georgina's house to stay with her mother, Aunt Fanny and father Uncle Quentin who is a clever scientist. Georgina is a very difficult and bossy child. She desperately wants to be a boy. She dresses like one, behaves like one and wears her hair short and curly like one. She answers to George (short for Georgina) and will not answer to her real name because it is a girl's name.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">When George's cousins come to stay she introduces them to her beloved dog Timmy, whom she has had since he was a puppy. George tells her cousins how the big island on the beach belongs to her. It is called Kirrin Island and was passed down through her family. On their way to the island they see a shipwreck under the water and George explains how her great-great-great grandfather was travelling on it along with lots of other men. He was transporting gold from one country to another. The boat was shipwrecked during a storm and George tells her cousins how divers have been down into the boat to try and find the gold but they haven't. All four children agree the gold must have been unloaded somewhere before the ship sank.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">They arrive at the island, along with Timmy, and when Timmy chases a rabbit into a well, the children are surprised to see Timmy standing on a stone slab sticking out from the inside of the well. George climbs down into the well to rescue Timmy, just as a horrible thunderstorm begins. When the storm is over the five explore to check the damage and realise the force of the storm has brought the old shipwreck up to the surface of the water. They decide to explore it before anyone else can, so that if they find any gold it will be theirs and no one else's. So they explore the boat and find a small black box looking a bit like a jewellery box, but they cannot get it open.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">They take it back to Kirrin Cottage (George's home) and decide a good way to get it open would be to drop it from the highest window of the house. This works and the box cracks open but just as they are about to pick the box up of the floor, Uncle Quentin confiscates it, saying the noise they made opening it was disturbing him from doing his work. However Uncle Quentin only leaves the open box on a shelf on his study so when he falls asleep, Julian sneaks into the study and takes the box. Inside the box they find a map and decide to trace it so they can still have a copy, but return the box to Uncle Quentin. The five do this and when they look at the map they notice a Latin word on it. Ingots, meaning gold, and a red cross, meaning that is where the treasure is. They realise the map is a map of Kirrin Island, and the old dungeons on the island. Uncle Quentin announces he has then sold the box to a man, who is thinking about buying Kirrin Island. George is furious and so the four children decide to spend as much time on Kirrin Island as they can, because they realise it will soon be sold. So they decide to camp on Kirrin Island for a few nights, and so take the map with them. Planning on discovering gold, they head down into the dungeons, but they are not alone...

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">John Marsden probably refers to this particular novel in the book because the famous five are very similar to the 7 friends in tomorrow when the war began series. Each person is curious and wants to know answers. By the sounds of the famous five they don’t like to give up, and that particular features is evident in the 7 teenagers in tomorrow when the war began.


 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Task 8; **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Everyone believed that Bertram Christie was a murderer, who killed my daughter and my little grandson. But being his mother-in-law, I knew Bertram very well and he was a kind and gentle man. I had started to write a postcard to him, asking for the truth. I could feel the memories flood back; they drowned me and made me float back to the past.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">After arriving in Sydney, young Imogen met Bertram Hubert Sexton Christie, who had fought at war as Private Bertram Christie, and was awarded the St George Medal for his bravery. Bertram often told Imogen, “I fell in love with you at first sight”. They were soon married, and followed Bertram’s dream to move to the rugged New South Wales countryside, to start their new life together. They wanted to raise ‘a true blue’ family”. But they didn’t know they were to face more great challenges. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">It was a //“particularly remote part of the Mt Tumbler District”.// Bertram soon set us up in a //“small wooden cottage”// located at “Block 16a Aberfoyle Track” which was a //“goodly distance from town”//, but that was fine, as we both have a //“reclusive disposition”// and were content in each other’s company. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">But the elements of the countryside were challenging, and so were the difficulties of being so remote. The couple both needed to be //“even tempered”.// When just 20 years of age, Bertram and Imogen had their first son he was named Alfred Bertram. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Alfred was “a sweet child of good disposition” and easy to raise in such remoteness. Bertram was //“a loving husband and father”.// <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Imogen was 24 years old and little Alfred was 3 years old, when the long winter months had passed, and the spring was enjoyable. But soon the hot dry winds came and dried out the land. They were going to have a very hot Christmas. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Imogen was worried about the searing weather and the safety of her family. I picked up the morning paper on the 26th of December, Boxing Day expecting to find joyous Christmas stories. One headline made my breath catch in my throat. There had been horrible fires in the Mt Tumbler area, I thought Bertram would protect Imogen and their little boy and they would have been unaffected. I had been foolish in not finishing the sentence, thinking everything was ok. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">I soon read “IMOGEN MARY CHRISTIE and ALFRED BERTAM CHRISTIE were murdered in their home on the 24th of December by Husband and Father BERTRAM HURBERT SEXTON CHRISTIE” I sat startled. Silent, salty tears ran down my face and splatted the page… Tomorrow When the War Began Essay __//**Sian Crowe**//__ **//“Loyalty, courage, goodness. I wonder if they are human inventions too, or if they just are.”//** John Marsden’s book Tomorrow When the War Began is a book about the concepts that teenagers face when problems occurs. In different points throughout the book there are signs of loyalty, courage and goodness from a brave and courageous friend. The book shows the strengths, the struggles and the friendships that the characters go through with the dark times that take place. The events that take place make the friends closer and more confident as adults. It is apparent loyalty in this book is a great test even in the outside world. In order to have a good relationship/friendship with someone loyalty is a needed. Ellie and her friends needed loyalty in their friendships to stay together. Being cut off from the outside world and the ongoing combats happening around them and when fights occur in the group that would have been difficult to deal with it would be easy to get sick of each other pretty quickly too .Ellie says “Just think about it. The eight of us are living out in the bush. And the entire world is completely turned upside down. I just hate to be responsible for ruining whatever little good we did have by Lee and me having a falling out”. Their loyalty came through when challenges where encountered like when Lee got shot in the leg. Robyn showed her loyalty of not leaving Lee bleed to death or get caught by the soldiers, she knew she couldn’t leave him and so she found the strength to carry Lee to safety. Another sign of loyalty was when Corrie also got shot. Kevin being Corrie’s boyfriend stayed loyal to Corrie by not leaving her when she needed him most. The trait of Loyalty is what keeps the groups composed and balanced and knowing they can rely on each other. Goodness is apparent when choices and actions are made. Goodness is different depending on who you are and what your beliefs are. //Tomorrow When the War Began// is a good example of this. The invaders have different beliefs to what Ellie and her friends believe. One of the obvious opinions the invaders have would be the invasion is fair and the sharing of land is right. Whereas Ellie and her friends think that the invasion wasn’t fair or just. Homer said “The others told me what happened, Ellie. It’s not your fault. It’s theirs”. Thoughts and actions can often be forgotten, things will be taken for granted. In a way the war open the friend’s eyes and made them realise how simple their lives were, they may have had disappointments or problems with friends, but the war had shown them that not everything will be as kind and forgiving as what they are used to. Robyn disliked the idea of the war as in her opinion “God spared us for a reason. All I think he wants us to do something” Her acceptance showed goodness in how she acted and what her beliefs were.

The courage shown in the novel //Tomorrow When the War Began// was shown by all of the 8 friends. Courage was in some ways expected, in a situation such as war. A great deal of stress and determination would be a burden to Ellie and her friends Ellie said “I’d like to think it was to save my friends, or as part of some noble crusade to save my country.” When the group came face to face with the enemy, it would have taken a great deal of courage and bravery to stand there and fight instead of running away and hiding back at Hell. Chris would have felt pressured and left out since the other friends had a routine in which they followed when they were out of Hell, they needed to be wary of soldiers around the area. Chris would have needed the courage to survive and keep up with the others. When Kevin took Corrie to the hospital he needed the courage to face whatever the consequences were. Sometimes most decisions aren’t about the consequences but what the actions will achieve.

//Tomorrow When the War Began// conveys the different emotions that most people face in their life day to day. The 3 characteristics and values of Loyalty, Courage and Goodness are things our generation need to realise once more. Marsden makes us realise that even though horrible things like war do happen around the world, we need to stop and think for a moment about what our beliefs and where our loyalties lie. Even though in the book and in our daily lives people change and it is often for the better, because in this world full of people there’s only one you so make the most of it by showing Courage Loyalty and Goodness.