Describe an important character in a novel you have studied. Explain how this character helped you understand a theme that was important to the novel. In the novel Tomorrow When The War Began, written by John Marsden, an important character is Fiona (Fi for short). This particular character helped me understand the theme of courage because when she partakes in a night exploration mission she demonstrates pure bravery and courage that any normal city girly girl would never even dream about.
Fiona was a typical rich, good looking, city girl.As quoted in chapter 1, page 14; “She looked like she had never done any hard work in her life, never been in the sun, never got her hands dirty. ” This describes Fi’s lifestyle beautifully as the small town of Wirawee is bordered with many rural farms, and with the privilege of being rich she did not have to participate in any drudgery so the lived in town. Fi had little knowledge of the big outdoors and so when a group of teenagers took her on a camping trip her lifestyle changed dramatically and with it so did her personality.While the group were out camping deep in the unknown scrub of Hell an invasion occurred this threw the youngsters into a scenario of death, grief and courage.
When the author first describes Fi, he gives us the image of a cautious, timid young girl, but by the near end of this book she has undergone a complete transformation. The group executes a plan that involves Fi driving in a petrol tanker under a main bridge, lighting it on fire and blowing up the bridge. As quoted in chapter 21, page 266; “Fi seemed delicate and timid, and she even claimed herself that she was, but she had a determination I hadn’t recognised before.There was a spirit to her, a fire burning inside her somewhere. ” This quote shows that Fi expertly demonstrates the theme of courage when she goes to blow up the bridge. In order to fully understand what the importance of Fi’s actions were through the theme of courage, we must compare the Fi at the beginning of the book with the Fi at the end of the book.
Each individual character has made their own changes and brave actions, but in my opinion Fi has transformed the most because she put herself outside her own comfort zone in order to protect her friends and family.She has also grown in knowledge and both mental and physical strength, an example of this a when Fi helped Homer to build a chicken coop in Hell. In conclusion an important character in the book Tomorrow When The War Began, written by John Marsden is Fiona, she has undergone a complete change from a rich city girl to a courageous, brave young woman. This has been shown throughout this book through a terrifying experience. This theme of courage shown by Fi helped me understand why and how it was so important to the novel. By Chelsea Muldoon.
