Tomorrow when the war began is John Marsden’s acclaimed first novel in a series of gripping tales of a group of teens who return home from a tramp, only to realise that their whole town has been taken hostage by an unknown force. It has also been adapted into a widely acclaimed film. Several major themes can be identified in the film, one of the main themes being change.
Change forces the characters to think and act differently to what they are usually used to.The theme of change affects the character’s usual lifestyle, the character’s outlook on things and the personalities of Ellie and her gang. We first see change in the film when the characters arrive home from their camping trip in Hell (a vegetated sinkhole in a remote area of bush) and they see that their houses are empty, and their animals are dead. At the beginning of the film, Ellie said “We’ve all had to rewrite the scripts of our lives, these past few weeks.”This means that Ellie and her friends have had to adapt to their new circumstances and that their lives have changed dramatically. The young teens now have to defend themselves and move around in the dark to avoid being taken hostage like their families, as opposed to their life before the invasion, where they didn’t have to worry about the possibility of being killed the next day.
The lighting and music play a big part in the change as well.The characters are seen to be “in the dark” in the latter part of the movie when they are trying to fight against the invaders, which gives off the illusion that they are trying not to be seen and are in hiding. The music is panicky and quick-paced which builds the suspense, which is completely different to the calm and happy music played at the beginning of the film, and at the beginning of the movie when the gang are in the light, which shows that they are safe. The theme of change also affects the character’s outlook on things.Robyn Mathers, for example, was a good Christian girl that always obeyed her father.
She is seen to be a weak character that doesn’t have a backbone. Although she is seen to be weak, she also has her moments of leadership when both Ellie and Homer, two of the strongest characters, and not able to take the lead. One of her great moments was when the group split up and Lee and Robyn went on their own, and Lee got shot in the leg. Robyn was the one that carried Lee to a doctor that was one very few escapees of the invaders.When the group decide to seek refuge in Hell, Robyn argues that killing the invaders is murder, but Homer says that “it’s not murder if it’s a war” and asks Robyn if she is “in or out”.
Then, Robyn says: “Well, I feel like I should be out. But I can’t stop thinking about the coincidence that… From all the weekends that we could’ve chosen to go camping, we chose that weekend. God spared us for a reason. All I think he wants us to do something. So I will help you Homer, but I’m not going to murder anybody.
”She is still a believer in God, but her statement does contradict her actions later on in the movie, when she picks up the gun and starts shooting at the enemy, killing a few soldiers of the opposition. Despite killing the soldiers, she still believes that killing is a sin. The theme of change is also shown in the change to the character’s personalities. All of the teens are young and wild and adventurous when they first travel to Hell on their camping trip, but as soon as they realise that they have to step up and take matters into their own hands, they begin to change.One person that changes the most is Homer Yannos.
At the beginning of the movie, he is seen to be coming out of a police station, and is talking quite casually with a police officer who seems to be annoyed with Homer and his antics. Homer is the joker, and the immature one. He then changes into the leader when Ellie becomes too tired to take the lead. Instead of being the loud mouthed troublemaker, he changes into a brave, caring and supportive leader who plans out the groups’ attack with careful thinking and planning.Homer’s two dramatically different sides of his personality pull him in different directions.
On one hand, he’s a wild crazy teenager, but he is also a dominant and thoughtful leader that is responsible for the group’s survival. The theme of change is a very important part of Tomorrow When the War Began. Not only is it portrayed in the change of the character’s lifestyle, but also their beliefs and personalities. Change in these aspects can also relate to the viewers/readers of the film/book. The film displays the theme of change perfectly and this has made the film and interesting and captivating story.
