In the novel ‘Tomorrow When the War Began’ it’s about a group of seven teenagers who go on a camping trip to a place named ‘Hell’. The group of friends all have to get permission from their parents so they are allowed to go, because their parents don’t trust them at that age. I think this book is a great book for older teenagers and younger adults because it is a book about a bunch of teenagers who go camping together as mates. This book explains to us what it’s like to be a teenager and what we all do when growing into a young adult. This book is very relevant to Australian adolescence.
The Setting
Characters
Themes
This novel tells readers a lot about teenagers (younger adolescents) and what they have to go through when growing up. My message in this is that this is a very good book for younger adolescents (teenagers), because it makes them realise that other teenagers have the same issues that they do, and then they don’t feel so confused about it.
The setting in this book is an Australian setting that all younger adolescents will recognise as the Australian outback. John Marsden has made the setting of the book in the rougher and more dangerous parts of outback Australia. E.g. ‘Hell’ and ‘Satan’s Steps”.
Their camp is set in a clearing in ‘Hell’ with all different types of trees and animals surrounding them in every direction.
A lot of this novel is set in a little country town known as ‘Wirrawee,’ also known as a quiet and undisturbed town. Marsden has chosen settings in Australia that suit the situations that he presents E.g. In the rougher/more dangerous
setting challenging things happen for the adolescents.
There are seven main characters in this novel. In each Chapter John Marsden explains what each character has to go through.
This novel is good for younger adolescents because it explains what these teenagers go through and what they go through in their personal lives. It is a good example for people because it will teach them a few things about being a teenager.
Marsden has also showed in the novel that some of the characters are farm kids and are born to handle the Australian outback E.g. ‘Hell’ and ‘Satan’s Steps’. But some of these characters aren’t farm kids and don’t know what to do when it comes to camping in the bush E.g. ‘(Fi) Fiona’.
John Marsden’s way of introducing all the characters and telling us about their lives and what personality they have is a great way for younger adolescences to understand them a bit better. I feel that each adolescent could relate to at least one of these characters.
War is dealt with as a theme of this novel. It shows that war can be violent, and that people can be hurt both physically and emotionally when faced with such an experience.
Problems that face adolescents is also a theme of Marsden’s novel. Issues about leadership and responsibilities when adults are not present are a part of the novel.
John Marsden’s way of showing the themes of this novel is effective because it explains the story much better than a lot of other novels. Through the themes he has told us about the characters, what they go through, and how violent war is.
In the harsh Australian setting of ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ by John Marsden he has introduced his characters and the situations they face in a setting that suits this. These situations cover/deal with the themes of war and adolescent problems. The characters are described as a bunch of different people who are all mixed together with different personalities. The setting, characters and themes are all dealt with together to create a novel that tells a story and solves problems.
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