Tomorrow When the War Began

In the novel Tomorrow When the War Began, by John Marsden, a group of innocent adolescents are faced with an invasion. The teenagers are forced to adapt to a new lifestyle and become more resilient as they make changes throughout the story. They discover their hidden strengths and learn important lessons and values about life. These begin with learning to fend for themselves, discovering the importance of friendship and their ability to draw on courage when faced with difficult and dangerous situations.
As Ellie and her friends realise that they have been invaded, they return to a remote wilderness known as ‘Hell’. Ellie as the main character in the book adapts to the new change, she learns from her mistakes. During the camp Ellie has shown that she is a self-confident confronting person, who develops a lot by gaining courage and becoming a leader. ‘To come out of the darkness now, would be to show courage of a type that I’d never had to show before, never even known about”. Here she shows courage and integrity. During the war Ellie displays efficient thinking skills by making some fast decisions, while depending on her life. Towards the end of the text, the impact of the situation starts to kick in and Ellie starts to lose some of her courage and integrity. She becomes more cautious. “I spent hours later that day sitting in the corner of the hay stack with blankets wrapped around me, shivering and telling everyone to be careful”.
Powerful circumstances in Tomorrow When the War Began bring out the leadership skills of some of the characters in the novel. Homer has adapted to the lifestyle of being isolated from his family and being invaded by war. He has become resilient by being a rebel at school to being one of the main leaders of the group. Homer was never too worried about school or his reputation; he liked being involved in mischievous games. "Homer was becoming more surprising with every passing hour. It was getting hard to remember that this fast thinking...