iRead Journal Prompt #6 for Tomorrow When the War Began

-What is the role of women in the novel?

            The main character, Ellie, is one of the key leaders of the group.  She is strong willed, organized, and very determined.  Throughout the novel, Ellie is faced with immense situations that she accurately responds to.  “I was still operating on sheer panic.  I led them across the tennis court, trying desperately to think”(84).  Ellie used her panic to help gear her thinking process in helping the group out, and it successfully worked. Ellie’s role in the group was mainly to be the “thinker” of the group.  She made a lot of valuable decisions and created very important plans in helping the group survive.

            In the novel, Ellie grew in confidence and her character completely changed, for the better, after going through outrageous life changing incidents. She did most of the crucial work and was portrayed as the hard worker in the group.  Not only was she a great critical thinker, but Ellie was great at acting based off of her instincts.  Over countless occasions she helped save peoples’ lives and put her life on risk.  Although Corrie and Fi played as lesser important roles than Ellie, they were still very crucial to the group’s survival.  “Fi seemed delicate and timid, and she even claimed herself that she was, but she had a determination I hadn’t recognized before.  There was a spirit to her, a fire burning inside her somewhere”(259). 

            The role of women in Tomorrow When the War Began is portrayed as a very crucial and important role.  Each woman is depicted as strong and self motivated, who don’t require much help from others.  “I had to activate that determined voice in my brain: If you do nothing, you’ll die”(237).  Ellie was explaining how she got back to focusing on her main concern, survival, and that she had to become determined by herself or a different outcome would occur.  The women, especially Ellie, were strong because of the ways they handled situations and how they used teamwork to benefit the group.  Although in some novels, men are portrayed as the key leaders of the group and basically the important, valuable ones who take charge of groups, John Marsden did the opposite, and I believe it worked perfectly.