The following essay was written by a Year 11 student in a practice exam, in response to the topic “Describe
an important lesson in a text you have studied. Explain how the author shows you this lesson is
important.” It was awarded an Excellence. It is 654 words long.
In the novel “Tomorrow, When the War Began” by John Marsden, a valuable
lesson is that not everything is easily identified as black and white, good or evil.
We can see this from the group’s reaction when they first discover that their
country had been invaded, through Ellie and two others killing someone, and
through the Hermit’s story.
“Tomorrow, When the War Began” follows a group of teenagers on a camping
trip into a rugged part of Australian bush. When they return a week later they
discover that their country has been invaded and their families have been taken
prisoner. They eventually decide to fight the invaders.
The group’s first reaction on discovering that their country has been taken over
is that the invaders are wrong and evil. However, Robyn points out that “if you’d
lived all your life in a slum and watched people across the road eating ice creams
every day, I think you would convince yourselves that taking a bit of their wealth
wasn’t such a bad idea. Both sides can be right, both sides can be wrong. I think
both countries are in the wrong this time.” This is important because it points out
the not-so-obvious to the group, that there is a good and bad side to both things.
For example the recent war on Iraq could be both good and bad. The world has
been rid of a vicious dictator, however it could be bad because thousands were
killed. In the novel, the invasion was both good and bad – the invasion ruined
many peoples’ lives, but also helped balance the world’s wealth, as Australia has
an excess of wealth that it has not been sharing with the surrounding poor
countries.
At one stage in the book Ellie and two others are being chased by soldiers. They
then have to resort to killing the soldiers by blowing up a lawn mower. After this
event, Ellie has a nervous break down. Reflecting on what she had done she came
to the realisation that what she had done was both good and bad. She had killed
an enemy soldier and helped the war cause but also killed a human being that was
“probably just a conscript … fighting in a war they probably didn’t want to fight.”
This event helps to show Ellie that she must just trust her instincts and gives the
lesson that sometimes it is not clear cut if something is right or wrong.
One day Ellie is exploring the stream that flows through the camp and stumbles
across a hut. She finds out that this is the “Hermit’s hut” which until now
everyone thought was a legend. The Hermit was known as a murderer. However,
after rummaging through his things Ellie discovered that he had killed his family
because they were trapped in a burning bush fire. But was he killing them out of
mercy to put them out of their misery? Or was it cold blooded murder? Ellie
ponders this and comes to the conclusion that everything is a mixture of good and
evil and gives the message to look for good in dire situations as well as be sceptical
about things in situations that seem very positive.
The idea of the nature of good and evil helps make the novel believable. It
makes the characters believable by showing that they were just regular teenagers
that did not have the answer to everything. The author shows this by showing the
characters’ actions and thoughts, and by showing them struggling to decide what
is good and bad.
An important lesson conveyed in the novel was that what is good and evil is not
always clear cut and that you need to use your instincts in certain situations where
right and wrong is not clear cut. We have seen this through the group’s reaction
to the invasion, the group’s killing of an enemy soldier, and the hermit’s hut
expedition.
Title, author and clear
reference to topic in
introduction. Three main
points listed.
Clear, concise background
statement.
Clearly structured
paragraphs: Statement,
explanation, example.
Goes beyond the text –
links to real-life events.
Perceptive statements
hinting at author’s purpose.
Supporting quotes in every
paragraph.
Links back to topic (lesson).
Perceptive conclusions
formed about the nature of
good and evil.
Insightful comments about
author’s purpose.
Straightforward summing
up in conclusion.