Private Peaceful

As time passes, Thomas notices his relationship with Molly and Charlie undergo significant changes, marking a departure from their previous unity. While Molly remains friendly and compassionate, she now takes on a motherly disposition: “[S]he was as kind to me as she always had been, but too kind almost, too protective, more like a little mother to me than a friend. I could see that she and Charlie lived in another world now” (54). Thomas’s feelings of displacement arise from the realization that Molly and Charlie are entering a different phase of their lives. Unlike him, they are on the cusp of adulthood, pursuing work and becoming more deeply immersed in the affairs of the adult world. Molly’s desire to look out for Thomas and Charlie’s romantic pursuits signal Molly’s and Charlie’s character development, the sense of which is intensified as it is narrated through a child’s eyes.

The rare moments that Molly, Charlie, and Thomas still enjoy start to hint at the impending changes brought by the war. Molly yearns to preserve the trio’s recouped joy: “Molly told us once that […] she never wanted tomorrow to come because no tomorrow could ever be as good as today” (45). Her eagerness to stay in the present moment foreshadows the bleak future ahead. The trio’s encounter with an airplane further signals this bittersweet change away from childhood innocence. Although it is a joyful moment, the airplane is an early omen of the upcoming war, the first major conflict to involve significant use of planes. Morpurgo employs dramatic irony through Thomas, Charlie, and Molly’s innocent fascination to contrast with the grim reality of the world that they are about to inherit.

Due to the framing device of the barn, some of Thomas’s remarks break the romanticized memories and foreshadow his experience as a soldier. While reminiscing on his adventures in the countryside, Thomas’s nostalgia is cut short: “Strange when I think of it now, but there was a time when I loved mud, the smell of it, the feel of it, the larking about in it. Not any more” (53). Intrusive commentaries such as this build suspense around the events, and Thomas’s development, to come.

Each chapter in Private Peaceful opens with a passage from Thomas’s perspective as a soldier. As he awaits Charlie’s execution, Thomas intertwines his memories with lessons that he has learned in hindsight. Chapter 4 begins by showcasing his religious skepticism. The presence of suffering and the impending loss of his beloved brother make it difficult for him to accept the traditional religious narrative that an omnipotent deity oversees and controls the events of the world. His reflections on the possibility of benevolent omnipotence relate to the theme of Challenging Tyrannical Authority, as most of the powerful figures and forces in the novel cause suffering. Amid Thomas’s disillusion, he reveals a desperate desire to believe in the possibility of a higher power. His yearning is amplified by the prospect of reuniting with loved ones after Death: “Tonight I want very much to believe there’s a heaven, that, as Father said, there is a new life after death, that death is not a full stop, and that we will all see one another again” (47). Even in the face of his own doubts, Thomas grapples with the idea of an afterlife where he might see his brother again. In Chapter 5, the Birds that he sees in No Man’s Land emphasize his wish to believe in the improbable, symbolizing the possibility of being freed from the brutality of war.

Love, particularly relating to The Power of Familial Bonds, emerges as a powerful force in Thomas’s journey, guiding his actions and shaping his relationships even in trying times. Thomas’s love for Charlie and Molly drives him to facilitate their secret exchange, despite his own conflicted emotions. He’s caught between Charlie and Molly’s evolving relationship but chooses to remain silent about his own feelings as he notices both grow increasingly fond of each other: “When Molly talked it was often, if not always, about Charlie—she’d forever be asking news of him. I never showed her I minded, but I did” (68). Thomas treasures the time he gets to spend with Molly, highlighting his selflessness and his desire to prioritize the happiness of his loved ones over his own desires. These elements of his characterization gain significance later in the novel when he struggles to process Charlie’s sacrificing himself for him.

Thomas and Charlie’s frantic search for Big Joe parallels the anguish that they experience before Charlie’s impending execution. In light of Bertha’s death and Big Joe’s disappearance, Thomas deals with Confronting Mortality and Grief for the first time after his father’s passing. Finding Big Joe asleep and wondering if he is alive generates great anxiety, further emphasized by his previous experience of witnessing his father’s death. As he awaits Charlie’s fate, he is put in a similarly distressing position. While searching for Big Joe and anticipating Charlie’s execution, the specter of losing a loved one looms large. This motif of Death generates empathy for the grieving characters, making death seem more personal in the context of a conflict whose scale threatens to subsume individual grief.