Strangers in Time

“I’m not a boy.

I’m a man.

Act like it, Charlie.

This had been his mantra for a while now. It might be so for the rest of his life, however long or short that actually turned out to be.”

Charlie is only 13 years old, but he feels like he must act like an adult to survive the grueling experience of war. He repeats this mantra to himself throughout the text whenever he feels paralyzed with fear. This passage establishes the theme of The Traumatic Effects of War on the Body and Mind, illustrating how children like Charlie must mature quickly to deal with the complex emotions and trauma caused by the war.

“He had told his people to be strong, and calm and patient, while the world fell apart around them. And they had, for years, mostly done just as he asked. Yet there were limits to people’s willingness and ability to sacrifice, and for Charlie and many like him, these limits were growing steadily nearer.”

Charlie sees a photo of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who promotes the official government line of patience and endurance during wartime. The “war effort” is a major motif in the text, and this quotation explains the citizens’ mental work of contributing to the war through a proper communal attitude. However, with the final sentence, it also shows that people’s “ability to sacrifice” is limited, stripping back the veneer of war propaganda to the humans actually living through it.

“But they say rationing is equal? Don’t you believe it. Got to register our ration books at just a few shops, limits what we can get, don’t it? But others drive their fancy motors and eat at the Dorchester and go to the country for ‘week-ends’ like there’s not bloody war going on. I hope they feel some guilt in their hearts, though I don’t hold out much hope for that.”

Gran rants to Charlie about the inequalities of rationing among the rich and poor. Rationing is a motif that illustrates the scarcity of the wartime era while also developing the theme of Class Influence on Wartime Experiences.