51 pages • 1-hour read
Under a War-Torn Sky
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Themes
Courage and Resilience in the Face of Fear
Throughout Under a War-Torn Sky, Henry must learn to face daunting situations in order to survive. As he makes his way through the Nazi-occupied territories, he encounters various Resistance members who, despite the grave dangers, seek to aid the Allied cause in any way they can. Henry’s journey thus teaches him to embrace courage and resilience in the face of fear.
Until he crash-lands in Nazi-occupied France, Henry’s experience of courage is limited to the bombing missions he and his fellow servicemen undertake. Henry’s steadiness under pressure impresses his superiors, and he demonstrates considerable courage when his plane is hit by Nazi gunfire, even risking his own escape to help Dan bail out as well. Once he lands, however, he soon realizes that life on the run will require new forms of courage and determination. For example, when soldiers enter the café he’s in on his way to Montreux, he is scared: “Every inch of Henry screamed for him to run, to fly” (79). Despite his panic, he manages to remain outwardly calm and evades detection. Not long after this, when he has just left the care of Madame Gaulloise, he is scared again, wondering, “How was he ever going to survive in this foreign land? (108). Nevertheless, each new scare and narrow escape gives him confidence and hones his survival skills, helping him to deepen his courage.
Henry also realizes that courage is not something only soldiers can boast of, as his experience with the Resistance members and their civilian helpers teaches him that there are various ways to be courageous during wartime. Pierre, who is still only a child, and his mother, a young and vulnerable woman, demonstrate great courage in hiding Henry in their barn and aiding the Resistance, even though they know they risk their own lives in doing so. At various points in his journey, Henry encounters anonymous, everyday people who turn up to help him or give him directions, even when the Nazis are close by. The young woman on the train, the old man who helps him when he is injured, and his teenaged guide through part of his journey are all examples of the ordinary civilians who courageously risk everything to do the right thing.
By the end of the novel, Henry has endured torture without breaking and has become an active participant in the struggle, not just a man trying to escape. In the skirmish involving the maquis group, he throws a grenade that blows up a German truck and shows selfless courage in running into the open to draw attention away from Claudette, who is hiding. When facing imminent execution, Henry finds extraordinary resources within himself to remain calm and recite the poem that has always inspired him. The German soldier is so moved by this display that he halts the execution and releases Henry. In these ways, the novel celebrates the way people show courage and resilience in wartime.
The Importance of Kindness and Human Connection
While the harsh and brutal reality of war is all around Henry, he frequently encounters people willing to help him. Henry himself adheres closely to a moral code of compassion and empathy for others, even in his most difficult moments. Through Henry and others’ moral choices, the novel emphasizes the importance of kindness and human connection.
The schoolteacher is the first person to offer assistance and kindness, giving Henry food and shelter, bandaging his ankle, watching over him, and accompanying him on the first stage of his journey to freedom. Soon another figure appears: Madame Gaulloise, who treats Henry with motherly love and concern, leading Henry call her “a very kind lady” (240). Pierre, only eight years old, brings Henry food and washes his blistered heel, and Pierre’s mother makes sure he has enough food while risking her own life to keep Henry hidden. Each of these people has faced devastating personal loss, with loved ones either dead, missing, or imprisoned. Nevertheless, their humanity remains intact, with their care for Henry demonstrating their unbowed decency and kindness despite their harsh conditions.
Henry also upholds the value of kindness and connection in his own conduct. When he sees Billy’s plane getting shot down, he immediately prays for Billy’s safety, even though he and Billy had a tense relationship. Later in the novel, he refuses to leave Billy when he falters on the walk across the mountains, even though that puts his own escape at risk. When he encounters Pierre’s grandfather for the first time and fears he might be a collaborator, he chides himself for having momentarily considered confronting or intimidating the old man, reminding himself that everyone has the right to live in peace. When Claudette deals with bereavement after her boyfriend is killed by the Nazis, Henry tries to comfort her; later he even risks his own life to save her, which leads to his capture. Most significantly of all, Henry feels compassion even after killing the Nazi officer and driver who were taking him to the Gestapo: While he killed them in self-defense, he nevertheless feels that the act is a terrible one, as he does not wish to inflict harm.
Thus Henry, although in much peril much of the time, experiences a kind of world within a world, in which the watchwords are decency, kindness, and compassion. This world forms an important contrast to the brutality and lack of humanity of the Nazi occupiers, with the novel suggesting that human kindness and connection is essential for survival and for any human civilization to be worthwhile.
The Experience of Coming-of-Age
While Under a War-Torn Sky recounts many feats of adventure and danger, it is also a story of one young man’s emotional and psychological maturation. As Henry goes on the run after his crash landing, he also develops as a person, with his character arc reflecting the experience of coming-of-age.
Henry begins the novel as a still-naïve and relatively inexperienced young man, who is away from the comforts of home for the first time. While Henry is a brave young pilot, his time in the barracks suggests how young and unsure of himself he still is. He thinks often of his family, and remains preoccupied with what his harsh father thinks of him. His experience of war is still limited to his experience of direct combat, which he always faces with the support and cooperation of his crewmates.
During his journey through France, Henry begins to expand his worldview and develops a stronger sense of self. As he encounters the bravery and resourcefulness of many civilians working for the Resistance, he realizes that he was once “arrogant” in having assumed that he was the “savior” of France, when in reality servicemen and civilians are working together for the Allied cause in various ways. As he encounters many dangers and close-run escapes, he learns to become more confident and self-reliant when under pressure. He learns to control his panic and acts decisively and cool-headedly, such as when he saves both Pierre and himself during the Nazi raid.
Henry also develops intellectually. When he spends time in Madame Gaulloise’s mansion, he is delighted by her works of art and spends hours eagerly reading her books, including the poetry of Wordsworth. In doing so, he realizes how much he has to learn and is delighted to gain more exposure to the sophisticated cultural and historical knowledge Madame Gaulloise represents. Similarly, while in hiding with Pierre’s family, he eagerly seeks to learn French from Pierre. Instead of becoming jaded by the war’s cruelties or too stressed to think of anything apart from survival, Henry instead embraces the opportunities for self-improvement whenever they arise, which reflects his growing maturity.
Finally, Henry experiences emotional maturation. Henry had started to have feelings for Patsy, his next-door neighbor, shortly before he left for the war. While wandering through Europe he keeps thinking of her, remembering times they spent together and the brief kiss they shared. His brief time with Claudette helps Henry finally realizes that if he gets home, he will tell Patsy that he loves her: “He couldn’t believe it had taken all this time to tell her” (253). When he gets home, he openly embraces and kisses Patsy, which implies that Henry will make good on his resolution. As he reunites with his family at the novel’s close, Henry emerges as a mature, confident young man who has grown through his difficult experiences, bringing a triumphant conclusion to his coming-of-age arc.
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