"If I painted the sky," she had said one day, "I could go through life paintin' nothin' else, for it's always changin'. It never stays still."
Tom is reminiscing about something once said by his wife Rachel, who loved to paint. Tom is in the art shop with Willie for the first time since Rachel's death, and thus he becomes flooded with memories of her. This quote portrays his wife to have been a carefree, romantic soul. We will see throughout the novel the parallels between Will and Rachel; they both are artists and both have an appreciation for the simple things in life. Rachel's statement about how the sky always changes reflects a greater message of the book about the unpredictable nature of life—something with which Tom, through the death of his family, is quite familiar. In times of great chaos, it is true that nothing ever stays still.
Mum had said that if he made himself invisible people would like him and he wanted that very much.
It is the first time Willie is playing with his new friends from Little Weirwold. It is a completely new experience for him, as back in London he never had any friends. His mother had always told him he was unlikeable, and this belief has become deeply ingrained in Will, coloring all of his social interactions. The idea that children should make themselves invisible is part of his mother's worldview that everyone is a sinner, bad to the core. As the other children talk with each other, Will sits and only listens, as he still believes that it is wrong to express himself. He does not even know yet who he is, so he does not know how to relate with others, either. In the book we will see Willie slowly coming out of this shyness and forming many friendships, an important part of his growth in the book.
The odd thing was that, after he had entered the paint shop, he had felt as if a heavy wave of sadness had suddenly been lifted from out of him. Memories of her didn't seem as painful as he had imagined.
Tom has made himself go into the paint shop to buy a gift for Willie. Before Willie, Tom would have never done this, believing that it would be much too painful to go to a place that his wife loved. Now, he has a greater reason to enter the shop—to make Willie happy on his birthday—and thus is able to summon the courage to go. Here, he realizes that rather than making him more sad, going to the shop allows him to release some of his long-dormant emotions. This quote also demonstrates the way in which the presence of Willie is helping Tom to come into a process of healing his grief.
Miss Thorne watched him grow visibly older. His shoulders were pushed up by his neck and his stomach caved in. He looked cold and miserable and bad tempered.
Miss Thorne asks Willie to stand in for the role of the crone during rehearsals for "A Christmas Carol." She marvels at the way in which Willie does not merely act the part but becomes it. Willie looks inward to put himself in the shoes of an old tramp who he used to see near the London Underground, which helps him model himself as a hunched-over crone. He also uses his own experiences of hunger to remember how it felt to not be able to stand straight from starvation pains. His voice becomes harsh and mean but rather than the words being read from a script, they seem to be coming from his soul. William has an incredible gift for acting that surprises not only Miss Thorne and the rest of the children, but himself. To Willie, what he is doing does not feel like acting but using his imagination. His talent leads him to be cast as Scrooge for the play.
She had hoped that he had remained a serious child. The smile frightened her. It threatened her authority. She swallowed her feelings and stepped forward again, handing him her bag.
Will has just come back from Weirwold to see his mother and she is astonished to see the transformation of her son into a joyful and healthy child. This change upsets Mrs. Beech, because she feels like she is no longer in control. For her, relationships are all about dominance and submission. She realizes that if Willie is happy, he is less likely to submit to her rules, and this scares her. Her "swallowing" of her feelings is characteristic of someone who takes out their emotions through violent and abusive means.
He felt as though he was a different person lying there in the dark. He was no longer Willie. It was as if he had said goodbye to an old part of himself. Neither was he two separate people. He was Will inside and out.
After returning to Deptford, Will's mother has beaten him and locked him in the dark. Through his time in Little Weirwold, Will has come to associate more with the confident person he has become rather than the abused and frightened boy he used to be. In this sense, he feels these two aspects of himself—the old and the new—simultaneously. His nickname is a reflection of this former part of himself, which is why he affirms that he is now Will. This marks a moment when Will plainly recognizes that his mother is not, in fact, a loving parent, and that he deserves to be treated with love and respect.
"The sores will heal. They healed before. It's the wounds inside that will take the longest to heal."
Tom has just rescued Will from Deptford and brought him back to Weirwold, to the Little residence. Will has been severely beaten and traumatized. Here, Dr. Little can see that the greatest injury to Will is not a physical one but an emotional and psychological one. As a doctor, Dr. Little knows very well that it is easy to treat wounds, but that traumatic memories can linger. It is a theme echoed throughout the book, as many different characters are confronted with healing grief or trauma from the past.
There was nothing he could do except stay with Will and go with what was happening. He hugged him when he woke and encouraged him to talk about his nightmares as much as possible.
Will is recovering from the incident in London and it is proving to be an arduous process. He often has nightmares and wets the bed. Here Tom is shown to be a generous and patient person who will stay with Will at night while he has very disturbed sleep. Tom realizes there is not much else he can do. He can't stop the nightmares and fever from happening, but he can be there to talk and comfort Will. His care and support allows Will to return to health in a few weeks time.
"I say," he said, "isn't this the most wondrous, scrumptious, exciting thing that's ever happened in the whole wide world?"
This exclamation from Zach is a good reflection of his upbeat and exuberant character. Zach is known to use flowery words to express his enthusiasm. The boys are on a trip to the sea, which, for them, is one of the most delightful things to ever happen, especially after all that both boys have been through as evacuees. An appreciation for life, especially nature, is something that Zach and Will have in common and that unites them as best friends.
"Better to accept than pretend that he never existed," he said quietly.
Will has been intensely mourning over the death of Zach, and visits Geoff for a drawing lesson. Geoff's instructions to draw a photo of his own deceased best friend evokes in Will all of his suppressed feelings concerning Zach. It becomes too much for him and he hurriedly leaves Geoff's cottage. Here, Geoff advises him that Will must start to accept the reality of Zach's death. By pushing away thoughts of his friend, Will is unable to recover. Geoff gives Will this wisdom from a place of experience, having lost many of his loved ones in the war.
