Goodnight Mister Tom~Conflict

The book I have finished reading is called "Goodnight Mister Tom". 

"Goodnight Mister Tom" is a children's novel by an English author, Michelle Magorian. The book was published in 1981. The story is set in rural England during World War II.    

It is a story about William, an eight year old boy who grew up in the London slums with an abusive mother and with no father. William is evacuated to the countryside because Britain was going to war. He is put into the care of Tom Oakley, an old man who lives secluded from the rest of the village. Tom Oakley treats William with respect and understanding and provides William with love and care. 

There are two main conflicts in this plot.

The first conflict is World War II, which was started by Germany in 1939. The war had a major influence on the people’s lives. The men are forced to go join the army and leave their homes, families are breaking up and children are leaving their homes and evacuating the city to go to the countryside due to imminent danger of bombing. This conflict is man vs man. 

The second conflict is the personal conflict experienced by the main character, William. William longs for a family that will treat him with love and respect.  

Instead he spends the first eight years of his life with an abusive mother and no father. He lacks family and parents’ love. His mother abuses him, beats him and starves him. He is underfed, sad, lonely and fearful. He is too young to realize that his mother is mentally ill and cannot look after herself. This conflict is both internal and external, it is external because it involves William and other people (his mother, Tom, Zach, etc.). It is internal because it involves his emotions and the way he deals with events. 

To escape from bombs, he leaves behind his mother, the only family member he has, to evacuate to a village where he has no friends or family.

He meets Mr. Tom, an elderly man in his sixties, who lost his wife and his son from a disease. Tom is a very caring and understanding person and he takes custody of William, treating him as if he was his own son. He helps William grow up and provides him love and attention he never had.  He is tolerant, patient and full of sympathy. He never tells him off, and never makes Willie feel uneasy. He deals with William’s fears and feelings as if he was the boy’s parent. William returns to London to see his mother when she fell ill, but was abused by her again and had to be rescued by Tom. His mother commits suicide and William is adopted by Tom.
Another tragic event in William’s life was the death of his friend Zach. Zach was also an evacuee like William. Unlike William, Zach has a father.  Zach’s father was injured and Zach returned to London to see him for the last time. However, in London, Zach was killed by bombs. William was deeply affected by this incident, it took him many months to recover and finally accept Zach’s death.