The other protagonist of the novel, willie is an eightyearold evacuee from deptford, a neighborhood of london. It is the relationships between willie, tom, and zack, which give the story its heart. Tom has kept to himself since the death of his wife, rachel, and baby son, william, almost 40 years earlier. Below are a couple of our descriptions of the main characters. Goodnight mister tom the alexandra theatre, birmingham. Willies life which begins in london as a weak little boy now centres around the. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of good night, mr. Tom is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Historical context of goodnight mister tom teaching. Tom starts wondering about other people and that he might need to help others now when the war is breaking out. Stelton wishes to take willie to the childrens home as he believes he needs psychiatric treatment, although he promises to attempt to trace any surviving relatives that willie might have.
The setting is england in the early days of the second world war as we see a deptford evacuee, william beech, arbitrarily billeted on a. Goodnight mister tom is a childrens novel by the english author michelle magorian, published by kestrel in 1981. William beech william beech is an evacuee from london who has been sent to little weirwold, a small village in the countryside. Various locations in the west country and london, englad between 1939 and 1941. This study guide consists of approximately 24 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character. Tom soon discovers william has been a victim of child abuse and greatly needs his love and care. Tom tom is one of the two protagonists of the book. To explore the historical context of goodnight mister tom to examine the experiences and feelings of evacuees. The main characters of this historical, historical fiction story are. Britain is on the brink of war when young william beech is sent to live with tom oakley in the village of little weirwold. Tom 1981, which won the guardian childrens fiction prize was born in southsea, portsmouth, in 1947.
Included in this series are studies of fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry and film. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Goodnight mr tom was filmed in the village of turville in buckinghamshire, which was also the location for filming the vicar of dibley and some of the episodes of midsomer murder. After a huge threat of bombing raids from the german air force in his hometown, willie is sent to little weirwold, a country village in the north of england. This study guide consists of approximately 24 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of good night, mr.
Get an answer for how would you describe the setting of good night, mr. The question and answer section for good night, mr. Tom questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on. A shy and quiet world war ii evacuee is housed by a disgruntled old man, and they soon develop a close bond. Tom by michelle magorian and intend to set questions for homework or classwork. Lesson 5 week unit of work on the tes for goodnight mr tom.
Good night mister tom chapter 1 1428 willies mum wants willie to go to a young eightyearold willie is scared of tom at the start tom was married but his. Children learn to compare settings in this lesson to support teaching on goodnight mister tom by michelle magorian. The old man shows the boy how to make friends with the dog and how to help gain its trust. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of goodnight mr. Thanks to tom, william beech is able to experience a new life and loving care. Tom classroom questions is a book for english teachers who are teaching good night, mr.
These teaching resources include 6 activities with assessments that will help your students comprehension of the story. In the care of mister tom, an elderly recluse, he experiences a new life of. Chapter 1 summary willie beech, an 8 year old, frail and frightened young boy, is evacuated to the country and is billeted to stay with a tom oakley, a gruff old man in his sixties. Goodnight mister tom by michelle magorian compiled by andrew hammond english ips code. It follows a young boy, william beech, who is evacuated from london during the blitz of world war 2, and put into the car of tom oakley, an elderly recluse. In mrs adams literacy group we have been focussing on including carefully chosen descriptive language in our writing. It is believed that the main target of invasion from the sea will be the south coast, and the biggest threat of mass bombing raids from the sky will be in london. Stelton, a child psychiatrist who works with a childrens home in sussex. Top notes are easy to read, providing analysis of issues and discussion of important ideas contained in the texts particular care has been taken to ensure that students are able to gain. Tom oakley is a sad, reclusive widower who slowly accepts the idea of having the boy live with him.
Lesson plans and a comprehensive pack of worksheets and resources to aid understanding of michelle magorians novel goodnight mr tom. Top notes english guides have been created to assist students of english in their understanding of a variety of texts. Chapter 2, little weirwold summary this chapter begins with mr. The novel contains all the elements necessary for a good read and more. The dvd is based on the novel by michelle magorian and explores the lifelong bond which develops between its two lead charactersan illiterate 10 yearold orphan from london willie, and a grumpy, cynical old widow who lives alone in the english countryside tom. He is a widower in his 60s who lives on his own in a cottage with his dog, sammy. It is 1939, and england is poised on the edge of war with nazi germany. William beech is evacuated from a deprived area of london during the second world war. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 320 pages and is available in paperback format. Willie has been abused, but the abuse is not the focus of the plot. Goodnight mr tom is set around the time of evacuation during the 2nd world war. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of good night, mr. Two musicals based on the book have been written and a film has been made.
With john thaw, nick robinson, annabelle apsion, thomas orange. Because at the end willie goes to live with mr tom oakley forever and he can say, every night, goodnight mr tom. Goodnight mister tom is set in the country side with lots of. The towns preparations for the war starts and everyone gives a hand to help each other. Goodnight mister tom goodnight mr tom is a novel by michelle magorian. Set during world war ii, it features a boy abused at home in london who is evacuated to the country at the outbreak of the war. Chamberlain announces, zach, and an encounter over blackberries chapters 810. Goodnight mister tom is a 1998 tv film adaptation by carlton television from the book of the same name by michelle magorian. This essay is about the setting and context of the story, rather than the plot.
Set during the dangerous build up to the second world war, goodnight mister tom follows young william. For this reason, children from the inner city are evacuated to the north. The first edition of the novel was published in 1981, and was written by michelle magorian. Goodnight mr tom by michelle magorian is a novel which i have recently read and thoroughly enjoyed. Tom quotes showing 111 of 11 id rather be happy and odd than miserable and ordinary, she said, sticking her chin in the air. Use these teaching resources along with this assessment. Tom classroom questions contains 187 questions, divided by chapter, to keep students engaged and actively thinking about the novel. Tom is one of the best books ive ever read, and this dvd is an excellent representation of the book. Tom takes place in england during the beginning of world war ii.
The olivier awardwinning chichester festival theatre production of goodnight mister tom returns now a modern classic, michelle magorians wonderfully uplifting tale is brought gloriously to life in this magical stage adaptation by david wood. For this writing task we had to describe the village that william beech was evacuated to,little weirwold. This resource focuses on setting descriptions from chapter 16 of the goodnight mr tom story. Tom summary character list glossary themes quotes and analysis chapters 1 2.
In literacy this term we have enjoyed using goodnight mister tom as a stimulus for our writing. A neighbour tells tom that mrs beech has left and that her son has been evacuated but the two break into the flat where they find willie, beaten and locked in a cupboard, holding his dead baby sister. We have had the video for years, but now have moved up to the dvd. John thaw stars as tom oakley in the awardwinning family drama goodnight mister tom. How would you describe the setting of good night, mr. Evolution and inheritance display pack stone age display pack anglosaxon and vikings display pack romans display evolution display pack. Tom, is truly a heartwarming story, bittersweet, at times a bit raw, but never contrived. The story begins in winter time when william beech is first introduced as being an evacuee all the way from london to live with mr tom oakley. Ultimately, it is the mother who determines what happens for william and tom. Your class will explore the station, bus journey, the shelter and willies house and answer questions and reflect on the events unfolding and surroundings. Tom takes place during world war 2 and follows a young boy who goes to live in the countryside in the wake of the war and his experiences there.