A Utopian and Idealistic Evacuation inGood Night, Mister Tom

Good Night, Mister Tom, the captivating story of evacuee William Beech who finds a newhome with the curmudgeonly Tom Oakley during the Second World War, was the first novelby writer and actress Michelle Magorian, published in 1981. Good Night, Mister Tom wasadapted into an award–winning television drama, written by David Wood and directed byJack Gold, starring John Thaw as Tom Oakley in 1998. Set in mostly rural England duringWorld War II, Good Night, Mister Tom features a boy abused at home in London who isevacuated to the country at the outbreak of the war. In the care of Mister Tom, an elderlyrecluse, William experiences a new life of loving and care―a journey of recovery andrediscovery for the two of them. They form a very strong father–son bond. Considering thehistorical accounts, one might know that the evacuated children were seldom givenprofoundly better lives or the sense of being wanted and loved. However, the descriptions ofWilliam’s experiences in Good Night, Mister Tom are far more positive than that of manyevacuees in reality. The countryside, Little Weirwold, portrays a romantic picture of a perfecthost during the evacuation. Such utopian and idealistic descriptions of the village during theevacuation, according to the author of this essay, make Good Night, Mister Tom in both pageand screen versions seem somewhat unrealistic. Aiming not to criticise the works, thepurpose of the essay is to emphasise that not all evacuees had such a happy time in thecountryside during the war

کلیدواژه ها:

Anti–Semitism ، Child Abuse ، Enuresis ، Evacuation ، Recluse ، Recovery