Summary
Chapter 3
Willie wakes up on Saturday morning with a pain in his stomach. He has wet himself during the night. Tom finds Willie under the bed and helps clean him off. Willie apologizes. Even though it is very hot out, Willie insists on wearing socks so that others can’t see his “marks of sin.” Willie feels ashamed as Tom cleans his mattress outside, believing that everyone will see it and think he is wicked.
Tom gives Willie a postcard to send to his mother, but Willie has never learned how to read or write in school. Tom shows Willie the pots of paints, and Willie tells him he was never allowed to paint in school with the other children because he did not know how to read.
Tom and Willie take a walk to the home of Dr. Oswald Little. The doctor’s wife, Nancy, takes Willie to the kitchen for orange juice while Tom talks to Dr. Little. Tom expresses his concern that Willie has already been sick twice. The doctor advises that it is most likely malnutrition. Tom also tells Dr. Little that Willie has many bruises and scars. Nancy returns and suggests using witch hazel, which she gives to Tom for free. The doctor explains he is in the middle of building an air-raid shelter to hide from bombs. Building a shelter is something Tom had once looked down upon, but now that Willie is with him, he considers it.
Tom and Willie continue on, past Willie’s future school and to a cottage where there is one of the few wireless radios. Many people are gathered to listen to the radio for the war news. Willie goes to the nearby post office and mails his postcard while Tom sits to listen with the others. On the way to the post, an elderly couple greets Willie. At the post office, Willie spots another young boy writing a postcard. The boy is intently writing with a magnifying glass and Willie can’t stop staring at him.
Tom is waiting for Willie outside the post office and they go to a food shop owned by Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Mr. Miller screams at Willie because he thinks he is one of the typical London children who steal, not realizing he is actually with Tom Oakley. Mrs. Miller gives Willie an apple to take home. They leave the shop and on the road, they are approached by an old man named Charlie Ruddles. Charlie insists that Tom and Willie should have gas masks because war will be declared soon. Willie notices people gathered outside the cottages, seeming anxious.
Chapter 4
Willie and Tom go to town on a horse-drawn cart; Willie sleeps in the back of the cart and has chaotic dreams. Tom buys his tobacco and lets Willie get candy and a comic book, and Willie has trouble choosing which ones he wants, as “he’d never been asked to choose anything ever.” They go to a draper, where Tom asks for materials to make new clothes for Willie. Willie is once again asked to choose which colors of corduroy he wants, and this time he can make a decision more easily, which pleases Tom. As he is fitted for new clothing, Willie is mesmerized by the many colors of fabric.
Willie wants to go to the paint shop, which makes Tom think of his wife Rachel. Tom has not been in the shop since his wife died, as it was her favorite place. Willie looks in the window of the shop at the various art supplies. Tom is brought back to memories of Rachel and her love of painting.
They go to the library so Willie can become a member. The librarian, Miss Emilia Thorne, is astonished to see that Tom Oakley has taken in a young boy. She thinks of Tom as a cranky old man who never helps out in any of the village activities or war efforts. She is surprised to see Mr. Oakley with a gas mask. Tom steps out to go to the bank and considers buying his own wireless radio. He goes to the art supply shop. Then he goes back to the library to collect Willie, who has found three books to check out.
Willie and Tom are on their way home when the sky opens and it begins to rain and hail. They run inside the cottage and Tom puts up the blacks on the windows and unpacks the things he got from town, including pajamas for Willie. It is time for bed and Willie settles next to Tom for a bedtime story. Willie requests to hear Noah’s Ark once again and Tom insists on speaking it from memory rather than reading from the Bible, which is better for Willie, as he does not understand a lot of the big words.
Tom takes in the mattress from outside and puts on a rubber sheet to protect it if Willie wets the bed again. Willie asks Tom if he is mad that he wet the bed; Tom replies that he isn’t and that it can take time to get used to a new place. After Willie gets into bed, Mrs. Fletcher pays a surprise visit and comes in briefly. Then Tom turns off the lamp so Willie can go to sleep. Willie thinks of all the people he met that day, especially the young boy in the post office.
Analysis
In these two sections we continue to get to know Tom and Willie. Though these chapters appear to take us through a series of mundane errands, Magorian has weaved in much subtle detail that reflects her characters.
While in town, Tom Oakley seems somewhat more irritable than in the previous day. It appears to be a challenge for him to integrate this new part of his life—Willie—into his well-worn routine. Being in town, amidst the people who have known him for so long, really brings out this difficulty for him. Tom feels “irritation” that daily rituals were going to be “broken after forty undisturbed years.” Like Mrs. Fletcher in the previous chapters, the librarian is very surprised to see Tom and Willie together.
Despite his irritability, we can also observe the deeper, generous nature of Tom Oakley. Most of the tasks of the day are devoted to providing for the malnourished and deprived Willie, such as getting a natural remedy at the doctor and purchasing him new clothing. Tom even buys the boy candy and a comic book, not because they are necessary items but because they will make Willie happy. We can see that although he has resistance, Tom is willing to make changes to his routines. While once fully disinterested in preparing for the war, Tom now sees the situation in a different way. With Willie in his house, he feels it may be right to build a war shelter, get gas masks, and even buy a wireless radio.
The anxiety of wartime is made very prominent in these two chapters. Magorian depicts the townspeople as very preoccupied with the onset of war, as they are gathered around a radio to hear all the latest updates. Doctor Little is busy preparing a war shelter. The appearance of Mrs. Fletcher at the end of “Equipped” is not explained in this chapter, but we get the sense that there is some sort of urgent news being imparted. Even Willie, who doesn’t have much knowledge of what is going on, can observe that people are anxious.
We start to see another side of Willie emerge as well in these chapters. He has wet his bed and although he feels very ashamed and worried that others will see him as “sinful,” he is not quite as fearful and expectant of punishment as in the other chapters. He is faced in two instances with choosing something he wants: the candy and comic books, and in the draper shop, the colors of his clothes. We can see that making choices is totally new to him, but he is beginning to become slightly more assertive. After the draper shop, Willie asks to go to the paint shop, intrigued by the many types of supplies. He is also very fascinated by the boy in the post office. This natural curiosity in the rich world around him demonstrates how Willie is becoming accustomed to a new sort of life with Mr. Tom: a life free of constant fear of punishment and abuse.
