Post-apocalyptic Fiction

By Thomas Olijnyk
What does post-
apocalyptic fiction teach us
about the inherent nature
of humans?

Post-apocalyptic fiction teaches us

about the inherent nature of
humans through the themes of
family, friends and survival. All of
these themes are found in both
‘The Sky So Heavy’ and ‘Tomorrow
When The War Began’ and both
texts explore these themes in
detail.
What is post-
apocalyptic
fiction?
Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a
period of time after a worldwide
disaster. It is normally very hard to
survive as resources are scarce and
it is very dangerous. It can be set
straight after a disaster or many
years after. Characters may not
remember what life was like before
or they might have even created
myths about life before.
‘The Sky So Heavy’
By Claire Zorn

‘The Sky So Heavy’ is a dystopian novel set in the

Blue Mountains in Sydney. After a nuclear disaster
happens on the other side of the world, Fin and
his brother Max must survive in the new world
that is formed from the aftermath of the disaster.
Fin, Max and their friends Lucy and Noll all then
decide to go to the city. They arrive and take
refuge in an underground carpark. Fin and Max go
look for their mum who is staying in the city. While
looking they find their teacher Mr Effrez and he
gives them directions to a safe place in the Royal
National Park.
Themes of ‘The Sky
So Heavy’
Friends and family

'The Sky So Heavy' shows us that human nature is

looking after your friends and family.
The themes of friendship and family are shown in
Chapter 40 when Fin's mum doesn't let Lucy and
Noll come with them so they decide not to go with
her. “’I’m not staying with you. And you have to let
Max decide whether he’s going to or not.’”
This event demonstrates to the reader how strong
relationships can be. Fin and Max are both willing
to leave their mum to stay with their friends.
This proves to us that human nature is sometimes
leaving your family for friends. It can make us as a
reader reflect on whether we would have
abandoned our family for our friends.
Survival

'The Sky So Heavy' shows us that human nature

is about ensuring your family's survival.
The themes of survival are shown in Chapter 11
when Fin is chopping furniture and then has a
thought about the axe slipping off the furniture
and chopping his foot off. He then thinks about
how he should've told Max to eat him if he died.
“I imagined it glancing off and carving through
my ankle. Would Max eat me? He should.”
This event demonstrates to the reader how
important that Max survives is to Fin and that
Fin would sacrifice himself to keep Fin alive.
This proves that human nature is always thinking
about the survival of your family. It can make us
as a reader reflect on whether we would
sacrifice ourselves to save our family.
‘Tomorrow When The War
Began’
By John Marsden
‘Tomorrow When The War Began’ is a TV series based
off a book series. It is set in Wirrawee and surrounding
areas in Australia. It follows the story of seven teenagers
who fight to survive after their country has been
invaded by south-east Asia. They flee the enemy troops
and try to avoid capture. Near the end of the series one
of them gets shot and is forced to go into enemy hands
to survive. The kids’ parents also fight to protect their
kids and try keep them out of enemy hands.
Themes of
‘Tomorrow When
The War Began’
Family

‘Tomorrow When The War Began’ shows us that

human nature is looking after the people that you
love.
The themes of family are shown in Episode 2 when
the kid’s parents are about to get their phones
looked at. They then all decide to delete any
photos of their kids to protect them. “Delete your
photos.”
This event demonstrates to the reader how strong
relationships can be. The parents are removing the
pictures of their kids, which is essentially how they
remember them, to save them and keep them
alive.
This proves to us that human nature is sometimes
having to remove the memory of someone you
love to save them. It can make us as a reader think
about whether we would remove the memory of
someone to protect them.
Survival

‘Tomorrow When The War Began’ shows us that human

nature is ensuring the survival of you and your friends.
The themes of survival are shown in Episode 4 when the
kids all decide to leave Hell because it isn’t safe to stay
there. “If we can hear that gunfire, it means they’re getting
closer.”
This event demonstrates to the reader how important the
survival of you and your friends is. They have to leave
because they can hear gunshots off in the distance.
This proves to us that human nature is making sure that
you and your friends are safe. It can make us as a reader
think about whether we would make the same decision or
if we would just surrender.
Symbols of ‘The
Sky So Heavy’
There are many examples of
symbolism in the novel ‘The Sky So
Heavy’. Some examples include –
• Fire – safety and comfort
• Gun – protection
• Bible – hope
• Sketchbook – coping
Symbols of ‘Tomorrow
When The War Began’
There is lots of symbolism in ‘Tomorrow When The
War Began’. Some examples include –
• Hell – safe haven
• The Hermit – human complexity
• Landrover – protection
• Gun – danger
Characterization of
‘The Sky So Heavy’
• Fin is a 17 year old boy who cares about making sure his
brother and friends are safe and not in harm. An
example is when Fin decided to eat less so that Max got
more food.
• Lucy is a 17 year old girl who is a bit shy. She is stubborn
and strong willed. She is in love with Fin.
• Max is a 12 year old boy who is Fin’s brother. He is a bit
of a nerd as he knows random facts about stuff. He is
also trying to do everything but his brother won’t let
him.
• Noll is a 17 year old boy who is religious and reads the
Bible. He lost his parents in the nuclear explosion. He is
unsure about the ethics of Fin and how Fin not telling
him he had the gun wasn’t vey nice.
Characterization of ‘Tomorrow
When The War Began’
• Ellie is a 16 year old girl who is a great thinker. She is a leader but feels stress because
everybody relies on her.
• Fi is a 16 year old girl who is not used to the country. Over the course of the story, she started
out as a girl who didn’t know anything about the country to knowing how to survive in it.
• Homer is a 16 year old boy is forceful and brave. He is also a leader of the group but doesn’t
feel pressured.
• Kevin is a 17 year old boy who is always giving everyone a hard time. But at the same time he
gets scared a lot but is still loyal.
• Corrie is a 16 year old girl who is Ellie’s best friend. She is an outdoors person, enjoying
farming and camping.
• Lee is a 16 year old boy who is a bit quiet. He enjoys indoor activities such as music and
reading over outdoor activities.
• Robyn is a 16 year old girl who is very religious. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone so she leaves
to go to surrender but when she sees that Corrie is hurt she goes back.
Literary Techniques for
‘The Sky So Heavy’
‘The Sky So Heavy’ is set in first person and
focuses on Fin and what he is experiencing.
The start of the book is straight into action
and is in present tense. It then goes into past
tense and has flashbacks of the action
moment. Once it gets to the actual moment in
the book it is present tense for the rest of the
book. Claire Zorn uses a lot of foreshadowing
to foreshadow events that will happen. She
also uses different length sentences, such as
long sentences for a peaceful moment or
describing somewhere, or short sentences to
build tension or in tense moments.
Film techniques for ‘Tomorrow
When The War Began’

‘Tomorrow When The War Began’ starts in

an action scene where we can see Ellie
and Lee running away from enemy troops
who are trying to kill them. It uses
multiple camera angles to show different
viewpoints for what is happening. It also
shows what is happening in the
showground and what the parents are
experiencing and doing.
Conclusion

In conclusion, the texts ‘The Sky

So Heavy’ and ‘Tomorrow When
The War Began’ are both similar
to each other. They may be
about two separate stories but
both share similar ways of telling
the story. Both texts start with an
action scene and eventually get
to the actual moment. Both have
similar themes and have a
religious person and symbol.
They are both similar to each
other and both convey the post-
apocalyptic genre. Post-
apocalyptic fiction teaches us
that the inherent nature of
humans is looking after your
family and friends, and surviving
through hard times.