Good Night, Mr. Tom

Good Night, Mr. Tom Summary | Plot Summary

This is a powerful, poignant book about a young boy, who finds kindness and love in a most unexpected place, the home of an elderly man out in the English countryside. It is interesting that the setup of Good Night, Mr. Tom is similar to the very popular C.S. Lewis novel, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. In both books, children are taken out of their London homes and evacuated to stay with strangers in the country, in order to keep the kids safe during the many bombings at the beginning of World War II. The old man, Mr. Tom Oakley, heals the young boy, loses him for a while, and then finds him, saving his life and bringing him back to health and a happy life together.

Good Night, Mr. Tom comes from one child's point of view, a thin young boy named William. His mother calls him Willie, but his new benefactor, Mr. Tom Oakley, chooses to call him the more dignified name of Will. The reader understands from the first moments of the novel that Will's life has made him perceive life around him as a very dangerous thing. He is constantly on his toes to say or do nothing that will bring about a beating, since that has been his life experience with his mother as long as he can remember. He arrives at Mr. Tom's house thinly clad, underfed and covered with painful bruises.

However, Mr. Tom, as Will comes to call him, does not punish Will as his mother did. In fact, Mr. Tom seems to understand him, as he has never been known before. Even though Will wets the bed every night for weeks, even months, Mr. Tom does not remonstrate him, recalling that when his new dog came home for the first time, he had trouble controlling his bladder. Mr. Tom and Will just change the bedding without complaint. The old man helps the boy through many challenges and gives him a healthy, happy home.

Little by little, Will begins to trust Mr. Tom and the world around him. When Will goes to school, he is astonished that children and teachers alike love him and support him. Although Will cannot read and write when he first comes to Little Weirwold, the village where Mr. Tom resides, no one makes fun of him. Each night, Mr. Tom helps Tom learn to write and then to read, and the old man reads him good literature as well. When Will has a birthday party, children and neighbors bring him presents and good things to eat, and thus he realizes that there is much kindness in the world. Soon, Tom has progressed to the proper class in school and also manifests great talent in drama and art, much to the respect and delight of his peers and teachers, and Mr. Tom as well.

In fact, not only does Will undergo a powerful transformation in this book, but so also does Mr. Tom. As the book unfolds, the reader learns that Mr. Tom has lost his wife and child in childbirth many years ago. The raw pain of this loss has never left the old man, who turned reclusive and sour because of it. The villagers all avoid him because of his cold manners. When Will arrives, Mr. Tom immediately demonstrates his kind and compassionate nature by acquiring good, warm clothing and nourishing food. He goes out of his way to help along Will's education. Finally, he overcomes a major barrier, going into an art store. He would never do this, because his late wife was a painter and the art store produced too many bad memories. For Will's sake, he enters the store and purchases paints and brushes.

Everything is going along well, when Will's mother requests that the boy return to her in the city. At first, Will thinks this will be a good thing, so he can be helpful to his mother. After some time has passed, Mr. Tom begins to feel bad, a premonition that something is not right with his beloved young friend. Although he has never traveled past the immediate locality, he ventures into the city and with luck, locates Will's neighborhood and then his home. No one answers the door when he knocks, but he persuades the local policeman to break down the door.

There, locked in the closet, sits Will, holding a small, still bundle, a dead baby, his sister. Will is nearly starved to death and beaten badly. He blames himself for his sister's death and can hardly speak. Mr. Tom goes against law enforcement and the local authorities and takes Will home with him, nourishing him back to health and life. He finally gets legal custody of the boy, who eventually comes to call him "Dad" and regard him as his true father.