We'd be surprised if fear weren't a theme in a book about fighting the Nazis. Maddie and Julie talk about their fears a lot, to the point where they each maintain a list of ten things they're afraid of.
The book isn't just about sitting back and being afraid of your fears, though, and significantly, both Maddie and Julie manage to overcome their major fears in order to get their jobs done. Julie conquers her fear of heights to parachute into France, and Maddie ultimately conquers her fear of gunfire to shoot Julie on the night of the raid. In Code Name Verity, fear is something to be acknowledged and overcome.
Questions About Fear
- What do Julie's and Maddie's initial lists of fears reveal about each of them?
- How do the changes in Julie's and Maddie's revised lists of fears demonstrate changes in their characters?
- How do Julie and Maddie manage to either overcome their fears or to cope when those fears come true?
- What do you think is each character's finest moment of overcoming fear?
Chew on This
Changes in Maddie's and Julie's mental states can be traced by examining their lists of fears.
While fear is omnipresent, it is not what motivates most characters' actions.