Knud Pederson went through a lot of mental challenges and hardships after he was released from Nyborg State Prison but persevered through it. A quote that shows this is on page 152: “A couple of times his mother called me,” Patricia Bibby recalls. “He had locked himself inside his bedroom door and would not come out. ‘Would you please see if you can help?’ she asked. I stood outside the door talking, trying to get him to open it. He had torn his paintings and writings. He said they were no good. That they were worthless. That he felt worthless. It was a terrible depression he had. And we would talk.” This shows that ever since Knud was released from prison, he had a hard time trying to figure out what he should do. The following day was when he had an idea that would ultimately get him involved in resistance work because that was the only thing that interested him at that time.
Knud is also a very significant character in the book because of his contributions to both the K Company resistance and the Churchill Club that he originally helped start with his friends. His side that he takes on in this story also signifies that he is the protagonist, going against the antagonist, Germany. This is also shown through all of the efforts he put in to start a resistance going against the Germans occupying Denmark. Though he may seem to be a very strong character, fighting for what he believes in, this wasn’t always the case as shown earlier. Knud’s morale crashed down when he was released from Nyborg State Prison, and because he wasn’t motivated to learn in school, he became depressed (that is until he was recruited into the resistance). Overall, this shows how Knud’s emotions and characteristics evolved based on the decisions he made. He went through a lot of ups and downs but eventually made it through the end.