The Story Of Tom Brennan Essay Example

used to be very close with before the incident.The life that Tom and his family now lead is affected by the prejudice that has forced the family out of their home town Mumbilli and into Tom’s Grandmother’s house in Cogshill. Tom is then made to cope with the inevitable and move ‘into the world. All of Toms family members have changed since the accident.

Juxtapositions are used to show that they have a new identity when Tom has his ‘flashbacks’. An example would be with Toms mother Tess being a loving affectionate mother but when the tragic incident occurs she fades away, sleeping in bed throughout the whole day and at a time in the book tom begins to despise her.Tom begins to adapt into his new world and starts to forget the past and at that point there are fewer flashbacks. He becomes stronger as the novel goes. Throughtout the novel the autor Bourke uses flashbacks to images between how their life was prior to the incident and to now the present day and time. The flashbacks show the impact and consequences that the incident had on the Brennan family.

A good example of the flashbacks prior to the incident would be how during dinner time the table was full of excitement and joy but this has changed with the present showing that the energy they all once had was lost.All of Tom’s family members have changed since the accident. Juxtapositions are used to show that they have a new identity when Tom has his ‘flashbacks’. An example would be with Toms mother Tess being a loving affectionate mother but when the tragic incident

occurs she fades away, sleeping in bed throughout the whole day and at a time in the book tom begins to despise her. Tom begins to adapt into his new world and starts to forget the past and at that point there are fewer flashbacks.He becomes stronger as the novel goes this shows that Tom has underwent a change in his attitude and beliefs as he learns to let go and forget the past and look brightly towards the future Tom’s understanding of people evolves throughout the text.

“Why don’t they realise that we aren’t like everyone else in here? ” this shows that Tom has still not come to terms and accepted the situation Daniel is currently in and is confused to why he is being treated like a criminal.Over time he eventually realises what his brother has doone and accepts that Daniel has committee a serious crime. Tom realises that Daniel shows remorse for his stupid actions and is trying to change his life around which is shown with Daniel becoming a support leader for another younger boy in the same prison. When Tom sees this he opens his arms to Daniel and gives him a scrapbook which has photos and such to remind them off close brotherly events they went through together.Tom accepts the fact that his new life and future must be in Coghill for a while, he accepts the situation around him and “opends the door” thus illustrating a new pathway of life where is able to fully benefit from life in Coghill.

His change from a child to the maturity of a grown up adult as he learns from

his expirence and that there was also life in other places other than his old hometown Mumbilli and also that to heal wounds you must spend great amounts of time and at your own speed.This is symbolically shown in the celebration on his 18th birthday. The change in Tom Brennan is inevitably shown in the last chapter when Tom and Chrissy are together, “That was the day Tom Brennan came back forever. ” But he comes back with more experience and maturity than he had before.

Throughout the novel Hills are spoken off frequently with them symbolising Toms struggle and the journey. The hill is near his grandmother’s house and the hill is seen as more of a mountain.His grandmother frequently calls it Ascension hill and believed it was a stairway to heaven ‘reckoned it lead all the way to heaven’ with coincides with her highly religious stance. The symbolism behind heaven shows the character has to reach the top of his emotional struggle to be truly happy and ‘united with God’.

Nearing the end he reaches the top of “without even realising”. This shows the progress that he has made naturally throughout the storyline in a bid to overcome the fears and horrors that played a large part in his life.He has reached the top of his emotional struggle. Footy is a highly significant part in the novel with many characters coming together, the sport also symbolises the prestige that was handed out to the Brennan duo due to their high level of skill in the game.

The relationship is very significant with Tom’s new footy team in Coghill. He plays as a centre

back and takes on the duty of helping out the team with training them. His involvement with his new team becomes a major symbol in his growing up phase.Through the new experience he starts to believe winning is not the only major goal in life and that being a part of the team and supporting your mates has far greater significance. The team helps Tom bring out the person he once was which allows him to stand freely having made the new friendships. Football also symbolises fear when he has to face a team from his former town of Mumbilli.

Change is unavoidable and everybody must go through it even if it is forced upon them. Everybody must prepare for the changes they will expirence as they move into their new world