Tom Brennan Character Profile

This powerful characteristic that transitional phases possess have the potential to be a rewarding experience, as they provide an individual with the opportunity for growth and knowledge development through newfound relationships. In ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’, Tom exhibits this through his bond with Chrissy following the dark trauma he endures caused by his brother Daniel. Initially, Tom feels detached from his own identity as he refers to himself in third person “I missed…simple Tom Brennan”, emphasising his deteriorated mental state. However, the relationship he forms with Chrissy is instrumental in his recovery as he begins to find himself again. His passionate tone in “Today I kissed Chrissy Tulake, I felt like Tom Brennan” epitomizes how this bond empowers him to assert a stronger sense of personal identity. Burke, therefore, is able to reveal how transitional

‘Saturday the 27th of August’ was the day Tom Brennan’s life changed forever. The Story of Tom Brennan is written by J.C. Burke with the story centred on teenager Tom Brennan and how his brother, Daniel, made the Brennan family the most hated people in Mumbilli. The Brennan’s were then forced to move to a new town, Coghill, where they knew no one but Gran, Tom’s grandmother. Daniel had been a heavy drinker and one night he had way too many but yet still decided to get into his car, leading to an accident and therefore the death of two mates and leaving another a quadriplegic. The themes of growing

Intro: J.C Burkes novel, ‘The Story Of Tom Brennan’ starts with a fatal car accident. Daniel Brennan a young driver who’s had to much to drink, makes a bad decision, and drives while intoxicated, with three other people in the car, in an instant his friends are dead, and his cousin Fin is left with permanent spinal injuries. This book shows us how Tom Brennan’s life changes when his older brother, Daniel, kills two people and paralyses another.

Individuals respond in various ways to transitioning into a new phase of life and society, these transitions can be challenging and confronting. They can also be transformative and thus some individuals accept and others reject because it’ll often initiate a series of consequences that may accelerate one’s personal growth and involuntarily change one’s perspective and/or attitude. These ideas are manifested in J.C Burke’s, ‘The story of Tom Brennan,' a move about the transitions that characters face after an indelible accident. In correspondence to the short story, ‘Neighbours’ by Tim Winton and is about a young couple moving from the city to the village and finding it difficult to reside with the European migrants.

Through Tom, the legal and social rights of the entire community are called into question. Tom's injury, therefore, represents the injury of all the people he epitomizes.

As the novel progresses, Tom transforms from this selfish nature to become a caring person. Several examples of this transformation are seen throughout various chapters. When the Joads are traveling west to California with the Wilson’s, Tom offers to help them when their car breaks down. “Tom said nervously, ‘Look Al. I done my time, an’ now it’s done… Let’s jus’ try an’ get a con-rod an’ the hell with the res’ of it.’” Tom is showing a little more care for other people’s problems, however, he still has a selfish side because he still does not regret killing a man. He knew he had to pay for it by going to prison, but he still believes he did nothing wrong by taking a man’s life. By offering to help out with the Wilson’s’ car, he is on his way to becoming a less selfish person. As the book draws to a close, Tom stumbles upon Jim Casy again, who is murdered in front of his own eyes. As a result, he is thrown into a silent rage and kills another man which causes him to hide in the forest. He realizes that he is a danger to his family, so he sacrifices his safety in order for his family to be safe. ‘“Ya can’t do that, Ma. I tell you I’m jus’ a danger to ya,”’ (391). There is a clear transition from Tom acting selfish at the beginning of the book to him acting completely selfless at the end. This selflessness also contributed to him being a figure committed to bettering the

• empathy is created as we grow fond of the protagonist who shares a story of hardship

Throughout the novel “The Story Of Tom Brennan” Burke cleverly employs an enormous amount of changes as a result of one tragic event. The event involves

The pain and grief of traumatic road accidents can complicate and severely damage many relationships, especially those in small, close knit communities. The line becomes blurred between perpetrators and victims, as beliefs become doubted, and sympathy arises for those who sadly lost their lives, and those who “move on from a moment that threatens to define them forever” (‘Shattered’, 2011). Viewers respond to compassion and remorse shown in the stories, typical views of perpetrators and victims become challenged, demonstrating the enormous influence of a person’s attitude on other’s perspective and opinion of them. The Story of Tom Brennan is an award winning Australian novel written by Jane Burke, published by Random House during 2005.

Tom Walker sat at his bedside feeling rather melancholy for he had not much to do but be chided at by his notorious witch of a wife. They both lived in their humble abode of an apartment in the middle of a city but they had a sublime view that overlooked the scenery of the domicile's dumpsters. They lived poorly, just barely getting by to afford a couple gallons of gas. Tom grew a hatred for almost everyone around and had only a handful of “friends”, he believed that money was the most valuable and important thing in his life.

The concept of transformation and self overcoming are potent topics, the likes of which, are and have been heavily debated by the best academics known to humanity. It is substantially evident that challenging events, especially when supported by others, allow an individual to grow in personality, spirit, and resilience. The latter can be achieved by turning to the right support and resources in order to vanquish one’s negative circumstances, overcome the pressures of society, and develop a unique and personal set of values. These concepts are explored in “The Story of Tom Brennan” by J. C. Burke, and Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. The characters, Tom and Zarathustra, deal with similar ideas in their respective stories. Tom

Both Tom and Samantha are arrogant in their confidence as young Australian’s, feeling that their terrible experiences and situations are unfair and that other people should be held accountable. Both texts reflect the different ways in which individuals respond to growing up or transitioning into a new phase of life. “At least its not contagious” and “The story of Tom Brennan” are both similar in that they both face their difficult situation with determination and bravery to move into a new society.

Tom is on the verge of gaining everything he wants such as the inheritance from Judge Driscoll. Just as being able to gain everything he wants Tom is still also vulnerable to losing everything him has. He is a literate man who lives free his whole life and owns slaves instead of being a slave. Tom’s mother is willing to sell herself to slavery in order to help her son but by sacrificing her freedom through love she finds out that she is betrayed by her son. Her only requests were to be sold up the river and to be bought back in order to allow Tom to pay his debts back.

However, Tom further transcends as he looks beyond himself into a new awareness through other individuals. ‘His eyes were shut, as silently he mouthed along with the song’ is an imagery that displays uncle Brenden’s grief towards the incident. ‘slowly I backed out the door, closing it gently behind me.’ The use of diction is an indicative of Tom’s movement of backing away slowly instead of fleeing from reality. This examines Tom’s changing attitudes from the ability to look through the perspectives of other individuals that enhances one’s understanding.

The sensations he is feeling are very strong, such as violently shuddering. He can't even focus on the pain washing over him and the cold against his teeth. Tom’s strength is quickly disappearing, “draining like water”, his legs are starting to give out which is the source for even more panic. This panic forces him out of his constant thoughts about work and is finally able to think rationally about what he is doing and the reality that he might not make it. The fear he feels is coupled by the realization of what is truly important in his life, his happiness and wife.