Tom Brennan

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

At the onset of the book, Young Tom has just been released from prison and is interested in making up for lost time and enjoying himself. He is a strong family support during the journey but is among the first to begin reaching out to a larger family. At the end he has focused on the plight and abuse of all the homeless farmers and recognizes that they must

The experience of moving into the world can challenge individuals attitudes and beliefs. Into the world explores the aspects of growth, transition and change. The novel ' The Story of Tom Brennan' by J.C Burke explores the different ways individuals grow when they are taken out of their comfort zones and venture into new experiences. This concept is also conveyed within the song 'Fast Car' By Tracy Chapman and the film 'Charlie st Cloud' Directed by Burr Steers. 'The Story of Tom Brennan' follows the lives of the Brennan family after the events of a fatal car accident, it shows how Tom the protagonist struggles to cope with his past, similarly the song 'Fast Car' is a representation of an escape, a women seeking to flee a life she finds

(146) In order to emphasize his humility and goodness, Tom has been cast as a ?one-arm jackleg? (as he so eloquently puts it). He is a carpenter, ably fixing up the Crater property. He performs the miracles of reviving Mrs. Crater?s long-dead Ford (the religious connection reinforced by O?Connor?s characterization of his expression ?as if he had just raised the dead? [151]) and teaching deaf and mute daughter Lucynell to say the word ?bird?. He eschews modern man?s obsession with money and claims that he has a ?moral intelligence? despite his physical shortcomings. By emphasizing his focus on the spiritual nature of life, Tom succeeds in marrying the daughter and receiving money from Mrs. Crater.

Tom never does anything without doing it to the fullest, good or bad. Tom has an overall extremely short temper, assertive,confident and aggressive nature. Tom’s wild, emotional, and uncaring attitude end up getting three people killed. Tom in the end is ultimately concerned with himself and his lavished ,intense, and high paced

Tom feels because they once were a respectable family in Mumbilli, they shouldn’t be considered in the same way as others who were relatives of criminals, and shouldn’t have to go through the security measures at the prisons, like the other ‘criminals’. He hadn’t accepted that Daniel was also a criminal.

Authors empower our understanding of the world through compassion and empathy. Meaning to make readers share and understand the feelings of another. In “Harvest Gypsies” by John Steinbeck the author informs of two families and their tussles for survival.In the same manner, Kevin Starr in his excerpt titled “Endangered Dreams” tells of a family and their daily troubles. Both taken place during the great depression they both depict the hardships of migrant families trapped in poverty. While Dorothea Lange helped readers perceive the poor living conditions of the 1900’s through her photo, John Steinbeck helped evoke the most empathy through his descriptiveness, straightforward style, and listing of dramatic events.

Empathy and caring is an essential part of human health. We love because we can empathize (Szalavitz & Perry, 2010). Empathy underlies everything that makes society work; such as altruism, collaboration, love and charity. Failures to empathize are a key part of social problems, such as crime, violence, war, racism, child abuse and inequity. Although we are genetically predisposed to care for others, the development of empathy requires a lifelong process of relational interaction (Szalavitz & Perry, 2010). More importantly, the first relationship humans experience, the

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

Finally, Tom’s transition is evident, discovers his responsibility within the family and becomes capable of agency and self-empowerment. This is vividly communicated in the repetition, “faster, faster, faster… like trying to find the gap to break through.” Tom overcomes his past finds his position in the new world and embraces it rapidly which empowers him to grow as a character and reach a state of enlightenment. Therefore, maturity is the process by which an individual face challenges entering the new world and discovers his own values.

Society is built upon a foundation of norms, but not all individuals adhere to said norms, some are outliers. If the actions of an individual causes pain onto another, society defines that the normal reaction for that individual would be to exhibit a state of empathy, but this is not always the case, as there are those who do not feel or exhibit the normal psychological reactions to differing scenarios (sociopaths). As individuals’ progress and experience obstacles in their lives, they become familiar with the different aspects of their mind, such as their persona, shadow, and self, ultimately achieving individuation. In

The antagonists gain our sympathy and understanding because they are the reflection of our mutual experiences and traits. The Alpha Male Darkseeker from the film “I Am Legend” reminds us of loss and what we do to fight for the people we love. The prostitutes from the fairytale “Myrtle Tree” illustrate how revenge can take over us and make us do evil things. Dave from the short story “Hello, Monster” exhibits how we use other people and what they have for our own benefit. We fathom the motives behind their actions because we relate to how they feel.

, the characters in the story often show emotions whether it be externally or internally. The

Through the book tom has a lot of changes and the changes are for the better. Tom used to be lazy and not responsible and over all bad. But he changed and became a better person.

It all started a day before Tom’s thirty-fourth birthday. Tom’s best and only friend, his dad, decided to throw a party for him.