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Essay on Story of Tom Brennan Quotes

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‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ Melany Rooney Prologue ‘In a couple of hours they would wake up and find us gone, far away, so as not to remind them of their pain and what our family now meant to this town’ (p. 2) The novel begins with a journey, both physical and emotional; the Brennans are physically moving houses and towns, but also moving into new, unfamiliar territory. The leaving of ‘home’ is synonymous with the leaving of what id known, familiar and comfortable, in a literal and metaphorical sense. Chapter 1 ‘I hadn’t decided if I was playing rugby this year. In fact, I hadn’t decided if I was playing ever again. I didn’t know if I could without my brother. Things just weren’t that simple anymore.’ …show more content…

115) Tom takes a big step forward in overcoming the adversities he’s faced with, showing that he’s maturing and making steady way through his journey of growing into the wider world. Chapter 9 ‘The back page of the Billi Weekly ran a photo of me throwing a dive pass to Daniel’ (p. 120) Flashbacks to Tom’s previous rugby games with his brother re-affirm the loss he feels towards his old life. Tom feels the need to have everything the way it once was, and Coghill can’t replicate the joy he found in the endless afternoon training sessions with Daniel and his father, nor the adulation of the local community. Chapter 10 ‘Didn’t they realise we weren’t like everyone else here?’ (p. 130) 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. Chapter 11 ‘Well, Tess,’ Kath started, ‘I’m sorry about that. But my son can’t even turn his neck to see his back.’ (Kath, p. 154) This serves as a reminder of the past, everything that happened and the pain the family is now experiencing. It also stalls, and possibly prevents, any positive progress the family had made individually in coming to terms with the accident and getting

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