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J.C. BURKE The story of Tom Brennan (1 Viewer)
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jasmine mary
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- HSC
- 2009
i have a really good sheet on tom brennan im studying it to
palmerriver
New Member
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- 2011
we are studing it too ..... hope this helps
chaos – all these things will help Tom to find a ticket out of the past.
SYNOPSIS
How would you and your family cope with a major tragedy? Would you be bitter, argue,
cling together? And more importantly, how would you even begin to move on with your
life?
cling together? And more importantly, how would you even begin to move on with your
life?
The Story of Tom Brennan
by J.C. Burke starts with a fatal car accident – a young
driver who’s had too much to drink goes too fast and in an instant two of his friends are
dead and his cousin is left with permanent spinal injuries.
But the book isn’t about the car crash; it isn’t even about the driver. This is a book
about seventeen-year-old Tom Brennan, and how his life changes when his older brother,
Daniel, kills two people and paralyses another.
While their cousin Fin lies in hospital, unable to move, Daniel goes to jail and the
Brennans are forced to move towns – they’ve become the victims of a small town’s
prejudice against the family of the boy they saw as ‘an accident waiting to happen’. The
residents of Mumbilli are so hostile following the tragedy that they are open in their
desire that Daniel receive a severe sentence. ‘They’re saying that Daniel’s going down
and that he deserves everything he gets’ (p. 108).
The family must move from Mumbilli because they are no longer welcome in the
town – Daniel’s actions have affected all their lives. Because they fear the reaction of the
township, they leave quietly at 4.30 am. J.C. Burke uses their escape as a prologue,
which lures the reader immediately into the story as a sense of mystery develops.
Starting again in a new town and at a new school, how can Tom even begin to
rebuild his life when his mother won’t get out of bed, his father is struggling to hold the
family together, his sister is threatening to spill the family’s secret, and he can no longer
play rugby with his beloved Mumbilli team?
Tom, who was seventeen at the time of the accident, feels guilt at what has
happened, because he was angry with Daniel and elected to walk home instead of going
with him in the car. Had he been present, Tom believes he might have been able to
persuade Daniel not to drive. His feeling of guilt, however, is juxtaposed with anger at
finding himself having to give up a life he thoroughly enjoyed, including leaving his friends
and his rugby team. ‘I made a deal with myself: I’d stay for two years till Year Twelve was
over, max.’ (p. 31)
In the year that follows, while the family tries to settle into their new lives in
Coghill, Tom develops immensely – from a teenager who feels constant torment,
especially at the thought of his cousin Fin’s injury, to one who is able to accept the
situation and move on. This Herculean feat involves a myriad of other aspects and
characters. Tom at first does not seem to appreciate any of his grandmother’s efforts, but
by the end of the story, he not only recognises the merit in his grandmother, but
organises a present for her birthday that he knows she will appreciate. ‘Gran looked at
me with mist in her eyes, then winked’ (p. 268). Moreover, he responds to Chrissy, his
girlfriend, in a more mature way instead of running away from romance; and he can finally
even respond to Matt, his close friend from Mumbilli who he has felt unable to contact.
It’s a long, slow recovery, but there are things that will help bring the real Tom
Brennan back: finding out that he can play rugby without his unbeatable partnership with
Daniel, running with his Uncle Brendan, the possibility of a climbing trip to the Himalayas,
seeing Daniel drag himself back from the brink of suicide, and finding love amidst the
driver who’s had too much to drink goes too fast and in an instant two of his friends are
dead and his cousin is left with permanent spinal injuries.
But the book isn’t about the car crash; it isn’t even about the driver. This is a book
about seventeen-year-old Tom Brennan, and how his life changes when his older brother,
Daniel, kills two people and paralyses another.
While their cousin Fin lies in hospital, unable to move, Daniel goes to jail and the
Brennans are forced to move towns – they’ve become the victims of a small town’s
prejudice against the family of the boy they saw as ‘an accident waiting to happen’. The
residents of Mumbilli are so hostile following the tragedy that they are open in their
desire that Daniel receive a severe sentence. ‘They’re saying that Daniel’s going down
and that he deserves everything he gets’ (p. 108).
The family must move from Mumbilli because they are no longer welcome in the
town – Daniel’s actions have affected all their lives. Because they fear the reaction of the
township, they leave quietly at 4.30 am. J.C. Burke uses their escape as a prologue,
which lures the reader immediately into the story as a sense of mystery develops.
Starting again in a new town and at a new school, how can Tom even begin to
rebuild his life when his mother won’t get out of bed, his father is struggling to hold the
family together, his sister is threatening to spill the family’s secret, and he can no longer
play rugby with his beloved Mumbilli team?
Tom, who was seventeen at the time of the accident, feels guilt at what has
happened, because he was angry with Daniel and elected to walk home instead of going
with him in the car. Had he been present, Tom believes he might have been able to
persuade Daniel not to drive. His feeling of guilt, however, is juxtaposed with anger at
finding himself having to give up a life he thoroughly enjoyed, including leaving his friends
and his rugby team. ‘I made a deal with myself: I’d stay for two years till Year Twelve was
over, max.’ (p. 31)
In the year that follows, while the family tries to settle into their new lives in
Coghill, Tom develops immensely – from a teenager who feels constant torment,
especially at the thought of his cousin Fin’s injury, to one who is able to accept the
situation and move on. This Herculean feat involves a myriad of other aspects and
characters. Tom at first does not seem to appreciate any of his grandmother’s efforts, but
by the end of the story, he not only recognises the merit in his grandmother, but
organises a present for her birthday that he knows she will appreciate. ‘Gran looked at
me with mist in her eyes, then winked’ (p. 268). Moreover, he responds to Chrissy, his
girlfriend, in a more mature way instead of running away from romance; and he can finally
even respond to Matt, his close friend from Mumbilli who he has felt unable to contact.
It’s a long, slow recovery, but there are things that will help bring the real Tom
Brennan back: finding out that he can play rugby without his unbeatable partnership with
Daniel, running with his Uncle Brendan, the possibility of a climbing trip to the Himalayas,
seeing Daniel drag himself back from the brink of suicide, and finding love amidst the
chaos – all these things will help Tom to find a ticket out of the past.
hey guys this website should help you with most of your tom brennan needs
http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Downl...es/TeachingSupportKitTheStoryofTomBrennan.pdf
http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Downl...es/TeachingSupportKitTheStoryofTomBrennan.pdf