43 pages • 1 hour read
David ChariandyBrother: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary
In the present, Michael’s mother has fractured her femur but is otherwise physically fine. Michael is worried when, in the waiting room, he sees a little boy strapped to a gurney; the boy’s mother and brother are worried. The little boy explains that he and his brother were on the roof because they wanted “to see.” Michael is relieved that this family will not suffer from complicated grief.
Michael recalls himself and his mother attending Francis’s funeral. Jelly had been so distraught at Francis’s shooting that the police arrested him for resisting arrest, so he isn’t at the funeral because he is still in jail. Michael’s mother doesn’t recover from Francis’s death. Her behavior becomes increasingly erratic, giving Michael the perfect excuse to separate himself from all his social connections. By becoming his mother’s full-time caretaker, Michael doesn’t have to explain why he doesn’t want to be out in the community. Michael sits through police questioning over his brother’s death. The police prompt him to answer questions about Francis’s history of moodiness and violence. The police determine that Francis’s shooting was lawful.
In the present, further testing reveals that Michael’s mother had alcohol in her system the day the car hit her. The doctors are more concerned with her psychological condition than with her physical condition. She is released from the hospital with a wheelchair. Back at home, Jelly prepares food while Aisha thinks of walks she can bring Michael’s mother on in her wheelchair. Jelly puts on some music, and Michael’s mother asks him to turn the volume higher.
Chapter 7 Analysis
In Chapter 7, Chariandy uses parallel structure as a way of connecting his narrative back to the Prologue, in which Michael and Francis climb up a hydro pole to get a good view of the city. This is a release from the stresses and chaos of the streets beneath them. The little boy who is hospitalized in Chapter 7 for going up on the roof with his brother parallels Michael and Francis. This both highlights the cyclical nature of life and reveals that Michael and Francis’s relationship lives on in the brotherhood of others. Michael sees a piece of himself in that little boy, which is an important reminder to him that his experiences and memories are important. The repetition of the symbolic climb to be high enough to see is also a metaphorical representation of the innate human desire to discover the unknown. Michael and Francis may have had an uncertain future, but climbing high to reach a vantage point is a metaphorical way of seeing what’s beyond their streets.
This reminder to look beyond is salient for Michael, who finds himself oppressed by his mother’s (diagnosed) complicated grief as well as his own ability to move forward after Francis’s death. As his mother struggles to reconcile time, space, and emotion, her psychological well-being is ironically hindered by Michael, who wants to help. However, because Michael shelters his mother, he escalates the severity of her grief because he prevents her—and therefore himself—from confronting the world around them. Michael’s character development is informed by grief as well, and he uses his role as his mother’s caretaker as an excuse to avoid dealing with the world around him. This emphasizes the theme of The Lasting Effects of Loss and Trauma. By sheltering himself within his mother’s emotional crisis, Michael also avoids confronting reality, the people who remind him of his brother, and his memories. Ruth being hit by a car is thus a significant event: While the accident causes minimal physical damage, it forces Michael and his mother to come to terms with her emotional status. The possibility of losing his mother is a pivotal realization for Michael and a challenge for his character to evolve, thus allowing both him and his mother to enjoy the lives they do have. The car accident is a symbolic wake-up call that shifts the overall mood of the novel from one of grief to hope.
Chapter 7 ends with an evocation of the importance of community. Sequestered from neighbors and former friends, Michael and his mother have hidden from the world. In trying to lean on one another, they’ve ignored the possibilities of community. Welcoming Jelly back into their lives is a major step forward both for plot and character development. Jelly represents a direct connection to Francis, as well as a reminder that Michael and his mother are not alone in grieving over Francis. Reconnecting with Jelly and inviting him into the intimacy of their home space gives them the chance to heal by confronting the past.
Chariandy ends his novel in a hopeful tone. He shifts the mood from one marked by grief and sadness to one of jubilation and possibility. When Jelly plays music, Ruth wants the volume to go higher. She embraces the music she once loved, which is part of her process of rehumanizing herself. This implies that Ruth will be able to move through her complicated grief by returning to her former self: a strong woman who loved music.
