Character Analysis: The Clay Lion

People can grow up rather fast, but some need the time to make mistakes and mature. In the book The Clay Lion, Amalie Jahn visualizes this when Brooke has to deal with the hardships that come with her brother Branson’s death. When Brooke’s life takes a turn for the worse, she made many mistakes, however she gradually comes of age by accepting Branson’s death and becoming selfless.

The anguish that follows a loved ones death is always venomous, especially if it’s the first time experiencing death. It may be hard to accept what has happened, but it is a crucial step in moving forward in life. Brooke, being the closest to Branson, was the one who was affected the most by his death. She felt the agony after Branson died, “my soul broke into

a thousand tiny pieces I didn’t think I would ever be able to put back together well enough to sustain a normal existence” (11). She became impassive and detached from the world, evidently shunning people out of her life. It took her a long process of mistakes and grief for her to face Branson’s death properly, which started when she used her trip to attempt to save him. However, instead of helping her cope with the death, the trips increased her desire to bring her brother back. For instance, she confesses that “I’d probably keep trying” (90) when confronted with the question of failure. Instead of accepting Brasons death, she was only running away from it by going back in time. However, due to many factors, Brooke was finally able to see the foolishness in her actions. Such as the part where Branson was with her at the hospital after the car crash. His words, “I can’t live without you. I’ll never go on,” (190) had gave her clarity for her mistakes. She wants Branson to live for the both of them if she had died and realized this was what she needed to do if Branson got the illness again. She promises to herself that “whether Branson lived or died, I was going to return to the present and live my life. For both of us” (193). This time, by the time Branson was diagnosed once again, Brooke was able to take her new maturity and face Branson’s death wisley. Likewise, Brooke was also able to grow out of her adolescence and come of age through these tough experiences.
At times it is important to be selfish and think only of yourself.

But it is more important to know when to stop and think of others first. When her trips began, Brooke was extremely selfish and does not consider the consequences of her actions, especially on her second trip. Her goal was to save Branson, no matter what it took and although that may seem like a selfless act, Brooke was doing it mainly for herself. She could not bare a life without Branson's, which caused her to make many rash decisions. For example, she had manipulated events so that the damage to the roof of the hardware store would not be discovered. This was solely for the fact that Branson could have caught the disease from working there. However, when doing this, she did not consider what might happen due to the owners not knowing of the damaged roof. When she returned from the second trip, Brooke discovered that her selfishness had cause the wife of the store to die. Another case of her selfishness was when she dragged Charlie into everything. She was aware of how unstable she was and when Branson had died yet again, she had shut everyone else out. Including Charlie. This had caused him to go through unnecessary pain of not being able to help Brooke, “it’s taken months to get to the point where I feel nothing” (167). Brooke had made many mistakes simply because she was too focused on herself. But by the third trip, Brooke had grown as a person and redeemed herself. She had “resolved to make sure the

Coopers were aware of their damaged roofing” and was also willing to go to the length to “ to alert the coopers to the damage” (207) if the ball did not land on the roof.At the same time, she abided to the promise she had made with Charlie, and left him out of her life. By doing this, she put aside a great desire of hers to attempt to try and make things work between them. Furthermore, Brooke was able to reach an understanding on how her selfishness can affect many people's futures. From that point forward, she was able to put others before herself. Such as how she was able to stay by Branson’s side when he needed her the most.
“For us to think that we know best about what we need in our lives is arrogant” (198). Those are the words that Brooke wisely told to a fellow suffering soul that has lost a loved one. These words were a result of many mistakes and grief. However, Brooke was finally able to come of age and maturely address her mistakes and sets out to atone for them. Amalie Jahn provides readers the character of Brooke who has faced many mental challenges with herself and matured greatly by the end. In the story, Brooke is torn down by the death of her loving brother, causing her to become unstable with the world. However, with time, process, and from the help of others, Brooke is finally able to move on from Branson’s death and continue living her life. At the same time, Brooke also grasps the importance of being selfless. Although it took her a long time, the importance is that Brooke is finally making up for lost time.