Dr. Temperance Brennan Character Analysis Essay

With a great abundance of people becoming fascinated with crime and crime solving shows there has been a plethora of shows to accommodate them. One of the shows that has done just that is the television series Bones. The show first aired on September 13, 2005 and has been going strong for years to come, with a total of two hundred and twelve episodes in ten seasons. The six main characters are Dr. Temperance Brennan, Seeley Booth, Angela Montenegro, Dr. Jack Hodgins, Camille Saroyan, and Dr. Lance Sweets. By analyzing the main characters one can find how they helped Brennan to grow throughout the series.
The star character throughout the entire series is Dr. Temperance Brennan, also known as “Bones.” She received this nickname from Booth due to her being an anthropologist and dealing with bones every day at the Jeffersonian Institute. In the first couple of seasons

she was seemingly cold hearted and blunt. She preferred to solve crimes off of hard evidence and facts rather than psychology. As a girl Brennan was “abandoned” by her mother and father, and then her brother had left her a few years later. However, as the series develops it’s revealed that her father was a criminal and was forced to flee with her mother. It is often believed that losing her family was the reason behind why she was distant and detached, also the reason behind why she wanted to give voices to the dead and find their murderers. As the series progressed she slowly started to become less blunt, and more understandable with how psychology works.
One of the first characters that helps Brennan is Seeley Booth, the FBI Special Agent who is Brennan’s partner. Before joining the FBI Booth was a sniper in the United States Army Rangers. Much like Bones he had family issues as well. His father used to beat his mother, brother, and himself before the mother ran away without taking her sons. Without a real father influence he became the father figure to his younger brother Jared; it was later revealed that Jared took advantage of Booth always protecting him when he caused Booth to lose credit on an important case he was working on when Jared drove drunk. In earlier seasons Booth was a womanizer who had a son from a previous girlfriend, but after getting Bones pregnant he settles down and tries to make a family with her. Bones had initially refused, but when she finally wanted to complications aroused where they weren’t able to get married until season nine. With Booth being more practical on some issues he helps to teach Brennan how to relax, and become more understanding instead of her always relying on facts or evidence, but to trust her heart.
The second character that helps Bones is Angela Montenegro, the forensic artist at the Jeffersonian, and Brennan’s best friend. Angela is free spirited, always trying to focus on the positives in life. In the beginning of the series she believes that she’ll only be at the Jeffersonian for a little while before moving to Paris to become a real artist, but ends up staying a lot longer than expected. Unlike Brennan she isn’t tied to her work, she’s constantly sleeping with different men, and going to various clubs. In season five she marries her coworker Dr. Jack Hodgins, and has his son in season six. Brennan often comes to her asking what something means or for various life advice. Angela helps to teach Brennan to be more open, and take a walk on the wild side every so often.
The third character that changed Brennan’s life is Dr. Jack Hodgins, an entomologist or the expert bug and slime guy as he likes to say. He is the sole owner of the Cantilever Group, and worth millions, but he doesn’t brag about it to his coworkers. However, after one case his funds get drained by a murderer who is also an expert on computers. Hodgins is the comedic relief in the series, often declaring himself “The King of the Lab” when he finds something that pushes the case forward. Although he is friendly and smart Hodgins is a huge conspiracy theorist, but it also helps solve a lot of cases as he thinks outside of the box or says something out loud that others wouldn’t even think about. He is one of the only characters that doesn’t change all that much throughout the entire series. He helps to teach Brennan that sometimes it is okay to think outside of the box and not always rely on what is right in front of you.
The fourth character that helps Brennan is Camille Saroyan, the head of the Forensic Division, as well as being the pathologist.

Before joining the Jeffersonian team, in season two, she was a coroner in New York City. She ended up receiving the head spot above Brennan, when she was away, which caused their relationship to start off rocky. Saroyan often felt as if Brennan was constantly testing her when she would say or do something. When Brennan finally approved of Saroyan being in charge their relationship improved tremendously. Saroyan always had made it clear that she didn’t particularly want children, but that all changed when in season four a man she used to date was murdered and his child that she used to play mother to was then alone. Even though she didn’t want children she adopted Michelle after explaining why she had left her father in the first place. Even though Saroyan didn’t exactly directly teach Brennan anything I believe that Brennan learned that it was okay to admit that you’re wrong every once in a while. Also, like Hodgins, she taught Brennan that intuitive leaps are okay to

use.
Finally the fifth character that helped Brennan was Dr. Lance Sweets, the FBI psychologist that is assigned to Booth and Brennan and then later sticks around to help solve the cases. Throughout the series he’s another comedic relief much like Hodgins is. When he was first assigned to Booth and Brennan neither of them take him seriously. Booth constantly makes fun of his baby face saying that he’s too young to know what he’s talking about, and Brennan just doesn’t believe in psychology. However, as the series progressed they begin to think of him more like family, even inviting him to live at their house as he tries to get back on his feet after breaking up with his girlfriend. The main characters began to trust him so much that they’d seek him out to ask for advice or to just vent when needed. When they first started to do that he complained that they didn’t make appointments with him until Saroyan mentioned that he should feel important to them that they all trust him so much to come unannounced. Sweets is probably the most influential on Brennan he helps her to understand what she’s feeling even if she doesn’t know it herself. He is the reason that she began to develop into the character she is at the end of the series.
The television series Bones was introduced to us for entertainment purposes like any other television series one becomes attached to the characters, and just like every other series one can learn life lessons from them. Every single character in the series Bones, whether I mentioned them or not, played a very important role in Brennan’s life. Brennan grew from being a cold hearted, blunt person to becoming warm and open just like every other character in the show. Often saying that she’s not as cold as everyone thinks she is. As Angela had once said “Sometimes the best things in life happen against the odds” what had once seemed impossible to Brennan, her coming into terms that she can change, was now once a possibility for her.