As Brave As You

Ernie, Genie’s 13-year-old brother, seems to be the more fearless of the two, often “leading the way like he always did” (221). Ernie is more comfortable with his grandparents’ dog Samantha, and has no trouble sleeping in his new environment in Virginia. Ernie is also more physically sure of himself (he practices karate and does exercises every night before going to bed).

However, beneath the surface, Ernie is vulnerable. He is self-conscious about his appearance—he exercises to get girls’ attention, and after he chips his tooth, Ernie is afraid that Tess won’t like him anymore. Ernie acts more self-confident and fearless than he really is to protect and encourage Genie—a façade that breaks down during the shooting rite, which makes Ernie so anxious he misfires and breaks his teeth.

Ernie always wears sunglasses and associates them with a sense of identity. It’s significant that Ernie’s sunglasses break during the shooting ritual, symbolizing that the incident is an assault on Ernie’s sense of self. Brooke repairs this psychic violence when he gives Ernie his own sunglasses, demonstrating that he recognizes and affirms Ernie as he is. Ernie achieves authentic self-identity rather than simply social or self-pressure to behave in a certain way. 

Genie and Ernie’s grandfather Brooke plays a central role in the story. A military sharpshooter in his early years, he has gradually become blind in old age. Despite this disability, he is an intimidatingly powerful man: “Grandpop caught [Genie’s] hand, clamped down on it like a mousetrap on a mouse, and shook it hard and tight. Tight enough to make one of Genie’s eyes close up” (24). This physical strength is indicative of Brooke’s determination and desire not to be reliant on others. For example, Brooke twice vehemently contradicts Genie’s assumption that his wife takes care of him because it makes him feel weak and disoriented from his sense of self. He also performs household tasks like pouring Genie a glass of iced tea and cooking dinner for the boys, wanting to defy stereotypical expectations about disability.

However, like Ernie, Brooke has hidden vulnerabilities beneath his façade of self-confidence and strength. He carries long-standing guilt about the fact that he persuaded his son Wood to join the armed forces and blames himself for Wood’s death. After Ernie’s accident, Brooke feels guilty about his involvement in the ritual. Brooke is also troubled by the strain Wood’s death put on his relationship with Genie’s father.

The novel traces Brooke’s gradual progress in expanding his understanding of masculinity beyond firearms, sightedness, and physical strength. No longer willing to be housebound because he doesn’t want anyone to witness his blindness, Brooke ventures outside the house and into different rooms, implying that he is willing to explore identity in a new way. He also stops drinking over the course of the story, indicating that he is moving beyond old, ineffective methods for coping with his guilt. After unsuccessfully trying to reconnect with Genie’s father several times early in the story, a newly self-aware Brooke reconciles with his son at the book’s end. 

Tess is a teenage girl who lives near Genie’s grandparents and develops a mutual crush on Ernie. Tess is representative of the tightly knit small-town community of North Hill, serving as a foil for the boys’ urban assumptions.

Tess is energetic, decisive, fearless, and industrious, characteristics that manifest through her quick, lively movements: “She was a hopper, Genie thought” (82). Unlike Genie and Ernie, Tess is doesn’t focus on other people’s opinion of her. For example, she dispels Ernie’s fears about her not liking him after the accident by bringing him a medical face mask from her mother and continuing to pursue their relationship. She’s also solution-oriented, helping Genie try to replace the swallow he accidentally killed.