Brother: A Novel

Brother opens with the symbolism of the hydro pole as a way of establishing the formative influence Francis has on Michael. The pole is a symbol of Francis’s influence because he leads by example, teaching Michael how to follow in his footsteps to reach the top. The pole is also a symbol of the ways in which the world is both risky and worth the risk: “[I]f you made it to the top, he said, you were good. All that free air and seeing. The streets below suddenly patterns you could read” (1). Climbing the pole poses the risk of electrocution, but if the climber can overcome this risk, the reward is an unparalleled view. Michael will draw upon this lesson later in the narrative when he must overcome his cautious nature and accept the risk that comes with being vulnerable so that he can move through his grief over his brother’s death.

The lessons Michael learns from Francis are formative in his overall character development and highlight a key difference between the brothers: the availability of a role model. Comparing himself to Francis, Michael describes himself as having “less of a proper presence” (21), noting his “nervous smile,” love of the band Rush, and tendency to draw elaborate portraits of his Dungeons and Dragons character. Michael is therefore characterized as lacking the toughness, style, or observational skills that inform Francis’s survival techniques in their neighborhood. Rather than move away for school, Michael stays home to help take care of his mother, mirroring the way Francis cared for her after long days at work. This suggests that one difference between Michael and Francis is that Michael had the opportunity to learn from his older brother, who lacked his own male role model due to their father’s abandonment. Michael is also informed by his Trinidadian heritage because he is connected to his Black identity but separated from the culture of Trinidad. While Michael doesn’t fully identify with Trinidad because he didn’t grow up there, he craves knowledge of that identity to feel more completely formed.

In Chapters 1 and 2, Chariandy establishes the importance of Scarborough, and specifically the Park, as a setting. While it has a reputation for violence, the Park is a neighborhood developed and nurtured by immigrants and their children. Its residents work hard to make ends meet, but due to marginalization, they often struggle to find stable or higher-paying work. This marginalization not only leads to poverty but also breeds apathy in young people like Francis, whose educational opportunities are cut short based on assumptions about his abilities. Thus, although the Park is home, it is also an environment in which young people can and do fail to live up to their full potential. This is highlighted through the juxtaposition of Aisha and Michael. Both were smart and hard-working in high school, but only Aisha got out of the neighborhood with a star scholarship. Michael, on the other hand, works at a grocery store and lives at home to look after his grieving mother, thus leaving his full potential untapped. Michael demonstrates that even if a young person survives the Park, they are often stuck in the Park, whether due to poverty, trauma, or a combination thereof. Even so, the Park is also multicultural and vibrant, a physical manifestation of the different cultures and peoples that make up Canadian society.

Chariandy structures the novel in the past and in the present, bringing the narrator, Michael, back into childhood to show the ripple effects of that childhood into his adulthood. Thematically, this narrative structure highlights The Lasting Effects of Loss and Trauma. Furthermore, this structure builds tension as the reader learns about Michael’s traumatic backstory with Francis piece by piece. Michael’s narrative voice is developed with a morose tone. Francis and Michael had been close as brothers; without Francis in his life, Michael is lonely and withdraws from the world. His weariness of other people, even his old friend Aisha, suggests that he has been without real company for a long time. Aisha’s return to Scarborough thus serves as a reminder of the person Michael used to be, symbolizing the possibility that Aisha can reconnect Michael with a life outside of the tragedy that informs his identity.