Brandon Character Analysis in Ground Zero by Alan Gratz Essay Example

“The South tower of the World Trade Center was gone. The whole 107-floor skyscraper had collapsed.” This is a traumatizing scene that the main character, Brandon, witnessed with his own eyes. In the story, Ground Zero by Alan Gratz  In the book, on September 11, 2001, two planes were flown into the Twin Towers. The main character, Brandon, is in the North Tower, and has to escape before it collapses. While, from a different perspective, In the year 2019, Reshmina is living in Afghanistan and has to deal with the war and fights between the Taliban and the Americans. Brandon, also known as Taz, is grown as a soldier in the military, in Reshmina’s story. I believe that throughout the book, Brandon is shown as a determined, clever person who is a committed team player. 

Brandon is shown to be a determined character in the novel. According to the text it says, “They couldn’t get past the debris near the Sunglass Hut, but Brandon knew there was another way around, past the FILA store with its sportswear and sneakers. That would take them right to the exit to Vesey Street, next to Duane Reade. They could get out of here!” (253). The passage shows Brandon is determined since he tried diligently to find a way out, using everything he could. For example, he used his memory to find which way he was going, and used his senses of smell and touch to figure out which stores he was near. Another way I know Brandon is determined is because he had the courage to climb up the South Tower to try and find his dad, who was on the 107th floor. In the quote on page 80, it says, “Brandon slipped sideways through the gap and froze. The 89th floor was gone.” Afterwards, he attempted to call his dad numerous times to get a hold of him. He was determined to see his dad again. 

Moreover, Brandon is also seen to be a very clever person since he helped others and himself get out of intense scenarios, by using his intelligence. This is shown in a passage on page 251, it says, “Suddenly he had it, and he stopped. ‘We’re going the wrong way!’ he told the others. ‘How do you know?’ Pratik asked. ‘Smell that? Bananas and pink grapefruit? We’re near the Body Shop! That’s the smell of hair and hand stuff!’' He's clever nevertheless in view of the fact he was able to tell which way they should go, and used his intelligence and memory to figure out which way they should go to get out of the underground mall.  Another passage that shows he is clever says, “Black smoke poured from the open hallway, but all Brandon had to do was crawl ten or fifteen feet along the ledge and he’d be on solid ground again” (94) and, “One hand in front of the other, one leg at a time, never less than three arts of him connected to the floor, Brandon inched away from the stairwell door toward the south end of the building.”(95) I believe he is very clever in this scenario for the reason that he had figured out a way to solid ground again, and decided to be cautious about it and go extremely slow. If he hadn’t, he could’ve had a much higher chance of falling. 

Furthermore, Brandon is perceived as a team player in the novel, as he is always seen in a team in the novel. Examples of this are Brandon and his dad or Brandon and Richard, So, for instance, on page 59 it quotes, “He kept hearing his dad’s voice in his head. Brandon, what do we say about us? About you and me? ‘We’re a team,’ Brandon said aloud. ‘That’s how we survive. Together.’”. This shows he is a team player because he was determined to stay in a team with the others, in light of him and his fathers relationship. Another embodiment of him being a team player is that he helped lead several people out of the underground mall. On page 251, it says, “Brandon kicked things as he went- broken glass, pieces of drywall, wet clothing, soda cups, shoes, boxes, with unknown things in them. He called out warnings about obstacles to the others when he could.”  This gives away the fact he is a team player since he was leading Richard and others elsewhere, and keeping them safe. They also did the same for him. Yet, if Brandon weren’t a team player, he would’ve gone off on his own, and left them to figure it out themselves.

Henceforth, Brandon is seen to be a very determined, clever character, who is also a team player. Brandon is determined because whenever he wants something, you can tell he doesn’t give up on it, such as when Brandon didn’t give up on trying to reach his father. Either by trying to climb up floors, or calling him several times throughout the novel. He is also a clever person since he was able to find many ways out of tricky situations. Finally, Brandon is a team player, and it’s shown principally by the relationship between him and his father. Throughout the whole novel, Brandon shows all these traits, but they all connect and strengthen through the stages and obstacles he faces. An example of how they all strengthened in the end is that he was so determined to get revenge against Al Qaeda, he decided to join the military, which would be the most clever thing to do in his case. Yet, he grew to be much more of a  team player after realizing what chaos America has caused in Afghanistan. Brandon showed his character development through his actions in and after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.