"Stronger" Essay

Everyone knows what it means to be human, but if you're Gethin Rao from "Stronger" by Michael Carroll, you also know what it to be "superhuman." When Gethin turned twelve, an accident at church transformed him from normal Gethin to Brawn: a thirteen foot tall, blue, and about fourteen hundred pound hulk. All he wants is to be understood and not have everyone scream in terror when they see him. His wish is granted when he meets people like him who open up to him. Throughout the story, the reader is presented with the idea that it's what's inside that counts.
   The first person who sees Brawn for who he really is on the inside is Abigail, who is another superhuman like Brawn. Abby broke him out of prison during their first battle with Krodin. When she called him Brawn, he said "For once I didn't hate that name. Not when she said it." This is showing his affection for Abby. It also hints to the fact that the two will be great friends. It also shows how deep their trust for each other is. After Brawn joined Ragnarok and attempted to flee, Abby begged for him to come back to them so they could sort this out. "When I freed you from Oak Grove, I took a chance on you. Now you have to do the same. It's not too late." This quote shows that Abby is still willing to be Brawn's friend. Unfortunately, Abby dies, so Brawn never gets that chance again. But Abby did affect his life more than any of his other friends.
 Another person who sees him on the inside is Lance. Lance was very childish and he jinxed Brawn. Brawn smiled at this, because he had missed out on teenage humor for while. This shows that Lance helps Brawn experience the life he missed out on for four years. Lance also shares Brawn's ideas. When the team captured Casey Duval and Brawn thought it was wrong, Lance said "And I agree with you." This shows that he and Brawn are alike in many ways. While Lance's affect was not as large as Abby's, it was significant, and it made Brawn better.
 Another person who affected his life was Harmony Yuan. Harmony kept him in captivity for a year after he first turned into Brawn, and she underestimated him. When she threatened to kill his parents, she said, "You wouldn't kill me." Harmony affected Brawn by making him a bit more merciless than he normally was. Harmony also was the warden for his prison, and she punished him. Harmony said to him that, "You deserve to be here. You sided with Ragnarok when you knew he was evil. Harmony made Brawn suffer throughout his life, saying he deserved it. Harmony went even further by saying that he was an aberration along with the other super-humans, saying that he should never have even existed. She said "The age of the super-human is over," stating that people like him were mistakes, flaws. Brawn's life was impacted most by Harmony.
Harmony, Abby, and Lance were the three people who had the biggest effects on Gethin. Abby and Lance had a positive effect, and Harmony had a negative impact. But all of them made him the Brawn he is today. Not saying that's a good thing, because he's in prison for the rest of his life, forced to mine ore for the prison. But he still had an okay life while Abby and Lance were his friends.