Give a Boy a Gun - Characters

Chelsea Baker – new student on the Middletown high school

Citation: It’s like, are you in the popular crowd or not?

Beth Bender – teacher on the Middletown high school.

Brendan was called in her office one day. He says just about “yes, ma’amed” and “no, ma’amed”. Yes ma’am, everything is fine. No ma’am, I don’t have a problem with anyone. But you could see the pain and anger in his eyes.

Citation: What Brendan and Gary did was terribly, horribly, inexcusably wrong. I have no interest in defending them. But deep in my heart there is a little piece of me that at least understands what might have driven them to such a horrendous, evil undertaking. But what those boys did was equally inexcusable and evil.

Brett Betzig – Brendan’s friend in Springfield.

Citation: One thing about Brendan: He hated injustice (Page 22)

Deidre Bunson – student on the Middletown high school

Paul Burns – Football player.

Citation: One day in class we were talking about morality, and Brendan said there was no God. He didn’t say that he didn’t believe in God. He just said there was no God. (Because of the injustice in the world, he thinks that a God can’t exist) (Page 56)

Ryan Clancy – Ryan is one of Gary and Brendan’s closest friends and he is an outsider, too. Take for example the case of the football-training where Ryan sneaked to the outsiders (page 38).

Ryan is in the book a differently example for reacting to mobbing because he doesn’t answer to it with violence. Ryan has payback fantasies, too like his friends, but unlike Gary and Brendan he can make a difference between reality and suggestion (page 61).

I think Ryan’s statements for example the reduction of Gary and Brendan by the football players are very lively because he says on page 48 ,,you are walking down the hall, minding your own business. You see this guy, and he just sneers at you and says, “Hey faggot.” Thing is, to him it is nothing. Two seconds later he is probably forgotten he even said it. But it is burned in your brain. It is permanent scar. A week later you are still asking yourself, why had he have to do that? Why had he have to pick you? Does everyone think you are faggot?