How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He was not the same. The plane passing changed him, the disappointment cut him down and made him new. He was not the same and would never be again like he had been. That was one of the true things, the new things. And the other one was that he would not die, he would not let death in again.
He was new. (13.17-18)
Brian sees his own transformation as total—in his mind he's a completely new person after the rescue plane leaves. Do you think he's right about that? Or is his transformation more gradual?
Quote #8
It was like turning on a television. Suddenly he could see things he never saw before. In just moments, it seemed, he saw three birds before they flew, saw them sitting and got close to one of them, moving slowly, got close enough to try a shot with his bow. (15.17)
Brian's vision—his ability to see the foolbirds—is transformed when he figures out what to look for. This is one of many times in the book that Brian seems to repeatedly fail at something until he's able to change his mental approach. All he really needs is the right way of looking at the world. How about that?
Quote #9
But there is a difference now, he thought—there really is a difference. I might be hit but I'm not done. When the light comes I'll start to rebuild. I still have the hatchet and that's all I had in the first place.
Come on, he thought, baring his teeth in the darkness—come on. Is that the best you can do? Is that all you can hit me with—a moose and a tornado? Well, he thought, holding his ribs and smiling, then spitting mosquitoes out of his mouth. Well, that won't get the job done. That was the difference now. He had changed, and he was tough. I'm tough where it counts—tough in the head. (16.38-39)
Wow. This is a seriously different Brian than the one we see at the beginning of the story, the one who spends page after page worrying and grieving about his parents' divorce. This kid is ready for whatever comes his way.