Character Analysis
Our protagonist and narrator is complicated and tricky. In fact, we're not sure how much of what he tells us is true, and how much is one big, fat lie constructed to make us think something about him. We'll certainly file this one under unreliable narrator. But one of the cool things about not knowing whether we can trust Gabriel or not, is trying to read between the lines. It's a real challenge to figure out where the truth lies amongst all the fiction in this book.
Name Change
It starts with his name. He calls himself Gabriel, but we quickly learn that's not his real name. He later explains that he adopts the name Gabriel after his pact with Finnigan to only do angelic deeds. Gabriel is, after all, an angel in the Bible, so he takes on a heavenly namesake accordingly. The way he puts it:
I am Gabriel, the messenger, the teller of astonishing truths. Now I am dying, my temperature soaring, my hands and memory tremoring: perhaps I should not be held accountable for everything I say. (3.3)
It looks like it's not just the angelic part of Gabriel that Anwell relates to, but his role as a messenger as well. So what exactly is he delivering?
The message of his life. Gabriel shares what happened with his family with us, and eventually lets us see how he and Finnigan are connected. At first, these coconspirators seem like nothing more than a couple of boys pranking their way around life. When Gabriel takes the fall for his buddy's stealing, we don't think much of it, but pretty soon, the boys have hatched a darker plan that neither one of them can escape from.
A Pact With the Devil
Gabriel and Finnigan decide to be reflections of each other—you know, if reflections could show a pure evil side. Listen to them describe it:
"Yeah, reflections! The same, but different. Like twins—like blood brothers! And when you need something bad done, like punishment or revenge, you'll just ask me, and I will do it." (5.52)
Okay, so we'll totally admit that it would be nice to have someone around to do our dirty work, a scapegoat who would willingly take the fall for us whenever things went south. And this is exactly what Gabriel figures, too. He doesn't know why Finnigan would strike a deal with him, but he doesn't care either, since he can finally exact his revenge on everyone around him without getting caught.
You probably noticed, though, that he quickly changes his mind about the whole thing. It's not long before the evil gets to be too much for angelic Gabriel and he wants to call off the deal with his buddy.
Of course, being the evil guy that he is, Finnigan doesn't let Gabriel out of the pact. So Gabriel has to adapt. Instead of sticking up for what's right, good, and pure—like he promises to—he turns to the dark side also. When his dog dies and Evangeline rejects him, Gabriel figures he has nothing left to lose, and arranges his parents' funeral (by which we absolutely mean: he kills them). We can see the influence Finnigan has had on Gabriel in this moment, as he takes care of his own dark desires instead of calling on Finnigan to help.
One of These Things is not Like the Other
This doesn't go over well with Finnigan, and when he learns that Gabriel doesn't need him anymore, he disappears for a while. Worry not, though, because he resurfaces later on. Why? It turns out he needs Gabriel. The biggest secret of all is not that Gabriel has a dark side or goes through with the murder of his parents; it's that Finnigan is his dark side.
This whole time, Finnigan has been Gabriel's alter ego. Gabriel might want to give his inner bad boy another name and separate him from his "good" self, but he realizes he can't do that. He confronts Finnigan with his plan:
"But the thing is—you guessed wrong, Finnigan. I'm not dying from shame or for sympathy or to forget what I've done. None of that matters to me. I'm dying to kill you." (20.29)
In the end, Gabriel knows he must become a martyr and destroy his own life if he's going to get rid of Finnigan for good. It's the only way he won't hurt people anymore. So while his biblical namesake delivers good news, in killing himself, so, too, does our Gabriel. It may be a bloody path, but in ending his life, he ends the violence and burning and fear as well.
So here's the million dollar question: Does Gabriel actually kill Finnigan and himself as a sacrifice for the greater good? Or is he really just sick of his miserable life and figures he has nothing left to live for? After all, Evangeline left town, his parents are dead, and his dog is long gone. He claims he's sacrificing himself, but we're never sure if we can trust the guy—and that means we have to doubt his motives here, too. He may name himself after an angel, but an angel he most definitely is not.
Gabriel's Timeline