Burn

As a character, Storey demonstrates dynamism, and his emotional volatility and family attachments drive much of the narrative’s momentum. Unlike the more contemplative Jess, Storey’s characterization centers on immediate emotional responses and a singular focus on reuniting with his family in Vermont. His role as a husband and father fundamentally shapes his decision-making, creating a stark contrast with the unattached Jess. This focus manifests in his growing anxiety about his family’s safety and his increasingly aggressive approach to survival.

His relationship with Jess reveals complex layers of loyalty and knowledge. Despite his awareness of Jess’s teenage encounter with his mother, Hannah, Storey maintains their friendship and explicitly absolves Jess of any debt, demonstrating emotional maturity that contrasts with his more impulsive tactical decisions. This duality in Storey’s character—his capacity for both deep emotional understanding and swift violence—makes him a foil to Jess’s more measured approach. His family history, particularly his mother’s pattern of infidelity that led to his parents’ divorce, informs his strong drive to return to his own wife and children, suggesting a determination to break intergenerational patterns.

Storey’s transformation through the narrative tracks an increasing willingness to engage in violence to ensure survival, yet his protective instincts remain intact, particularly in his interactions with Collie. His ability to calm her using videos of his dog on his precious phone battery demonstrates his paternal nature, even as his military decisions become more ruthless. This tension between nurturing and violent capabilities mirrors the larger themes of the novel, making Storey a character who embodies the conflict between civil society and survival necessities. His presence serves as a catalyst for action throughout the narrative, pushing the more contemplative Jess toward decisive movement rather than careful observation.

Collie serves as both a catalyst character who propels the narrative’s direction and a representative of childhood innocence amid civil conflict. Her discovery in the boat’s storage compartment transforms Jess and Storey’s journey from pure survival to a mission of protection, while her coordinates sewn into her jacket suggest her role in a larger network of resistance.

Despite her youth, Collie demonstrates sophisticated survival capabilities that suggest careful preparation by her family. Her knowledge of the hidden radio and supplies in her home, combined with the sewn-in coordinates, indicates her role as a child connected to the novel’s events. Yet these adult-imposed responsibilities exist alongside typical childhood behaviors—her emotional attachment to her dog, her susceptibility to mosquito bites requiring stream-cooling, and her eventual emotional collapse when separated from her father. This duality makes her a complex character who embodies the novel’s broader themes about Protecting Children From Violence.

Collie functions as a measure of other characters’ humanity, with their treatment of her revealing their relationship to civil society’s values. Her presence forces Jess and Storey to balance tactical decisions against emotional protection, such as their choice to hide Crystal’s death. Her father’s decision to send her away with strangers, despite their emotional reunion, represents the ultimate subordination of personal attachment to survival necessity. Through these interactions, Collie’s character serves as a moral compass for the narrative, her experiences tracking the dissolution of social norms while maintaining her essential nature as a child requiring protection.