The Gathering

The Gathering.

Nathanial Delaney, the main character in The Gathering, is new in the community of Cheshunt. No one else seems to sense the sinister atmosphere in Chesthunt, except Nathanial. With the haunted look in people's eyes and the subdued aura around the school, Nathanial thinks that moving to Cheshunt is ridiculous. Suffering the recent death of his father, he lives with his mother and is finding it difficult to relate to children his own age, and is very mature. Throughout his life he has been moved from town to town, and is tiring of this ruthless string of new starts. "New friends? I never had any old ones. We never stayed anywhere long enough. In fact, my grandmother was the closest thing I had to a best friend. Besides, I couldn't relate to kids my own age..."(pg3) Nathanial has always had trouble making new friends, and he feels as if his mother does not understand him. "But I never managed to figure out how you made friends with total strangers. Maybe that was why I did well academically. I had no social life to distract me." (pg16) In the beginning of the book he is angry at the world, and he feels as if everyone is against him. Towards the end, he has made peace with his life, and is relaxed and philosophical, viewing the world as an ally and not an enemy. One night, Nathanial stumbles upon a group of teenagers fighting evil in Cheshunt, referred to throughout the novel as 'The Chain'

The development of character relationships in 'The Gathering' is a slow process, with the relationships becoming more meaningful as the novel progresses. The style of writing used by Isobelle Carmody is elaborate and sophisticated, making the social interactions of each of the characters different and special. The three characters that Nathanial becomes closest to in the novel, Nissa Jerome, Danny Odin and Indian Mahoney, all share a personal experience with him that they have kept a secret for most of their lives. No one seems to sense the sinister atmosphere in Chesthunt, except Nathanial. It's the haunted look in people's eyes and the subdued aura around the school...

Indian Mahoney. One of the first people Nathanial meets in the novel is Indian Mahoney. "I looked over my shoulder to see a big guy with long dark hair drawn back into a pony tail... I thought it was a lot easier to bluff when you were six foot tall and built like the Terminator." (pg11-12)

On Nathanial's first day at his new school, Three North, Indian helps him escape the reputable bully Buddha, who is giving Nat a hard time in his first week. Indian engages in a conversation with Nathanial, on his first day, making him feel welcomed and at ease. Nathanial's relationship with Indian in the beginning of the novel is awkward, and strange. But when Nathanial joins a group of teenagers from the school, 'Three North', to fight the evil encompassing Cheshunt, Indian and Nathanial form a close and meaningful relationship, progressing from acquaintances to friends. Indian shares one of his most personal secrets with Nathanial about how he feels as if it is his fault that his sister fell from a slippery dip when she was five and now has an almost meaningless life. Indian was meant to keep an eye on his sister Jenny but he was fighting a group of bullies instead of watching her and while he was fighting, Jenny fell off the slide and hit her head. "She was in a coma for a week, and when she woke up, she wasn't the same. She used to smile and laugh all the time, but now she doesn't smile or look at you. She just stares. It's as if I did kill her, but the body was left behind." (pg157 Since this horrible incident, Indian has vowed to himself that he should not fight and the pain that he receives is to punish him for what he did for his sister.

Danny Odin "Danny Odin was the school's pet mad dog. He was one of those legendary bad kids you know about from the first day in a new school. His name was forever being called over the PA system. He was like some sort of wild kid that had lived with the wolves all his life and was not sure how humans were supposed to act." (pg10-11) Danny is aggressive and fierce towards Nathanial after discovering him "...Snooping, spying on us!" (pg39) Danny views Nathanial as suspicious and sneaky, and calls him "Sherlock Holmes". Danny views Nathanial as a threat to the lifestyle he has come to live in. "We can't let him go. We'll have to get rid of him...Danny reached up his sleeve with a sick-making ease and slid out a flick knife. It was homemade and that made it seem more dangerous than a bought knife with a pearl handle. His knife looked lethal and business-like; not a knife for show"(pg40) Nathanial dubs Danny "crazy" and warily avoids him for the next few weeks. Danny is forced into accepting him when Nathanial joins The Chain. Danny and Nathanial's relationship dramatically improves after Nathanial assists Danny in escaping from a group of bullies from The Gathering. "You're okay Nathanial,' he said, and in spite of everything, I felt a burst of pride at his approval." (pg118) Danny and Nathanial's relationship develops from the most tension caused from any of the characters, to that of being best friends. Danny shares a personal experience with Nathanial about how not every "cop" is always on the right side, and why he does not trust them. "They thought I'd cave in and say anything they wanted. I started to realize that they didn't care who was driving the car about the time it must have taken for them to understand that I wasn't going to lie. So they sicced the dog on me. I punched it away, so they held me down, belted me with their sticks and then they held me while the dog attacked me..."(pg120)

Nissa Jerome "She sat by the window and stared out. No one spoke to her or sat next to her but she seemed not to care. She looked as if her thoughts were a million miles away. In spite of the weird haircut and sloppy uniform, she had the face that you couldn't help but look at. She reminded me of a cat, but not a house cat. Some kind of exotic wildcat with bright blue eyes that would scratch your eyes out if you went near it..." Nissa Jerome is an unpredictable character, and with her cobalt eyes and quick wit, she is a mystery to Nathanial. "I don't have the time to keep setting special assignments for her because she finishes other work too quickly. She should be made to work at the pace of other students."(pg17) A teacher whines about Nissa's extraordinary intelligence. Nissa is a friendly person beneath her rough appearance. She is accepting, courageous and loyal, and would take a secret