The Bronze Bow Character Book Analysis

Part A: Character Sketch

In The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare, Daniel bar Jamin, an

eighteen-year-old orphan living in Galilee, seeks revenge for the death of his parents.

Daniel's hatred towards the Romans seems permanent in the beginning. But as the

story progresses, Daniel comes face to face with many events that continuously leave

him wondering if he is following the right path. This constant thinking, as well as his

experiences, eventually causes a change in Daniel. He consistently shows that he is

brave, but from the beginning of the book to the end, he changes from vengeful to

educated.

Although he confronts a multitude of challenges, Daniel continues to stay brave

throughout. An example of this is when he would follow Rosh's orders when completing

tasks, which meant doing more typical ones like stealing, to a more difficult task like

when they freed Samson and took him back to the mountains. Although these were

always risky, Daniel would build up any courage needed and was willing to follow

through with them. Further into the story, Daniel finds out that he must free Joel from

Roman custody. Daniel goes to Rosh, asking for help. Rosh, however, refuses to help

as he believed that Joel should have been more careful. Hearing Rosh's response,

Daniel decides to take matters into his own hands and forms a new group of Zealots,

leaving Rosh behind. Together, they make a plan and wait to ambush the caravan that

was carrying Joel. Daniel's attempt to conquer his most intimidating challenge further

demonstrates his bravery. Then, at the end of the book, Daniel must once again muster

up his courage when he finds himself pondering whether he should let Marcus, the
Roman soldier who had also befriended his sister, Leah, say goodbye to her. At the

time, it had not been long since he had decided to stop fighting against the Romans.

Therefore, deciding to invite a soldier into his home was something that took boldness

from Daniel, even though it may seem like a minuscule task. Throughout the entirety of

the book, it is evident that Daniel is brave.

Although Daniel proves to be brave, it seems that a part of that bravery comes

from him being vengeful. Throughout most of the book, Daniel desires to take revenge

against the Romans because they were the cause of his parents' deaths. He then joins

Rosh and his band, a group that is also against the Romans. His vengefulness shows

whenever any topic about the Romans comes up. Multiple times in the story, Daniel

shames others when they show any bit of respect towards his enemies. Being vengeful

has also made him a short-tempered person. Daniel took charge of Simon's shop and

found out that he would sometimes have to serve Roman soldiers. He was furious.

Daniel was against the idea of having to provide service to soldiers. His spitefulness

took over, and he refused to do so until told that he had no other choice. One day,

Daniel was having a conversation with Leah. Eventually, Daniel discovered that Leah

had befriended a Roman soldier who would often pass by the shop, Marcus. Upon

hearing this from his sister, Daniel became furious. He began to yell at Leah, shaming

her for even thinking about befriending someone of the group that killed their parents.

He goes as far as to threaten to murder the soldier. Being vengeful took up a large part

of Daniel's personality, demonstrated in many parts of the book and many ways, but this

doesn't always stay this way.

 By the end of the book, Daniel changes and no longer has a desire for

vengeance. This change happened gradually and was quite vague at first. Daniel

learned to recognize his mistakes and became more aware of what he would say. For

example, when Daniel scolded Leah for befriending the Roman soldier, he left the

house, and while he was gone, he realized that he had been too harsh. Daniel also

learns to be more careful when it comes to the Romans, knowing that he could be

putting Leah in danger. Soon after, Daniel spoke to Jesus about his concerns, and

Jesus told Daniel that being vengeful would not earn him anything. From that moment,

Daniel begins to ponder his actions and decisions and eventually opts to stop his fight

against the Romans. In the final chapter, Daniel becomes more aware of his

recklessness when Jesus cured Leah of her sickness. It was the last occurrence

needed for Daniel's change. When he sees Marcus, the roman soldier, Daniel invites

him into his home, which is the best example of Daniel's personality change.

Daniel bar Jamin is consistently brave throughout the entirety of The Bronze

Bow. But, he does face a drastic change. Daniel was vengeful towards the Romans and

full of hatred. After he listens to Jesus and discovers that he is taking the wrong path, he

slowly becomes educated. Because of Jesus, Daniel was able to become a better and

more faithful person.

Part B: Conflict, Climax, and Resolution

Daniel bar Jamin, the main character in Elizabeth George Speare's The Bronze

Bow, primarily struggles with a man vs. self conflict, facing an intense, inner hatred

towards the Romans. The Romans had terrorized Israel for a long time, and in the

process, caused the death of Daniel's parents and ruined the emotional and mental

state of his sister, Leah. Since then, Daniel has had a burning desire to take revenge

and destroy the Romans. But this desire is doing nothing more than ruining his

friendships and relationships with those around him. Because of this, Daniel struggles

with himself before deciding to leave his hatred behind. Instead, he focuses on trying to

build a better life for himself and everyone around him.

The conflict develops further after Daniel finds out about Jesus and his

teachings. Daniel listens to Jesus' ways of speaking and his differing opinions. At first,

hearing of Jesus' thoughts angers Daniel. However, Daniel slowly begins to realize that

the way Jesus lives is full of love and compassion. Daniel struggles to consider putting a

stop to his vengefulness towards the Romans, as it is what he has spent the majority of

his time feeling. This new way of thinking distresses Daniel and leads him into a tunnel

of confusion.

The conflict finally reaches its climax and resolution in the final chapter of the

book. After seeing that Jesus healed his sister from her illness, Daniel felt enlightened.

He realized the power of faith and love. When he followed after Jesus to thank him,

Daniel saw Marcus, the Roman soldier Leah had previously befriended. At that moment,

Daniel made the final decision of terminating his desire for vengeance against the

Romans. Daniel walks up to Marcus and invites him into his home, mentioning that
Leah would like to say goodbye. Daniel's success in the fight against himself resonates

in the resolution, in which Daniel finally Daniel drives out his hatred and is prepared to

live a better life for himself and others.