Character Analysis
Nice to Meet You... I'm a Crank
Yep, she's a Crank… but she isn't a full-blown Crank.
Brenda's one of the survivors in the Scorch the Gladers pick up along the way to the safe haven. But she's not just any old survivor whose caught the Flare. We root for her because she's just trying to survive—and at least find some happy memories while she's living.
And she may not be alive for long. During one shocking scene, when she and Thomas are forced to dance together, she reveals her true colors: "'Maybe we can be happy until we're past the Gone.' She smiled then, a sickening, disturbing smile. 'Then you can kill me'" (37.49).
Yeah, Brenda is kind of crazy. But hey, she doesn't have much hope at this point—she's just a random citizen who has the Flare, and she's just going to end up as a crazy Crank. For her, death would be welcome.
As an attractive, rather mysterious female, Brenda complicates things with Thomas and Teresa. Right from the start, in fact, Brenda makes advances toward Thomas, trying to kiss him and whatnot. When Thomas refuses, she gets a little jealous and hurt:
"You think I give a crap about you and your girlfriend? I was just dancing, trying to have some fun before everything went so bad. What, you think I'm in love with you or something? Just dying till the day you ask me to be your Crank bride? Get over yourself." (39.21)
Er, right. Brenda is a major complication, especially because she's saved from the Scorch. But perhaps nothing describes her character better than her first encounter with her rival, Teresa: "'Nice to meet you... I'm a Crank. I'm slowly going crazy. I keep wanting to chew off my own fingers and randomly kill people. Thomas here promised to save me'" (57.19).
All right, Brenda. You can be as psycho as you want; we know it's not really your fault.
Anyway, this girl is totally in love with Thomas and jealous of Teresa. She can be super frustrating: not only does she create a love triangle, but we also don't know if we should like her or dislike her. Are we Team Brenda or Team Teresa?