Half Brother Sparknotes

The main idea in the novel ‘Half Brother’ by Kenneth Oppel is that you have to let go of things you love, even when you don’t want to. Ben and Zan’s relationship grows closer, with the problems they are facing, it all goes down to sending Zan away in order for its happiness. Love means nothing if you don’t do good for it.

To Ben, Zan is not just a chimp but a person - his brother.
As the story progress, Ben’s changed from a babysitter for his dad’s project to an actual brother to Zan. After holding Zan for the first time, Ben started to warm up to Zan. When Zan got pneumonia, Ben was worried of Zan as Zan, not a chimp. Later they both have been working together, learning signs and growing closer. Ben became very attached to Zan.

As time goes by, keeping Zan is expensive and as his nature comes out, Zan is getting too strong. On the other hand, the project is losing its funding due to studies shows that Zan isn’t actually learning the language. Their family can't keep Zan for various reasons. ‘But he’s part of our family, that’s the deal. He belongs to us. He’s my little brother.’ Ben is devastated, his goal is to keep Zan forever, but nature and money are stopping him from that.

Soon after a visit, they found out Helson is planning to sell Zan to a biomedical lab. ‘Even if I could buy Zan back, even if I won. I’d lose. I’d lose Zan.’ - Ben. Eventually, they got Zan