Throughout David Chariandy's novel "Brother," the mother of two boys is portrayed as a typical single mother in Scarborough, through her loving, private, and strict actions. To begin, the mother, Ruth, has proven herself to be loving as she prioritizes her family before herself. She is dedicated to supporting her family no matter the circumstances: "...she claimed she wasn't hungry. She then warned us that we were probably going to have a quiet meal with no gifts... She would find new work and hopefully get overtime hours after the holidays” (Chariandy 119).

This demonstrates that, even though the mother is experiencing financial troubles during Christmas dinner, she is always putting her family before her own needs. Furthermore, Ruth is known to be private, as she is aware that she gets into states but does not want anybody to notice. Michael and Aisha find Ruth after she was wandering off in the valley with no shoes: “Mother notices us now. She turns and adjusts the collar of her winter coat...and she tries to hide from our sight”. (68). This implies that Ruth does not want her son Michael to be concerned about her, thus she deals with her grief on her own, even though she is aware that she occasionally wanders off.

Lastly, Ruth is seen as strict throughout her method of discipline when one of her children disobeys her strict standards. During the heat, Michael's mother becomes furious because he has placed tin foil on the window: "...[Michael says] 'other people do it.' 'And am I other people?' [replies mother]. volumeVolume building in her voice... A jar exploded against a wall behind me..." (71).

Mother can become physical and strict if the boys do anything she does not approve of. Ruth, a typical single mother in David Chariandy's novel "Brother," has proven herself to be loving, private, and strict towards her family.