Matt Morgan Character Analysis in This Is Where It Ends

Claire’s younger brother. Although Matt is only a few years younger and has started high school this year, he acts – and is treated by his family – like a much younger child, in part because he has Lupus and requires a lot of care. While Claire’s sense of responsibility for her vulnerable younger brother sometimes makes her anxious, she derives a sense of purpose by caring for him. Struck by one of Tyler’s bullets, Matt dies at the end of the novel.

Matt Morgan Character Timeline in This Is Where It Ends

The timeline below shows where the character Matt Morgan appears in This Is Where It Ends. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...This morning at breakfast, Claire recited the speech from memory to amuse her younger brother Matt. (full context)

Family and Sibling Relationships Theme Icon

Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...as well. Chris asks about her break and she says she enjoyed celebrating her brother Matt’s birthday—albeit without her older sister Tracy, who is serving in the army. Chris’s father, Lt.... (full context)

On the bright side Matt, who has lupus, has been doing relatively well recently and enjoying the beginning of high... (full context)

In a text message, Matt tells Claire not to worry about him, and jokes that the speech was exactly as... (full context)

...car. Jonah, the school security guard, once drove Claire to the hospital during one of Matt’s illnesses, and they’ve become friends. Next to his car, she recognizes Tyler’s car parked across... (full context)

...owns the gas station she’s running towards right now, and he once offered to take Matt there after hours as a treat—but that was before the breakup. (full context)

Matt texts Claire for help, telling her that he is scared and trapped in the auditorium. (full context)

...Chris tells her to get up and start running before her muscles cramp; thinking of Matt, she gets to her feet even though she has to retch several times. A line... (full context)

Riding in the police car, Claire is both comforted and terrified. She thinks of Matt playing with his soldier figurines or chatting with Chris. She needs to have a clear... (full context)

...brutality, and wishes she had spoken up sooner. Suddenly, she sees Tyler reaching for young Matt—of whom he always spoke fondly when he dated Claire—who is trying to crawl under the... (full context)

Staring down at Matt in the present, Tyler tells him that he has “a score to settle with [his]... (full context)

...the air over Autumn’s head and warns her to keep walking, or he will shoot Matt. She steps over the body of another student and reaches the stage, where several teachers... (full context)

Matt sends another text message to Claire, begging her to come save him. (full context)

...the auditorium; Claire, who didn’t even know this small fact about the students’ whereabouts, imagines Matt and her friends trapped inside with a murderer. She grabs Chris’s hand and leans against... (full context)

...although her phone is in the locker room, she could borrow someone else’s to call Matt. But then the officer mentions Tyler’s name, and she feels sick. (full context)

...from JROTC drill and gave her a present: a package of vintage pewter figurines for Matt to play with. (full context)

Matt texts Claire again, telling her that he “hurts” and wondering why she hasn’t called him. (full context)

...him to be here and see that she made it out of the school without Matt. (full context)

...loves her. She passes an injured girl, who squeezes her hand, and then she reaches Matt, whom she vaguely knows as the younger brother of Tyler’s ex-girlfriend. She approaches him, bracing... (full context)

...some are covered in blood. Claire recognizes football players and a group of girls from Matt’s class, one of whom she suspects of having a crush on him. She wishes she... (full context)

...fear.” She knows that she needs to find Sylvia and protect her from Tyler, but Matt is counting on her for comfort and protection as well. She helps him crawl out... (full context)

Autumn listens to the other students quietly conversing with the police. She returns to Matt as one boy announces that a SWAT team will be in the building soon. Matt... (full context)

...to hear her brother’s voice on the phone, which she’s borrowed from a kind stranger. Matt tells her softly that he hid under the seats and is fine. Claire promises him... (full context)

Autumn sits with Matt leaning against her, the position that seems most comfortable for him. The auditorium is quiet... (full context)

...confesses that she too relies on her brother a lot, especially since her mother died. Matt says quietly that she shouldn’t blame herself for Tyler’s actions, just as Claire shouldn’t worry... (full context)

...they find Tyler, but this is a step in the right direction. Claire hopes that Matt will manage to walk out of the school, even if he’s feeling ill and tired.... (full context)

In the flashback, Claire and her mother set the table and Mrs. Morgan confides that Matt is having liver problems again, and may have to be hospitalized. Claire’s mother is confiding... (full context)

Over the phone, Claire hears Autumn telling Matt that the SWAT teams are finally inside. In relief, Claire turns and kisses Chris, who... (full context)

...Autumn sees a group of SWAT officers sweeping through the aisles. She wants to show Matt that they’re safe, but his lips are turning blue and he can barely speak. Unable... (full context)

Claire listens to this interaction over the phone, realizing for the first time that Matt is seriously injured and can’t leave the school. Matt says that he didn’t want her... (full context)

...doesn’t want to believe that her brother has actually died. In a flashback she remembers Matt’s sixth birthday, when the family indulged his obsession with all things flying by turning his... (full context)

...and Claire is heartened to see the happy reunions; they make her feel as if Matt might walk out of the school at any moment. Suddenly she sees CJ leading a... (full context)

...be tactful, Asha snaps that Tyler killed both her sister and Claire’s brother, explaining that Matt got shot accidentally. The girls exchange condolences. (full context)

...a prank as usual, but instead Claire stands on her other side, mourning her brother Matt as well. Fareed addresses the crowd, saying that no one will ever forget this day... (full context)