Pines

Ethan Burke, the protagonist of Pines, drives the narrative with his pursuit of the truth about the mysterious town of Wayward Pines and his attempt to escape it. Ethan’s determination and perseverance are important character traits. In the end, these traits are the reason that Pilcher decides to tell Ethan the truth and ask him to act as an ally. The Need to Know, in the end, thus both saves Ethan’s life and tests his identity, leading to him joining Pilcher’s crew.

Ethan is a Gulf War veteran and a survivor of imprisonment and torture. He admits early on that he never really dealt with the effects of his imprisonment, an admission that ties into The Destabilizing Power of Trauma. Throughout the novel, Ethan experiences flashbacks and moments of confusion in which his present experience parallels his war experience so closely that he questions reality. The effect becomes profound enough that he fears everything at present is mere hallucination: “I sometimes think I’m still in that torture room. I never left” (237). Pilcher knows about Ethan’s torture and uses it to confuse Ethan further, gaslighting him in an attempt to integrate him into Wayward Pines.