Berrynose: The Most Misunderstood Tom in the Clans by Sav

Sav takes a closer look at Berrynose.

Hello, fellow BlogClan members! It’s Sav with my second article! This article will be about Berrynose and how his personality, actions, and character are constantly misjudged by the Warriors community. I hope you enjoy it!

From the beginning of Berrynose’s life, he’s always been seen as an outsider because of his birth status. He was born when Daisy was still a kittypet. His name was Berry. After Daisy brought him to ThunderClan, he was given the name Berrykit. Berrykit got his stumped tail early on by getting trapped in a fox trap. Throughout his apprenticeship, Berrypaw was very arrogant and bossy. Many of his Clanmates found him annoying. His mentor was Brambleclaw.

After receiving his Warrior name Berrynose, he and Honeyfern become close. An adder attacked her and killed her, which left Berrynose depressed for a long time. Poppyfrost was also interested in Berrynose, and after Honeyfern’s death, Poppyfrost became his mate. They had kits together, Molekit and Cherrykit.

In the Power of Three, it’s very obvious that the Three don’t like him. In Omen of the Stars, the sisters (Ivypool and Dovewing) find him obnoxious. Throughout the next few arcs, the main characters all show similar distaste for him and his personality. In the most recent arc, Berrynose is made out to seem evil. That’s how Bristlefrost sees him anyway. I disagree.

Before we can call Berrynose “evil” or “murderous”, we’d have to investigate his previous behaviour. You can be annoying, without being evil. As a reader, you have to realize that we’re looking at the Warrior world through someone else’s eyes. The cat we’re reading about is going to have favourites, and Berrynose never makes it onto that list. Why?

Berrynose has always been a very different kind of Warrior. His personality, views, and opinions are what draws him away from your normal Warrior. Through the reader’s eyes, we can understand that sometimes Berrynose’s actions can be harmful to the good of the protagonist(s). Almost every time, Berrynose is unaware of how his actions could affect those around him. As the reader, we understand how Berrynose wondering if execution for the Dark Forest is a good punishment is very bad. This is because we know Ivypool as a cat and we’ve watched her character grow. Berrynose has not had the same experience, so he doesn’t know.

Something that’s overlooked a lot about Berrynose, is that his actions are always based on the well-being of the Clan. He was worried about his Clan’s safety, and he acted on what he thought was best. After all, the Dark Forest is where murderers and insane killers are. If I had to sleep next to someone who spent every night with those same killers, I’d be a little concerned too.

I’ve also seen Berrynose be accused of brainwashing Poppyfrost and his family. Of course, this accusation is false. Berrynose has only shared his opinions with Poppyfrost, and she agrees. She’s allowed to believe in the same thing as Berrynose. As with their kits. They’re allowed to believe in what their parents think is right. You can influence your children.

In the Broken Code, we see some strange behaviour from Berrynose. Or is it really strange at all? Turns out, not really. Berrynose doesn’t have a clue what the reader and the protagonists know about the Bramblepostor. He is being told by his leader that there are traitors to the Clan, he needs help fishing them out. Berrynose has always done what he thought was right or being loyal to his clan. I feel like being born as a kittypet has made Berrynose try harder to fight for his acceptance. Berrynose was being manipulated by Ashfur. His mate and kits were supporting him and therefore led to their troubles.

Berrynose’s actions have always been confused or seen as negative to the protagonists, and this affected everyone’s judgment towards him. If you look closely, all he’s ever really seemed to do was put his Clan first. That’s all the Warrior code asks. Even if he’s sometimes too trusting, Berrynose really is a good cat.