Brinker

Brinker Hadley is seventeen years old. He is a class politician and becomes friends with Gene while Finny is away. His strength is confidence -- he believes in justice and order as well as his motivation to find out the truth.

His weaknesses are that he is too demanding and seen as a threat to other students, such as Leper.

Analysis of Character

Brinker Hadley is the class politician and is very organized and conservative. He believes in justice and order and he wants to discover the truth when he feels it is being hidden from him. He is a foil to Finny, and we can see some tension between the two during some parts of the novel, such as when Finny returns after his injury and when Brinker is determined to find out who caused Finny’s accident. Brinker is seen as overpowering and he likes to be in charge. He convinces Gene to enlist in the army with him, but then Finny comes back and Gene decides to change his mind. This scenario could have caused some of the tension between Finny and Brinker because Brinker may envy Finny for changing Gene’s mind. When they first meet, Brinker accuses Gene of getting rid of Finny on purpose, and Gene tries to play along with his joke. Gene is surprised when Leper is the first from the class to enlist in the army because he says he would have thought someone like Brinker would have enlisted first. He says this would have made the war seem more real, shows us that Brinker is seen as a powerful leader and a courageous, tough character.

“He and his crowd are responsible for it. And we’re going to fight it!”

This quotation is showing how Brinker feels about the war. It is suggesting that perhaps he is scared, worried, or paranoid about it and what the outcome may be. He is angry at the way things turned out; such as the ones who caused the war do not even take a part in fighting in it. Instead, the younger ones have to mature more quickly and will experience a series of drastic changes due to the war.

“I’m giving it up, I’m going to enlist. Tomorrow.”

This quotation shows the initial view Brinker had on the war. At first, he wanted to enlist and was eager about it, wanting Gene to enlist with him. Towards the end of the novel, his views on the war changed because he was frustrated that the younger boys had to fight when it was the older men who were responsible for the war. This shows that change really is possible and can affect a person drastically.

“You knew all the time. I’ll bet it was all your doing.”

This quotation shows how Brinker is calling Gene out for picking Finny as his roommate on purpose because he knew he would not be back. He is basically accusing Gene of the one who hurt Finny, and Gene tries to play along. He pretends that the joke is funny and not true, but on the inside he is terrified and perhaps intimidated by Brinker. This quote shows that Brinker is a leader and likes to be in charge.     

Symbolism

Brinker represents the positive sense of responsibility that comes with adulthood. At the end of the novel, he gains full maturity. Brinker is a guardian of law and order, which symbolizes the Constitution and following certain rules. He also represents the Winter Session because of his devotion to rules and his suspicious mind.

Character-Theme Tie-In

The theme of self-realization ties in with Brinker. Brinker thought that he wanted to enlist in the army, but he changes his mind because of his change in perspective. He realized that the war was the exact opposite of what he thought it was, which was horrifying instead of glorifying. Brinker is seen as the one who believes in justice and order. His realization changes his whole course of life and affects some of the others in the book as well. This shows another way that Brinker is seen as the opposite of Finny. Finny cannot stand the fact that he cannot join the army and have a part in the war, however, he does not have the same ability as Brinker and cannot clearly see the true aspects of the war.