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Age 42

proper, snobbish, rich

     Thinks his generation is right

         Successful, portly, distinguished 

Son, Hadley Brinker, goes to Devon           School

Concerned about keeping his place in       society

The United States is at war, and every       young man should fight for his             country.

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Mr. Brinker, although probably very intelligent, is a rather selfish man.  He loves his family and certainly his son. But, his money and power are just as dear to him. He might even understand his love for status and money better than he understands his love for his own son. For instance, as he waits for his son and his friend, Gene, in the school's smoke room, he "tries not to look offended by the surroundings." It's as though the surroundings he finds himself in are not quite good enough for him.  It's probably suitable for his son, but not for him.  He thinks he's worth more than that.

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Arrogant,

     Insensitive,

          Pompous,

               Righteous,

                    Overbearing,

                              Opulent                                                        

Mr. Brinker doesn't know it, and he'd be angry if someone suggested it to him, but he is rather "behind the times".  He's still living in his own time of WWI and doesn't realize what enlisting in the military in WWII means to his son. Mr. Brinker really has no understanding of the devastation that war can cause. For instance, at one point Mr. Brinker says, "There are so many exciting things to enlist in these daysÉ.. I'd give something to be a kid again with all that to choose from." His son, Brinker, would like to agree with him about fighting in World War II, but knows that he cannot after having seen the effect that the military had on his friend, Leper. Leper had a nervous breakdown trying to be a "good" soldier.

Mr. Brinker is also the kind of man who can't be contradicted.  When he announces to his son, Hadley, "We're all proud of you, and we're all - old guys like me - we're all damned proud of you." Hadley isn't so sure that there is anything about fighting to be proud of.  So, he meekly responds that his generation will "do what they have to do."  To argue the point would only make Mr. Brinker angry because Mr. Brinkley already knows he's right.

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Mr.  Brinker adds to his son, Brinker's, growing up in a very challenging way.  World War Two is underway, and the challenges of war that Brinker has to face are far more demanding than what his father has clearly had to endure during his life.  Brinker talks to his friend, Gene, about what his father thinks of the war and says, "I'll be damned if I'll have that Nathan Hale attitude of my dad's about it.  It's all that WWI malarkey that gets me."

Brinker begins to learn how to stand on his own two feet, disagree with his father, yet still be a loving son.  That is difficult for him because it means separating himself from his father.  But, such separation is often a major part of growing up.

 At another point in a conversation with his dad and his friend, Gene, Brinker continues to realize that his dad's ideas about the war are wrong. Later, he apologizes to Gene saying, "Dad keeps making that speech about serving the country. I wish to hell he wouldn't." Clearly, Brinker is growing into himself and coming of age.