# Sidney Brockhurst — Stover at Yale character guide

> Sidney Brockhurst in Stover at Yale by Owen Johnson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Brockhurst, Brocky

**First appearance:** 0002-iii

## Snapshot

A sharp-tongued critic of Yale's society system, Brockhurst argues that the college has forgotten the campus and wrapped its best men in cotton.

## Who they are

Brockhurst states a thing in such a slap-bang way, with no compromise, that it hits like a blow, and his insistence that the society system smothers men and separates them from the class provokes real argument. Others concede he generally gets to the point even when they think he's wrong, and his challenge to bring the college back to the campus becomes a test of whether the individual or the system shapes a Yale man. He gives the novel its most articulate voice of dissent.

## Relationships

### [Dink Stover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/characters/dink_stover)

_rivalry_

Sidney Brockhurst is a competitive rival of Dink Stover, often clashing over social status and personal ambitions at Yale.

### [Dink Stover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/characters/dink_stover)

_rivalry_

Sidney Brockhurst is a competitive rival of Dink Stover, often clashing over social status and personal ambitions at Yale.

### [Dink Stover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/characters/dink_stover)

_rivalry_

Sidney Brockhurst is a competitive rival of Dink Stover, often clashing over social status and personal ambitions at Yale.

## In the story

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/vii)

Solitary and self-conscious, from Hill School, trying for the Lit; Stover finds him interesting.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xi)

Mentioned as a possible future chairman of the Lit, Stover intends to call on him but postpones.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xiii)

Mentioned by Story as a talented writer for the Lit who keeps to himself and is hard to know.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xvi)

Engages Stover in a provocative conversation about individuality, loafing, and the 'colossal mumbo-jumbo' of society secrecy.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xvii)

Receives Stover's apology; is described as having the brains of the group but being a spectator.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xxiii)

Engages in a discussion about the social function of colleges, coining the phrase 'social clearing house'; departs after a witty remark.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xxiv)

Loses Lit Board chairmanship to Wiggin, goes on a walk with Stover, and delivers a critique of secret societies as idol worship and mental subjection.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/chapters/xxvii)

Misses out on tapping; joins Stover and Hungerford afterward; voices a visionary dream for Yale's future.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/characters/sidney_brockhurst
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/stover_at_yale_se/characters