# Flashman — Tom Brown’s School Days character guide

> Flashman in Tom Brown’s School Days by Thomas Hughes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Flashman, that blackguard Flashman, that bully Flashman, poor Flashman, Flashey

**First appearance:** 0003-part-i-iii-sundry-wars-and-alliances

## Snapshot

A gin-punching fifth-form bully with a spiteful tongue, Flashman rules the small fry by fear until Tom and East finally stand up to him.

## Who they are

Flashman torments younger boys, sets the fifth form against Tom and East, and proves that a bully's real weapon is not his fists but the dirt he can throw until some of it sticks. When Diggs insists on fair play and the two youngsters close on him, Flashman's skull is only skinned, but his reign is finished, and he never lays finger on either of them again. His drunken hurdle-borne exit from the School world is the small fry's long-prayed-for deliverance, and a lesson in how much of school tyranny is held up by nobody's resistance.

## Relationships

### [Tom Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/tom_brown)

_rivalry_

Flashman is a bullying older student who torments Tom, leading to violent confrontations and lasting enmity.

### [Harry East](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/harry_east)

_rivalry_

Flashman bullies and antagonizes Harry East as well, making him a target alongside Tom.

### [Diggs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/diggs)

_rivalry_

Diggs is an older student who stands up to Flashman's bullying, becoming a direct antagonist to him.

### [Tom Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/tom_brown)

_rivalry_

Flashman is a bullying older student who torments Tom, leading to violent confrontations and lasting enmity.

### [Harry East](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/harry_east)

_rivalry_

Flashman bullies and antagonizes Harry East as well, making him a target alongside Tom.

### [Tom Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/tom_brown)

_rivalry_

Flashman is a bullying older student who torments Tom, leading to violent confrontations and lasting enmity.

### [Diggs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/diggs)

_rivalry_

Diggs is an older student who stands up to Flashman's bullying, becoming a direct antagonist to him.

### [Harry East](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/harry_east)

_rivalry_

Flashman bullies and antagonizes Harry East as well, making him a target alongside Tom.

### [Diggs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/diggs)

_rivalry_

Diggs is an older student who stands up to Flashman's bullying, becoming a direct antagonist to him.

## In the story

### [Rugby and Football](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/chapters/part-i-v-rugby-and-football)

Noted as the Schoolhouse bully, participating in the football match with great action but questionable intent.

### [The War of Independence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/chapters/part-i-viii-the-war-of-independence)

Tyrannical bully who seizes the study in Tom and East's passage, fags them, and is despised as a coward.

### [A Chapter of Accidents](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/chapters/part-i-ix-a-chapter-of-accidents)

Brutality and cowardice exposed; fights with Diggs and Tom; eventually expelled after drunken incident.

### [How the Tide Turned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/chapters/part-ii-i-how-the-tide-turned)

Implied as the 'big, brutal fellow' who throws a slipper at Arthur and is hit by Tom's boot.

### [The Fight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/chapters/part-ii-v-the-fight)

Flashman is mentioned as a bully, but does not appear directly in this chapter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters/flashman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tom_brown_s_school_days_se/characters