About Buddy Hart
Nearly all high schools have someone like Buddy Hart: senior class president and captain of the football team. If that isn’t enough, the town and school are both named for his family. Buddy is personable, soft spoken, always in control. It looks as though all he has to do to succeed is show up.
Appearance:
Buddy is tall, with a sculpted build. He has hazel eyes that can be warm or piercing, depending on his mood. Because he spends a lot of time outdoors, his wavy brown hair often has sun streaks. Buddy dresses neatly and in old money style, even with his casual clothes. No torn T shirts or ragged jeans for him.
Dialogue Style:
Buddy speaks in a well-modulated voice, with just a hint of a Kentucky accent. He uses sports and military terms more than local slang. Everything he says appears to be carefully thought out.
Personality traits:
Goal-oriented, decisive but inflexible. Buddy knows exactly what he wants and how it should be done. Everything needs to follow tried and true methods. Tradition matters a great deal to Buddy, whether it’s related to his family, religion, or culture. He has no use for failed experiments or waste.
Backstory:
The Hart family exerts a great deal of control in Hartsend through wealth and influence over town officials. Patriarch Friedrich Hart sees no reason why this shouldn’t continue. He grooms his oldest, Fred, as the heir apparent. All this changes when Fred is killed fighting in Cambodia early in 1970. The grieving Hart family struggles to find their way forward.
Previously, Buddy might have looked for support from his best friend, Ed Denton. They grew up together, spending many weekends hunting and fishing with their fathers. Buddy and Ed enrolled in JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), with the intention of becoming Marines like their fathers.
But Ed’s dealing with his own troubles in the spring of 1970. His parents are involved in a bitter divorce which has alienated Ed from both his parents. Ed’s angry at his father for walking out of the marriage. He’s outraged at his mother for getting romantically involved with the assistant pastor at her church.
Relationships:
Friedrich Hart and his younger son have never been especially close. Even so, Buddy knows he will be expected to take on his brother Fred’s role. What’s more, Buddy firmly believes in honoring his parents. He’ll do what’s expected of him, though it would be helpful if Friedrich were a little more forthcoming about specifics.
Ed reacts to his family issues by withdrawing from JROTC and joining the hippie movement, two actions Buddy views as a betrayal of their shared values. Tensions between the former friends increase when it’s announced the high schools will follow a court-ordered desegregation plan in the fall.
Motivations and Goals:
Buddy resolves to step into the role intended for Fred and make a success of it one day. But for now, he wants to focus on his senior year. He needs to apply for college. Besides that, he has responsibilities at school, like student government and the football team. Student morale is at an all-time low. So is student respect for elders, the government, and the community. As senior class president, Buddy feels the need to get the flock in order.
Character Arc:
At the beginning of 1970, Buddy felt very much in control of his situation. As the year progresses, he feels less and less confident. Fred’s death shakes Buddy in ways he has trouble defining. The breakdown of his friendship with Ed is a continuing difficulty. Ed knows what is most likely to aggravate Buddy and doesn’t hold back. The question is, how long will Buddy’s self-control hold?
