A Separate Peace: Brinker Hadley Brinker Hadley is an important character in the book A Separate Peace. Brinker is in the story for three major reasons: he is used by the author to bring to light Gene's misdeeds, he represents Devon's change from peace to war, and he personifies the general sentiment of those at Devon. Brinker is important for these three reasons. Brinker is used by the author to bring to light Gene's misdeeds. If not for Brinker's mock trial, Phineas would never have known that Gene jounced the limb, and everyone would have lived happily-ever-after. The author used Brinker to bring