Sykes Character Analysis in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Sykes is one of the members of Bravo Squad who takes part in the Victory Tour. Sykes is only twenty-two but is already married and has one child, and his wife is pregnant with their second child. Sykes gets extremely drunk in the time leading up to the halftime show and suffers the most out of all the Bravos during and after the show. He's barely able to follow Billy's lead and breaks down crying afterwards. Dime has to give Sykes Valium in order to calm him down.

Sykes Quotes in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

The Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk quotes below are all either spoken by Sykes or refer to Sykes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Fantasy vs. Reality in the Media Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Ecco edition of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk published in 2012.

"Son, try to look at it this way. It's just another normal day in America."

Billy's heart melts a little at that son. The stage is disappearing around them like a mortally wounded ship beneath the waves.

"I don't think I even know what normal is anymore."

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 242

Explanation and Analysis:

Sykes Character Timeline in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

The timeline below shows where the character Sykes appears in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...phone, and Bravo listens to his foul banter. Crack returns to the sports pages, and Sykes impersonates Beyoncé, wondering aloud if she'd go to bed with him. (full context)

Dime silences Sykes, and the other Bravos join in and yell at Sykes to be quiet. Suddenly, the... (full context)

...what to do with them, so they remain in their seats in the seventh row. Sykes and Lodis debate what it would cost to purchase the seats, as Billy chats with... (full context)

Sykes begs Dime to allow him to place bets, but Dime refuses since Sykes maxed out... (full context)

...Mango insists that the girls seemed more like models than strippers. Billy remembers that when Sykes returned from his private dance, he told them that his girl had been truly into... (full context)

...on the phone again negotiating how to get Hilary Swank to read the script. When Sykes questions Albert's conversation, Albert slowly explains to him that now that Hilary's interested, they can... (full context)

...around him, suddenly drawing his attention to the Jumbotron, which is fixed on the Bravos. Sykes starts flashing gang signs as the video cuts out to flash the names of Bravo... (full context)

...would still be less than Norman Oglesby's net worth. Norm owns the Cowboys, and even Sykes, who spent much of the Victory Tour preparing to taunt Norm for questionable decisions about... (full context)

Billy spots "his" cheerleader with Sykes and asks the surrounding cheerleaders if a girl needs to be single to be a... (full context)

Mango, Lodis, Sykes, Crack, and A-bort join in, and Bravo plays a loose version of tackle football with... (full context)

...aren't pleased. Dime again veers off of the script for the second take. Lodis and Sykes laugh during the third, and a fan screams at them during the fourth. The directors... (full context)

Billy notices Sykes weeping, and Billy hopes that they'll make it through. He focuses on the cheerleaders and... (full context)

After the show, Bravo huddles backstage, apparently forgotten. Sykes cries as the roadies yell at Bravo to leave. Bravo doesn't leave and instead discusses... (full context)

...incensed on the Bravos' behalf and fetch ice for the injuries. Faison asks Billy about Sykes, who's still crying. Billy explains that he's emotional and misses his wife, and when Faison... (full context)

...love right before they leave. Billy moans as the Jumbotron plays car ads, and strangely, Sykes starts singing. Apparently, Dime gave Sykes Valium, and now Sykes is thrilled with life. (full context)

Sykes's singing pulls Billy out of his reverie. The nice boojee lady sitting in front of... (full context)

...the row and crouches in the aisle next to Billy. He says he can't stand Sykes right now but claims that he had to do something. To himself, Dime says that... (full context)