Blackford Oakes
Encyclopedia
Blackford "Blackie" or "Black" Oakes is a fictional character
, a Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) officer and the protagonist of a series of novels written by William F. Buckley, Jr.
as a fighter pilot and graduated from Yale University
. Oakes is an engineer by training (at one point in the series, he is hired by an architectural firm), and Anthony Trust, ahead of Black at both Greyburn and Yale, recruits him for the Central Intelligence Agency in his senior year, 1951.
At Yale, Blackford is older than most of his classmates due to his military service. Reference is made to his membership on both the swimming and lacrosse teams there, and he is a member of Zeta Psi
fraternity. Sally Partridge, a Smith graduate, is his main love interest throughout the series. Their fateful meeting and Blackford's courtship of Sally is detailed in one of the later novels.
and Ronald Reagan
), and even his enemies with his easy-going competence and likability.
and admires Adlai Stevenson. While not only disliking Blackford's chosen profession because it so often spoils their plans, Sally also disapproves of many of the ideals she believes the CIA represents.
While always holding Sally close to his heart, Oakes still finds plenty of time to pursue romantic conquests across the globe, often mixing work with pleasure. He is a suave, intelligent, and confident gentleman who is, in Buckley's own words, distinctly American
, and it is no surprise he succeeds in both work and play.
Blackford is an avid reader of National Review
and frequently offers insight into the state of domestic politics and world affairs.
warrior, and risks his life for the country he loves countless times, while looking smooth doing it.
Though Oakes is widely regarded as a gentleman, and at times, a charmer, he also has a rebellious streak in the face of unduly harsh authority. Blackford demonstrates this rebelliousness throughout the series, beginning with an incident involving the administration of Greyburn Academy, which Blackford briefly attends as a schoolboy.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) officer and the protagonist of a series of novels written by William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
Early life
Oakes was born in 1925. He served in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a fighter pilot and graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Oakes is an engineer by training (at one point in the series, he is hired by an architectural firm), and Anthony Trust, ahead of Black at both Greyburn and Yale, recruits him for the Central Intelligence Agency in his senior year, 1951.
At Yale, Blackford is older than most of his classmates due to his military service. Reference is made to his membership on both the swimming and lacrosse teams there, and he is a member of Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi
The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity. Sally Partridge, a Smith graduate, is his main love interest throughout the series. Their fateful meeting and Blackford's courtship of Sally is detailed in one of the later novels.
Central Intelligence Agency
Blackford's missions with the CIA involve various top-secret Cold War enterprises arranged by the Agency's highest ranking individuals and American presidents alike. Oakes possesses the ability to impress his colleagues, superiors (among them John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
), and even his enemies with his easy-going competence and likability.
Personal life
Oakes' personal life is somewhat hectic because of his constant globetrotting for the Agency, as he can never seem to find ample time to settle down with Sally, who yearns for the day when Blackford will retire from the CIA. Their respective worldviews are quite dissimilar, Oakes being conservative, and Sally, a liberal feminist who studied and teaches Jane AustenJane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and admires Adlai Stevenson. While not only disliking Blackford's chosen profession because it so often spoils their plans, Sally also disapproves of many of the ideals she believes the CIA represents.
While always holding Sally close to his heart, Oakes still finds plenty of time to pursue romantic conquests across the globe, often mixing work with pleasure. He is a suave, intelligent, and confident gentleman who is, in Buckley's own words, distinctly American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and it is no surprise he succeeds in both work and play.
Blackford is an avid reader of National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
and frequently offers insight into the state of domestic politics and world affairs.
Characteristics
Throughout the series, Blackford proves himself to be the ultimate Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
warrior, and risks his life for the country he loves countless times, while looking smooth doing it.
Though Oakes is widely regarded as a gentleman, and at times, a charmer, he also has a rebellious streak in the face of unduly harsh authority. Blackford demonstrates this rebelliousness throughout the series, beginning with an incident involving the administration of Greyburn Academy, which Blackford briefly attends as a schoolboy.