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“ | So here I am, at probably the worst school in the country. Whose alumni are nothing but arms dealers, serial killers and corporate lawyers. Real scum, and that old creep thinks he can tame me? We shall see, my friend. I only give people what they have coming to them. | „ |
~ Jimmy, upon first arriving at Bullworth Academy. |
James "Jimmy" Hopkins is the main protagonist of the 2006 video game Bully.
A fifteen-year-old teenager, he was dumped at Bullworth Academy, the alleged worst boarding school in the country, by his mother and new step-father.
He's a juvenile delinquent with a troubled past, who has been expelled from seven different schools due to a variety of reasons, including violence, graffiti, and disrespecting staff. And although he later has a redemption arc and grows to be a better person by the end of the game's story, he still commits many villainous acts both in-canon and in free-roam.
He was voiced by musician Gerry Rosenthal.
Appearance[]
Though reasonably stocky, Jimmy is shorter than most students his age. He has freckles on his cheeks, a ginger buzz-cut, and wears a gold stud earring on his left ear. In the game's intro, he wears a brown jacket over a white t-shirt, with faded blue jeans and white sneakers. His default school uniform consists of a blue Bullworth sweater-vest over a white school shirt, with khaki school slacks and the same sneakers.
Over the course of the game, Jimmy may obtain a wide variety of clothes, haircuts, and even tattoos. This allows the player to either have him adopt the look of one of the cliques, or make his own unique fashion statement. He generally wears his uniforms more disordered than intended, such as an unbuttoned collar, rolled up sleeves, and an untucked shirt. Jimmy's hair is naturally red - when buying haircuts, the red cuts are always cheaper because he doesn't have to pay for dyeing.
In early screenshots, Jimmy was somewhat uglier. He had fewer freckles, a large red nose, and ears that stuck out. He also wore gray slacks and boots instead of khaki slacks and sneakers.
Description[]
Although slightly undersized, Jimmy's rough childhood has granted him a level of physical toughness, fighting skill (enabling him to hold his own against students larger and stronger than him), and a level of awareness and maturity that most of his Bullworth peers lack. Though he's aggressive and quick to fight, he's not truly malicious; he states in the prologue, "I only give people what they have coming to them."
When dealing with others, Jimmy tends to be rough-mannered. He talks abusively to people (such as Algie) even when helping them. Jimmy's only true friend at the school is Peter "Pete" Kowalski. Jimmy is not always nice to Pete, calling him a dork to his face. Despite this, he seems to have a decent underlying nature, frequently moved to defend people weaker than him.
In the end, he defends and sticks up for Pete. In return, Pete provides a voice of reason for Jimmy, figuring out solutions to Jimmy's problems when fisticuffs and violence don't suffice. He helps the Nerds in several instances, despite his rude treatment of them. Later in the game, he helps Mandy, despite the fact that she was antagonistic to him - and his friends Beatrice - throughout most of the school year.
Jimmy gets along with any teachers who are willing to treat him with respect, which - perhaps surprisingly - is all of them besides Mr. Hattrick. Jimmy also seems to be a talented artist, drawing perfect pictures of Ms. Philips, even though he claims art has never been his thing, and that he's more into music. To a large extent, Jimmy's personality within the game depends on the players' control of him.
While his actions in the cutscenes are pre-determined, Jimmy can deal with situations in different ways. For example, he can order other bullies to leave their victims alone, or he can bully the other kids himself. He can also pay off bullies to leave him alone, or start fights for no reason.
During the course of the in-game missions, he gains the interest of all the female clique members (Eunice, Beatrice, Pinky, Lola, Mandy, and Zoe), though the only girls he goes on actual dates with are Pinky and Zoe. Moreover, Zoe's the only character that Jimmy shows long-term interest in.
The end of the final mission closes with Zoe kissing Jimmy on the steps leading to the Academy. He can also kiss one boy in each clique (Trent, Cornelius, Gord, Vance, Kirby and Duncan), but this doesn't come into play in the actual storyline, and the player can choose whether to have him do this or not.
According to Dan Houser, Jimmy's later life after the events of the game will be a better one, if not a downright happier one. Since Jimmy's "too white-collared" in spite of his harsh upbringing, he doesn't end up descending into a criminal, like Grand Theft Auto protagonists Victor Vance, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, Niko Bellic, or Franklin Clinton - nor does Jimmy become a ruthless killer like Claude, Trevor Philips, or even James Earl Cash.
“ | I never saw him as being that level of degenerate... I saw him as a bad teen, because he comes from a tough home, who could go either direction. He's not going to be a carjacker. He's too white collar for that already. He's at a shit private school, but he's going to end up being really happy because he's at the worst bit of his life, or being a sort of messed up white collar doofus. He was an unpleasant soul, but he had a heart. To some extent, you could say the same was true of Niko in a bizarre way. But [Jimmy's] not trying to burn down the school, he's more trying to stand up to injustice. | „ |
~ Dan Houser, on Jimmy's future. |
Quotes[]
Event | Quote |
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Intro to Chapter 1 | "So here I am, at probably the worst school in the country. Whose alumni are nothing but arms dealers, serial killers, and corporate lawyers. Real scum. And that old creep thinks he can tame me? We shall see, my friend. I only give people what they have coming to them." |
Intro to Chapter 2 | "With Russell pacified, I could be forgiven for thinking my troubles at Bullworth were over. But this place is a rotten onion. Peel off one stinking layer and there's another even smellier one beneath." |
Intro to Chapter 3 | "Now, Derby is really stupid, malevolent and rich. So it'll surprise none of you to discover in a future life he'll end up in Congress. But this is my story, not his. With the trust fund babies under control, it's time to turn my attention to their sworn enemies, those greaseball kids." |
Intro to Chapter 4 | "I'm starting to feel pretty good about myself. I've just taken control of two of the school's worst cliques, but I know there are bigger problems just around the corner. Problems with overdeveloped pituitary glands and brains the size of peas." |
Intro to Chapter 5 | "So here I am, suddenly the king of the school. I never meant for things to turn out this way. I just wanted to control a couple of psycho kids and be left alone. But now I guess I'm certainly going to live the good life." |
Intro to Chapter 6 | "Finally, everything is sorted out, more or less. I mean, I don't want to say we're going to live happily ever after or anything like that, but life is certainly going to get easier." |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Jimmy has his Art class with Sheldon, Beatrice, Ivan, Lefty, and Mandy. He has his English, Biology, Geography, and Math classes with Sheldon, Beatrice, and Bryce; though only Sheldon and Beatrice are in Jimmy's Chemistry class.
- Jimmy may have been involved with minor criminal activities prior the game, as he proves he is not above committing crimes if it benefits him, such as vandalizing Mr. Hattrick's house and unlawfully breaking into Derby's house to destroy the crapula maxima.
- There is a popular fan theory that Manhunt protagonist James Earl Cash is Jimmy's biological father, with some light evidence:
- Although Jimmy resembles his mother more, he and Cash have similar facial features.
- Cash looks to be in his 30s or early 40s during 2003, easily making him old enough to be Jimmy's father.
- Jimmy and Cash are naturally skilled fighters, both in armed and unarmed combat, being able to take on waves of enemies single-handedly without showing any signs of fatigue.
- If Bully takes place in 2006, then Jimmy was born in 1991, the year before Cash left his family due to being a wanted criminal. This would explain why Jimmy has no memory of his father.
- Jimmy's mother had remarried, and his biological father is never mentioned. The difference in their last names could also be due to Jimmy's mother changing their surnames so that no one would think they were affiliated with Cash.
External Links[]
- Jimmy Hopkins on the Bully Wiki
- Jimmy Hopkins on the Heroes Wiki