Assignment # 10- Name two important events of rising action that Knowles uses to build up to the climax of the fall. If you choose the trial, choose a specific incident to discuss and how it leads to the fall.- Alexandra

       In chapter 11, it is very evident that Brinker suspects that Gene had something to do with Finny's accident. Brinker creates a mock-trial in the assembly hall late at night, and invites some other of the boys at Devon to force Finny and Gene to attend. He plants a "seed" of suspicion, yet there is no one who can really verify the facts, because no one was there besides Gene, Finny and Leper. Brinker states this, saying its "too bad" (Knowles 172) that Leper is not here to reveal the whole truth. However, nobody knew that Leper was actually on campus, besides Gene and Finny, until Finny disclosed this information.
       This led the the boys to go get Leper, who clearly described two figures on the branch the afternoon of the accident, one holding the trunk and one balancing on the edge of the limb. Leper, realized that he was being used by Brinker, saying, "I'm important, you never realized, but I'm important too. You be the fool now. Bastard." (Knowles 176). Without even actually accusing Gene, Finny realized, at that moment, that who he thought was his best friend, actually might've caused his accident. After discovering this, Finny rushes out of the assembly hall, stumbling down the marble stairs in frustration and anger.

Mango - Assignment 9 Question 2.

Explore the difference between what ‘escape’ means to Gene as opposed to what it means to Leper (see usage in context on the middle of page 143).

          For tonights reading, Gene and Leper meet in snowy Vermont, the location of the distress telegram. Leper attempts to explain why he abandoned the ski troop and is received with indignation. The past weeks at the Devon School have been filled with talk of Leper's enlistment. Leper is the school's connection to the war, to the action. As seen in an earlier reading, Gene is still intrigued by the idea of joining the war effort. On the train, after shoveling off the tracks, Leper announces that he will join. This sparks a rush of excitement in Gene, and opens a window for him to join.  When Leper announces his departure from the army, this slams the window right in Gene's face. His hopes of leaving Devon are diminished and he is left with no option but to stay or go and fight alone. In all, this conversation frustrates and angers Gene to the point of violence. For Leper on the other hand his decision to quit is connected to the entire future of his life. If Leper is considered insane and forced to leave, he will be in no position to find a good job or even have a partially successful way forward. Leper has made his choice as a form of survival as shown on page 144. "You can't get a job after that... You're screwed for life, that's what a Section Eight discharge means."

Assignment #9 Question #2 Explore the difference between what ‘escape’ means to Gene as opposed to what it means to Leper (see usage in context on the middle of page 143).

Leper and Gene think of 'escaping' in different ways. To Gene, 'escaping' is a bad thing, but to Leper it is a miracle or a good thing. Gene goes to Leper's house in Vermont, after he receives a telegram saying that Leper needs help. Once he arrives at the house, Gene and Leper talk about Leper leaving the army, which leads to Leper explaining how and why he escaped. Gene gets annoyed and angry at Leper because he is confused about what Leper is saying and why he had to come all the way to Vermont, when Leper's situation could have all been explained in a phone call."'What do you mean, you escaped?' I said  sharply. 'You don't escape from the army'"(Knowles 143). To Gene this 'escaping' from the army is new and like a foreign language. He's confused because Leper wanted to enlist and it was his choice, but now he hates it and has escaped.

Gene and Leper have two different definitions of 'escaping' because they think about the army differently. At the beginning of the novel, Gene knows that the army is hard and requires a lot of work, but now he is invested in believing that there isn't war. Finny has this idea that "there isn't any war."(Knowles 115), and Gene partially believes it. He is trying to make himself believe that there isn't a war because he wants to be Finny, but he still knows that there is a war going on. Before Leper enlists, he doesn't think that the army will be that hard and he thinks that he will be able to ski. Instead, he starts to get visions of people and things, and struggles to keep up in training, which leads to him getting a Section Eight Discharge. Leper says, "A Section Eight Discharge is for the nuts in the service"(Knowles 144).  When Leper starts talking about the army, Gene doesn't want to hear about it. Gene starts to yell at Leper, "Do you think I want to hear every glory detail! Shut up! I don't care!"(Knowles 151) It sounds like Gene is scared to hear about the army and Leper's thoughts. If Gene hears about the 'real army life' he will start to have trouble believing that there is no war. Gene thinks that if he starts believing in the war, he is betraying Finny. He is afraid of not becoming Finny. In the beginning, Gene has a more realistic view about the army than Leper, but now Leper has the more realistic view.

Knowles includes Gene's conversation with Leper in his book because it gives a new perspective about war and characterizes Leper more. Gene and Leper have different views about war and Gene starts to realize that Leper is actually crazy and he is an outlier at Devon. Leper's name shows how he is excluded from many friend groups and becomes an outlier. While Gene is in Vermont, he starts to realize how bad of an idea it would have been to enlist, and gets a new perspective about the war. He starts understanding that the war is real and it isn't just something all the boys talk about anymore.

Assignment #9 Since Leper is “section 8” (“for nuts in the service”), explore the irony of Leper’s statement “always were a savage underneath.” Take into consideration that Leper contacted Gene. Why is this important? (Anya Chung)

Although it is ironic for Leper (who is mentally unstable), to be calling Gene a “savage”, he is not far from the truth. Gene knows this as well. When Gene and Leper are eating lunch, Gene can feel Leper’s mother warming up to him a bit, even after Gene knocked Leper out of his chair. He knows this is because she thinks that he is actually a good kid on the inside, but he admits to himself that Leper was correct in believing that Gene is not a good person at heart. “Leper was closer to the truth.” (Knowles 146).

Leper chooses to contact Gene out of all the people at Devon because he believes that Gene will understand him the most. When Leper is telling Gene about his hallucinations in the army, Gene snaps. “This has nothing to do with me! Nothing at all! I don’t care!” (Knowles 151). Gene loses his temper because he doesn’t want to face the fact that perhaps Leper is right, and that Gene is just as crazy as him. Gene keeps repeating to himself on page 151 that he has no idea why Leper would be telling his story to him. Of course, this is untrue. Gene knows that Leper is telling him this because he thinks they are alike. Gene hastily runs away; he is horrified that Leper might be right.

Assignment #8, Question 2: Leper is the first of the boys to enlist. Based on the conversations and narration in the previous few chapters, what about this is ironic?(123-137)

Leper being the first boy to enlist is ironic because he is always taken-back by change at Devon. This is seen when Gene states “Leper stands out to me as the person who was most often and most emphatically taken by surprise by every shift in our life at Devon” (Knowles 93). When Gene and the other schoolboys travel to the railroads to shovel-out the tracks, Leper does not attend the trip. He rather goes touring, a form of skiing, to find a beaver dam near the school. Leper has no interest in covering jobs left empty during the war, and says to Gene “Have a nice day at it anyway” (Knowles 95). He also does not approve of speed skiing. He states “skiing isn’t supposed to be fast” (Knowles 95). However, after Leper watches a video of the United States ski troops, his instinct is to enlist. His feelings toward speed skiing adapts, as well. He states “And skiing had to learn to move just as fast or it would have been wiped out by this war” (Knowles 125). Leper is now open to change, a notion that he could not comprehend in the past.

Assignment 8, Question 5: The “separate peace” moment is shattered by the arrival of the telegram from Leper. Explore the significance of the timing of the telegram and the content. From was has Leper “escaped”? (123-137)

After his injury, Phineas became a more secluded version of himself. He still had the determination and perseverance of his old life, but he started to become more downcast and cut off. Gene started to realize this when after Phineas was back for several months and he thinks, “He drew me increasingly away from the Butt Room crowd…, into a world inhabited by just himself and me…, just Phineas and me alone among all the people of the world,” (Knowles 127). He has begun to deny the reality of World War II, because he cannot deal with more than one saddening event in his life at one time. Within time, however, he begins to come to terms with his injury. The ambitious winter carnival embodies this transition back to his old outlook on life, and Gene is excited to have his old friend back. “This is the first time Finny’s gotten going on anything since… he came back,” (Knowles 130). When the telegraph comes, he realizes that the world that he saw before, and that he has come to see again comprising of cheerful moments may not exist after all. The message shows a level of sincerity, and fright that even he, in all of his denial, can contend with. Also, Gene has been an integral part of Phineas’ recovery, and in the words of Gene, of Phineas, himself. Throughout his last couple of months at Devon, he has become especially protective of Gene as a best friend. “Phineas took no part in it, and since little else was talked about in the Butt Room he soon stopped going there and stopped me from going as well…,” (Knowles 127). In his telegraph, when Leper refers to Gene as his best friend, this throws another question into his life that Phineas is simply not prepared to deal with.

            Leper has always been thought of as a “wimp” by his classmates. After he joined the army, the boys at Devon were stunned because it seemed like such a daring act. However, after the telegraph he sent to Gene, they are simply flabbergasted. In the first line of his message, Leper writes, “I HAVE ESCAPED AND NEED HELP,” (Knowles 137); Leper had escaped from the war and from the U.S. military after enlisting.. The daring act implied in this line is in such contrast to the Leper that they have come to know that he seems like a different person.

Assignment #8 (123-137) The “separate peace” moment is shattered by the arrival of the telegram from Leper. Explore the significance of the timing of the telegram and the content. From what has Leper “escaped”?

            Leeper’s interruption of the Winter Carnival is similar to the war’s interruption of daily life. During the Winter Carnival, all the boys are having fun and are singing and dancing. This is where “a separate peace” is found for Finny. Ever since Finny has come back to Devon, he has been depressed and has not shown signs of his old charismatic self. However, during the Winter Festival, Finny jumps on the table and begins to dance. This Festival then becomes Finny’s “separate peace.” Before his tragic accident, Finny was able to find peace in sports. However, after falling out of the tree, Finny was bed ridden and could not play sports, the one thing that made him happy. Finny finally found happiness again at the festival, but it was short lived.

            Leeper’s telegram has a direct connection to the war. While most of the boys are celebrating, Leeper is off fighting in the war, but he abandons his fellow soldiers in what appears to be fear. The telegram interrupts the boys' celebration and happiness just like the war. The war has taken over Devon, and has prompted many to consider enlistment. Finny believes that the war is a curse and has destroyed any chance for the boys to have a normal childhood. Finny tries to keep Gene safe by lying to him about the war. ““Don’t be a sap,” he gazed with cool self-possession at me, “There is no war”” (Knowles 115). Finny does this for Gene so that they both can have the most normal childhood possible. The timing of the telegram is ironic because it disrupts the boys’ happiness, just like the war.