Period 5
3-29-13
Chapters 9-10
Summary: After watching a video of the U.S. Ski Troops convinced Leper to enlist and he left the school. Afterwards, everyone referred very reported war event to Leper and they assumed he was the hero in these battles. Finny and a few other boys decide to hold a carnival on the upcoming Saturday with sports and prizes. At the end of the chapter, Gene gets a telegram from Leper asking for his immediate help because his life is in danger. In chapter 10, Gene travels to Leper's house and finds him there. Leper seems almost completely different and tells Gene he ran away because he was receiving a Section Eight Discharge- a discharge for psychos and unstable fighters, meaning that he would get no good jobs in the army. Leper had become psycho and told Gene that he sees random body parts appear on people and suffers from strange visions and Leper tells Gene the first time he screamed and freaked out because of this first vision in the bunks and Gene tells Leper to stop and Gene leaves his house.
Quotation: "It wasn't the cider that made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and separate peace" (123).
Quotation Significance: Part of the reason this quote is significant is that the last two words are the title of the novel. This quote is when Gene is being crowned with a wreath when he is about to compete in the Carnival. The boys have found a way to have fun and escape the horrors of the war and of winter and this gives them a separate peace
Reflection: In these two chapters, Leper has joined and enlisted in the army because he saw the video of them skiing, one of his favorite sports. He assumed that everything would be like the video and when Gene gets the telegram to rescue him he sees how much the war has changed Leper. Leper used to be shy, kind, and lighthearted and now when Gene visits him he seems almost unfriendly, grumpy, and cold. He is given the Section Eight Discharge and Leper seems to accept the fact that he is psycho because he sees random visions. For some reason, this really freaks out Gene and Gene yells at Leper telling him that he didn't want to hear this story because it had nothing to do with him. It scarred him so badly that Gene immediately left afterwards. The boys also held the Carnival during that time too and this provided them with an escape from the harsh winter and the horrors of the war. giving them a separate peace from the rest of the world.
Discussion Question: Why does Gene leave Leper's house when Leper tells his story?
60/60
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Gene is a despicable character or whether the author is really just showing us the kind of shameful thoughts and feelings that we all have. I mean, I never admit if I'm feeling jealous of someone, but I know that I've had those same kind of jealous, competitive thoughts. I've been in situations like Gene where I know it's the right thing to do to confess my wrong to someone, but then I chicken out. It's also understandable to be weirded out by Leper's crazy talk. Being around someone with mental illness is uncomfortable. Maybe I just dislike Gene because I recognize some of my own failings that I can't stand and try to ignore. John Knowles (the author) shows us Gene's thoughts in all their ugliness. The first-person technique usually makes you sympathize with the author, but, in this case, it makes us uncomfortable, almost like we're eavesdropping on thoughts.