Assignment 8 Question 2 Ayame

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?

Leper enlists because he sees a video of ski troops skiing down a mountain, and in that moment something clicks: the war suddenly has a familiar side, something that he comprehends and relates to. This is ironic because of all the boys at Devon, Leper was the last that anyone would think of when someone said ‘enlist’. In fact, Brinker starts yelling at him in chapter 7, “ ‘Everybody in this place is a draft-dodging Kraut or a… a…’ the scornful force of his tone turned the word into a curse, “a nat-u-ral-ist!” (Knowles 100). This statement comes immediately before Brinker’s proclamation of his intent to enlist—a promise that he never follows up on, while Leper goes on to be the first to enlist. However, Leper does not sign up because of some intense patriotic desire to defend his country. He signs up because the war to him now represents another chance to do what he loves best, which is skiing. Brinker’s reaction to Leper’s enlistment is interesting, because he doesn’t seem to be jealous despite the fact that everyone expected him to enlist first. As Gene said. “ It probably would have been better for all of us if someone like Brinker had been the first to go. He could have been depended upon to take a loud and dramatic departure, so that the school would have reverberated for weeks after…” (Knowles 126). Instead of being jealous, Brinker seems to glorify Leper by attributing all kinds of heroic deeds to him, like trying to assassinate Hitler. While much of this may be a joke, this serves as an interesting comparison to Gene’s ‘friendship’ with Finny. In the end, which relationship is more 'real' and a better relationship?