72-85 assignment 5 Max Dowden

Explore the significance of the fight with Quackenbush. Why does it happen? What exactly sets Gene off? How is related to his narrative earlier in the chapter? Why might Quakenbush be so disdainful of Gene?

Gene at first does not wish to pit himself against Quakenbush, he in fact sympathizes with him. Cliff however feels the need to make Gene's life difficult. For much of the surrounding time, Gene keeps his cool through Quakenbush's disdain, which spawns from the fact that Gene is a senior and is an assistant manager. Usually a senior will only take that position if they have some sort of disability, so Quakenbush treats him as such. What sets Gene off is when Quakenbush says "listen you maimed son-of-a-bitch..." (Knowles 79). This resonates with Gene on an emotional level because Finny is essentially maimed, so using that word to describe Gene is taken as an insult to Finny. Since Gene has a deep seated admiration for Finny, and the guilt of being the one to maim him in the first place, he feels the need to strike back. He has a knee jerk reaction because of the fact that he is stewing in his guilt, and the idea that Finny will never again get the chance to be the star of sports, and it's all Gene's fault.

Assignment 5, Question 1, JFrye

1.) Explore the significance of the fight with Quackenbush. Why does it happen? What exactly sets Gene off? How is related to his narrative earlier in the chapter? Why might Quakenbush be so disdainful of Gene?

Well i feel that before the fight even happened Gene was already frustrated. Then Quackenbush made the comment "Get Some towels, As many as you can carry. That won't me too many" (Knowles 77). This slowly added on to Gene's frustration along with many other comments made by Quakenbush in chapter 6. Like when Gene says "Well it doesn't matter" (Knowles 78) and Quackenbush responds by saying "Yes It Matters" and "Go to hell Forrester. Who the hell are you anyway" (Knowles 78). After that Gene finally broke " You, Quackenbush, know nothing about who I am. That launched me and I had to go on and say, or anything else" (Knowles 79). In the very beginning of the chapter Gene is calm and composed. He talks about how winter is coming and the changing of the seasons, but then as we get closer to the fight Gene starts to felt depressed and sad over what he has become, the manager of a sport, a job only the cripple do.

Assignment 5, question 1, Chris Bornhorst

Explore the significance of the fight with Quackenbush. Why does it happen? What exactly sets Gene off? How is related to his narrative earlier in the chapter? Why might Quakenbush be so disdainful of Gene?

Gene and Cliff Quackenbush get in a fight with each other at a crew practice. This fight starts with Quackenbush ordering Gene to get towels, and makes fun of him. "... As many as you can carry. That won't be too many" (Knowles, 77). Gene gets mad at him but Quackenbush just comes back with another nasty comment. This is what starts the fight. Quackenbush is scared of Gene taking over his spot as the manager of the crew team, so he tries to keep it by bossing Gene around. Gene wasn't doing anything wrong to Quackenbush, but then he made the comment: "Go to hell Forrester" (Knowles, 78). This is what gets Gene heated and mad at Quackenbush. Gene's point of view is much different at the beginning of the chapter than it is at the end of the chapter. In the beginning, Gene peaceful and descriptive in his words. He makes it sound like everything is calm. "Fall had barely touched the full splendor of the trees, and during the height of the day the sun briefly regained its summertime power. In the air there was only an edge of coolness to imply the coming of winter" (Knowles, 72). However, at the end of the chapter he is mad and fired of at Quackenbush, so he is using language that has never been seen before in this novel. "You, Quackenbush, don't know anything about who I am. That launched me, and I had to go on and say, or anything else." Knowles, 79).