HENRY BAMFORD'S Assignment 11 Question 1

1) Is Finny's fall, and ultimately his death, something you can blame on Gene? Why or why not? If he is not to blame, then who is?

Finny's fall down the stairs wouldn't have happened if Gene hadn't made him fall out of the tree. The tree incident caused many of Finny's feeling about Gene to be bottled up. “ 'You get all the rest of the facts, Brinker!' he cried. 'You get all your facts!' I had never seen Finny crying, 'You collect every f---ing fact there is in the world!'... ” (Knowles 177). Gene's account of Finny's last actions before the fall at Brinker's trial clearly shows bottled up emotions. Gene has some role in the fall, but he definitely not the only person involved. Brinker is also responsible for Finny's fall because his trial freed the truth of what happened at the tree, which, as the reader saw, released Finny's true thoughts. Leper was another key person in the incident because of his detailed memories of the first fall. My point is, more than one person is responsible. Each comment at the trial was a part of pushing Finny to the breaking point. Many unnamed characters had roles in the fall.

HENRY BAMFORD'S Assignment 9 Question 4

4.) 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?

In this reading, Leper says, “ ...always were a savage underneath.” (Knowles 145) several times to Gene when Gene is at his house. This is ironic because while Leper is supposed to be psycho, he's right, Gene is savage. Gene destroyed Finny's best quality, his athletics, because of his own jealousy. What's also ironic about Leper's statement is it's an outburst of tremendous emotion that the reader has never seen with Leper. Usually, Leper was calm and kept strong feelings to himself, but now he's furious, laughing, and crying all at the same time while telling Gene he's a savage. Leper has been bottling his true thoughts and emotions inside for the entirety of the story. Leper contacted Gene at the end of the last chapter. Leper needed Gene to come to his house to let all of his emotions and the truth of what happened at the army out. Maybe Leper will finally return to normal because of this interaction. Everyone at Devon was making jokes that Leper was leading army's attack, but in reality, the army is hurting Leper.

Henry Bamford

Assignment 9 Question 4 Katie

4.) 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?

Leper has basically been diagnosed by the army as, “psycho” so for him to call someone else something is a bit ironic since he shouldn’t be talking. He doesn’t know for a fact what really happened on the tree, and what he is talking about so it doesn’t seem fair for him to accuse someone of being crazy, when he has been called that himself. Leper has always been the most calm, and most peaceful out of the boys, and now he is making the most intense accusation. He has changed to be one of the more disturbed boys. In the beginning of the book, I don’t think anyone could have guessed that Leper would be one of the first to guess what really happened up on that tree. But even though Leper is telling Gene he was “always a savage underneath” he contacts him first because he feels more comfortable with someone he thinks is on the same level as him. He thinks that they both have something wrong with them. Leper wants to contact and talk to someone who has done something wrong, someone who will understand at least a little bit of what he is saying. Leper has changed sufficiently saying,“I admitted a hell of a lot to myself.” (Knowles 145). Leper has changed because now that he feels he has the title of being “psycho”, he feels he can call other people whatever he wants.

Assignment 8 Question 4 Katie Massie

4) Re-read the last paragraph on the bottom of 136 and on to 137. Paraphrase what Gene is saying and interpret the usage of “separate peace.” What is a “separate peace”? Why is included here? What is its significance?

A separate peace to Gene is the idea that the war isn’t affecting them. Although there is this huge dilemma around the world, it doesn’t touch their summers, and their festivals. They keep living their lives, and the war doesn’t seem to disturb it. Here he’s talking about a moment where the war and all other troubles don’t touch them. Nothing is bothering them and they are just peaceful, with no connection to any of their human troubles. Gene points this out saying, “For on this day even the schoolboy egotism of Devon was conjured away,” (Knowles 136). It is included here because they are in the middle of a festival, and a fun day, and the set up with this makes for a more dramatic entrance for the telegram. It makes it even more ironic when the war manages to weasel itself into their nice day. The significance of the separate peace is magnified by the interruption of the telegram. They are experiencing a pure nice day, and moment, and then it becomes even more significant when the telegram appears because it shows that sometimes a separate peace doesn’t stay separate.

Assignment 9 Question 2 Julia Burnett

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).

Gene thinks that when Leper says he escaped it means he had broken free of enemies hold, however Leper believes that "escape" means he ran away before being discharged, as he could see he wasn't fit for the Army physically or emotionally. Gene, along with most of the other boys at Devon, idolize the Army and the soldiers in it, therefore, they believe that the life of a soldier must be filled with glory and special privileges, not something one would want to avoid. As Gene pontificates on the meaning of Leper's telegram while traveling to his house, he says " You didn't "escape" from the Army, so he must have escaped from something else. The most logical thing a soldier escapes from is danger, death, the enemy... And the only enemies in this country would be spies. Leper had escaped from spies" (Knowles 140). Although when Gene arrived at Leper's house he learned that he escaped from a possible discharge that would have tarnished his reputation. Leper, who later admits to having hallucinations and adjustment issues during training camp, means that he escaped from the production line mentality of the Army. As Gene described him when he told him he had escaped he said it, "in a voice and intensity that was not Leper's. His face was furious, but his eyes denied the fury; instead they saw it before them. They were filled with terror" (Knowles 143). This terror was not only of his rebellious actions but his disrespectful feelings toward authorities in the Army. He called himself a psycho, a word he was labeled as in the Army which makes him question the system, saying, "And the perfect word for me, psycho. I guess I am. I must be. Am I, though, or is it the army? Because they turned everything inside out" (Knowles 150). When Leper says he "escaped" from the army, he means that he broke free from the generalized, impersonal tactics that they used. This misunderstanding between Leper and Gene shows the maturity gap between students and men in the army, and the naivety of the boys who think the army brings glory with little effort.

Assignment 8, Question 2, Lachlan McGrath

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?

There are several things ironic about Leper enlistment. Firstly, Leper criticized the mountain skiers for "never getting to see the trees or anything" (Leper 95). However after seeing the Finnish ski troops flying down the mountain his view of skiing had changed. He realized that fast skiing is there for a reason, he also noticed how it was "all right to miss seeing trees and the countryside and all other things whne you've got to be in a hurry" (Leper 125). Secondly, before Leper's realization of his dream to participate in the ski troops, you would have never guessed that he would have been one to enlist in the army. He was "generally making little sketches of birds and trees in the back of his notebook"(Knowles 93). This supports my view that Leper used to be in a world of his own never seeming to have a worry in his mind. The irony involved in Leper's enlist was also a further tearind down of the "separate peace".

Assignment 9, question 1 Chris Bornhorst

1.) Gene spends the first part of the chapter traveling to Leper’s house. Choose two or three phrases of description about the landscape (location, weather, temperature) and explore how Knowles is using them. Why does he include these details here and why at this time? What does it reveal about Gene at this time?

In this chapter, Gene travels to Leper's house after he escapes from the war. When Gene is arriving at Leper's house, he describes at being warm and comfortable. ", and the houses are fragile havens, unforgettably comfortable, simple though they are, just because of their warmth"(Knowles, 139). In this quote Gene is telling the reader that Leper's area in which he lives in is cold on the outside but warm and comfortable on the inside. This relates to Gene because that is his personality and who he is as a person. Also, he has described the landscape in which Leper's house is on. He says that it is a white snow covering the hills, and there was sun shining down onto the land. He describes it as a beautiful place. John Knowles uses these details to describe how pretty the land is, and then how within the land there is a huge war going on and a man who has escaped from it. Gene also uses the word glory which relates to the poems that we read in class. Glory is one of the things you get from war, but death and fear are others. John Knowles uses the landscape and details to describe the beauty and hate of the land and war. He also uses it to describe Gene.

Assignment 8, Question 2 JFrye

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 is the first person to enlist in the army. No one expects this because Leper was never interested in the war or anything that had to do with the war. But, once Leper sees the video of ski troops skiing down the mountain he suddenly can relate to the war. It is almost as if he finds the war fun and exciting in a way. In his prospective the war now consist of the one thing he loves, skinning. But the one thing Leper doesn't realizes is that the skiing preformed in the war is completely different than the sport that he loves. This is clearly stated on page 125 "You know what? Now I see what racing skiing is all about. It's all right to miss seeing the trees and the countryside and all the other things when you've got to be in a hurry. And when you're in a war you've got to be in a hurry. Don't you? So I guess maybe racing skiers weren't running the sport after all. They were preparing it, if you see what I mean, for the future. Everything has to evolve or else it perishes" (Knowles 125). I agree with Ayame when she said that Brinker was not jealous. I feel that despite all the jokes Brinker is honoring Leper in a way for his courage. He was giving him credit for very heroic deeds like trying assassinate Hitler. This is intended to be a joke but really has an important meaning.

Assignment #8 Question #3 Victor

Why does Finny organize the Winter Carnival? Why is this significant? What is the impact and symbolism of the Winter Carnival?

Phineas thinks up of the idea of a festival, a winter festival. In this chapter, with Leper and the chaos of the war it is hard to imagine them having a fun experience. Finny says, "You know what we'd better do this saturday?" (Knowles 128). This is strange because Finny, a man of inovation and hope is setting this thing up has if there was nothing else to do. The old Finny would have preferred to go cliff jumping, not that the daredevil Phineas had picked up its bags and gone because of an injury. The daredevil was still there just weaker than ever. He would prefer watch other people have fun than do nothing. For old Finny that would have been tortue. What is symbolic is that Finny's injury made him different and more calm. The impact is total chaos, until the Leper's letter showed up. Finny is very brave to have such an athletic character, and still be positive knowing sports should be forgotten. Let alone the fact that his best friend did this to him.