Katie Massie
Leper’s return to Devon represents to Gene that the truth will come out. Not only because Gene knows that Leper almost definitely remembered everything that happened with the tree, but also because Gene wasn’t entirely honest in his descriptions of Leper to Brinker. He didn’t blatantly lie, but he let Brinker believe that Leper was just being a wimp, that he got frightened and ran home. This is true, but it’s not as pathetic as Brinker thinks. There is so much happening with Leper that Gene leaves out. This could be because he didn’t want to say something embarrassing to Leper, which he was right to not do, but I feel he is making others trust him less when he gives them the wrong image.
The impact that Leper’s return has on Gene and Finny is that they have a conversation with each other about trust and who to believe. It is a very important scene in the book, because Finny is some one is skeptical of a lot of things in his life, but he tells Gene that he has to believe him. Finny tells Gene that if Gene says something is true, Finny will take it as fact. He says, “But I do believe – it’s important after all for me to believe you. Christ, I’ve got to believe you, at least. I know you better than anybody.” (Knowles 163). This is a very important scene because it finalizes Gene and Finny’s closeness right before they are about to be publicly tested in front of a large crowd of people they have known for many years. It’s the moment that their friendship has been building up to throughout the book, where all their time spent together is going to be tested.
