Robby Treadwell
3/28/13
Period 4
9-10
Summary: Leper enlists in the military, but Gene gets a letter from Leper saying he needs his help to come save his life at his Christmas location. Gene goes to Leper's house in Vermont to find out that Leper has deserted the army because he was going to give him a Section Eight discharge.
Quotation: "I HAVE ESCAPED AND NEED HELP. I AM AT CHRISTMAS LOCATION. YOU UNDERSTAND. NO NEED TO RISK ADRESS HERE. MY SAFETY DEPENDS ON YOU COMING AT ONCE." (137)
Quotation Significance: Gene must have been so scared when he read this later. Not only did he probably feel scared but probably guilty too because if he doesn't go Leper makes it sound like he is going to die.
Reflection: I knew someone in this book was going to enlist in the Army, but I wouldn't have guessed Leper. I bet Gene was really concerned when he saw that Leper really needed him to come help. I thought that it was pretty nice of Gene to travel all that way to Vermont to help out Leper for something that really wasn't that bad. Well I guess not living a normal life, and never finding work would be pretty bad actually. The whole carnival idea that Finny and the boys had was pretty interesting as well. Seems to me like the cider had a little something special in it.
Discussion Question: Why were they going to give Leper a Section Eight Discharge? Was he really insane?
60/60
ReplyDeleteGene may have been nice to go see Leper, but he certainly treats him horribly! I'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.