Robby Treadwell
4/2/13
Chapter 13
Period 4
Summary: Gene's class graduates, and the army watches in while Gene watches knowing he will be one of them soon. Gene talks again as when he is older and says that he never killed anyone while he served in the military. The only war he fought was the one he fought at Devon.
Quotation: "Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart." (201)
Quotation Significance: I chose this quote because it is so true. Wars aren't made by stupid acts, but they are made because everyone is so ignorant and they are always wanting more.
Reflection: This was a good ending to a plot like the one in A Separate Piece. Gene's life at Devon high school was fairly dramatic, and full of stupid acts. I knew there was going to be a tragic event that would happen to Gene during high school for him, because after I read about the Summer Suicide Society something had to go wrong. I like how at the end Gene goes back into his older life just like in the beginning of the book. Its like the whole book is Gene talking about his career in high school. I like how Gene says that the only war he fought was the war with the enemies at Devon high school.
Discussion Question: Does Gene ever join the real military?
40/40
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting analysis of the book. Gene was fighting against Finny, but also against the immature and ugly thoughts and jealousies of adolescence. In some ways, Finny is almost too good to be true. Everyone else in the book is full of shameful thoughts and actions like Gene or full of pride and pomposity like Brinker or just plain crazy like Leper. If we're honest, we're probably more like one of these guys than we're like Finny. It's almost good that Finny died since he wouldn't have been able to fit in with the war. He'd probably start a blitzball game at the front or something... Anyway, this book does make you think.