A Separate Piece. Chapter 12.

Robby Treadwell

4/1/13

Period 4

12

Summary: Finny breaks his leg again when he falls down the marble staircase. Finny says there is no war because he wants to join so bad but they won't let him because of his leg. Finny dies from marrow leaking into his bloodstream during surgery, and Gene figures it his fault. 

Quotation: "This is something I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of," he said quietly, "and I will have to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead."(193)

Quotation Significance: Hearing these words must have been so hard for Gene. He didn't even get to say goodbye, who knew he would've said his last words before his surgery.  

Reflection: Poor Finny does not deserve to go through what he is going through! Just as he starts to walk again on his feet he breaks his leg again! I wasn't surprised when I heard why Finny kept on saying that there was no war. It seems like everything is going against Finny and then we find out that he dies! I was so surprised when I read that. Gene feels so guilty now because he thinks that it his fault. Who knew that before Gene left the infirmary that, that was going to be the last time he ever talked to best friend again. 

Discussion Question: How is Gene going to carry on the plot by himself? Is he going to enlist now for Finny?

A Separate Peace. Chapters 9-10.

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?

A Separate Piece. Chapters 7-8.

Robby Treadwell

3/26/13

Period 4

7-8

Summary: The boys are sent to work and shovel snow off the rail road. Gene finds Finny in his room after coming back to Devon, after he has said he wants to enlist with Brinker. Finny and Gene decide to cut class to catch up on the school, and Finny starts to train Gene for the Olympics while Gene teaches Finny. 

Quotation: "I grabbed the knob and swung open the door. He was seated in my chair at the desk, bending down to adjust the gross encumbrance of his leg, so that only the familiar ears set close against his head were visible, and his short-cut brown hair. He looked up with a provocative grin, "Hi pal, where's the brass band?" (102)

Quotation Significance: I chose this quote because it was just funny to picture the face that must have been on Gene's face. All of his ideas about enlisting quickly turn the corner after that. 

Reflection: Gene seems to be almost doing better off on his own without Finny there and then as soon as he gets back Gene is already cutting class, and focusing more on the Olympics. It was interesting to read about how quickly Gene's thoughts about enlisting changed when Finny got there. Who know what would have happened if Gene enlisted before Finny returned to Devon. I feel like this training for Olympics stuff is not going to go anywhere and I don't really seem the point. But who knows its a book, anything can happen. 

Discussion Question: How could Finny's conspiracy about war not being real be true?

A Separate Piece. Chapter 5-6.

Robby Treadwell

3/25/13

Period 4

5-6

Summary: Finny's leg got shattered from the fall. Gene is allowed to go see Finny in the infirmary, but they just fight about whose fault it was. They don't see each other until after break when Gene stops by at his house. Gene gets a job as an assistant senior crew manager and works for Quackenbush. 

Quotation: "You aren't going to start living by the rules, are you?" I grinned at him. "Oh no, I wouldn't do that," and that was the most false thing, the biggest lie of all. (71)

Quotation Significance: We learn two things from this quote, one Finny didn't learn his lesson about doing stupid things, and two, Gene did learn his lesson and just doesn't want to tell Finny the truth because he is scared of his reaction.

Reflection: I knew for a fact that something like this was going to happen. One of them were obviously going to pay for the stupid things that they do. I think this can relate to the benchmark essay today about following rules, and how obedience is the key to safety. Well that is very true in this situation because Finny paid the price for not following obedience. I feel like Gene and Finny are also always fighting. Its like one of them always has to be right. I liked to read  how Gene was trying to get involved in sports for Finny because Finny can't play them anymore ever again.

Discussion Question: What is going to happen to Gene when Finny comes back to school? Is there going to be anymore Suicide Society?

A Separate Peace. Chapter1-2.

Robby Treadwell

3/21/13

1-2

Period 4

Summary: Gene Forrester returns to Devon school after he graduated years ago. He has a flashback of jumping off that tree with his friends into the river. Gene and Finny were good friends and when they go to jump off the tree Finny saves Gene's life when he loses his balance.

Quotation:" The tree was not only stripped by the cold season, it seemed weary from age, enfeebled and dry. I was thankful, very thankful that I had seen it." (14)

Quotation Significance: I chose this quote because I think that the tree is resembling something or it later is going to resemble something. I also chose this because the way this quote is written is very fluent and I like the way it sounds. 

Reflection: So far this book is somewhat interesting for me to read. I liked to read about how Gene goes back to his school and has such good memory of what happened while he was there. I can relate to this because some of the stuff that he does sounds like some of the stupid stuff that I would do. I thought it was funny to read about Suicide group of summer or whatever they called it, but I feel like they are going to do something beyond stupid and hurt themselves. I am wondering if this book is going to stay reciting the memories of their past or it is going to stay in the present.

Discussion Question: Is the book going to stay referring to the past? Or is it going to go back to the present?

Night. Pages 99-109.

Robby Treadwell

3/19/13

Period 4

99-109

Summary: Eliezer wakes up at Buchenwald not with his father, but comes to find him accidentally, he is very sick. One morning Eliezer wakes up to find that his father was sent to the crematory. The nazis find out that the Nazis are coming and decide to kill all the Jews, however the American army shows up and saves him. 

Quotation: "Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread."

Quotation Significance:  This quote is significant because it shows how the prisoners cared more about eating than noticing they were free. It also shows that they were starved very badly. (109)

Reflection: As gorry, and grotest the whole book was I was very surprised by this ending. I was almost sure that they were both going to die at the end of the book. It was pretty crazy to read that when the Nazis found out that the Americans were coming that there idea of "evacuation" was to kill all the jews in the camp. It was sad to read about how Eliezer's dad was suffering and finally died. I think that if Eliezer's dad had passed away earlier in the back that Eliezer would be a lot more healthy and safe, because he didn't have the weight on his shoulder's of caring for his father. 

Discussion Question: Would Eliezer have been better off if his father died earlier in the book, and so he could carry on the plot by himself?

Night. Pages 81-98.

Robby Treadwell

3/18/13

Period 4

81-98

Summary: The prisoners run from Buna 42 miles to Gleiwitz camp, where Juliek is killed in the middle of the night. They are put on cattle cars attached to a train. On the train they travel through German towns where bread is thrown in for them. A boy kills his dad for a piece of bread, and 12 of the 100 in Elizier's cart lived. 

Quotation: "The last day had been the most murderous. A hundred of us had got into the wagon. A dozen of us got out among them, my father and I. We had arrived at Buchenwald." (98)

Quotation Significance: This quote proves how brutal some of the living conditions were on the train. It seems that Eliezer and his dad are getting very lucky by continuing to survive in situations like these.

Reflection: These two sections were very sad to read. The author, Elie Wiesel does a very good job in the first scene of portraying an image  of a bunch of jews running for their lives. It is scary to read about how Eliezer falls asleep right next to Juliek and then when he wakes up she is dead. It seems Eliezer and his dad are running on thin ice. The worst part about these two sections was reading about how the kid killed his dad just for a piece of bread, and then that kid was killed by someone else! This book truly is brutal and shows how bad the holocaust was. 

Discussion Question: What is going to happen to them at Buchenwald?