What does Gene mean when he says “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war end before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (204). Who/what is his enemy? Why does he contradict himself there? What was his war? Oliver Resnick

When Gene says this quote he is stating that although he never killed anybody as part of World War II, while that was going on he fought his own battle within himself to kill the hate he had beneath the surface. When Gene says "I never developed a strong hatred for my enemy (Knowles 204)," he means that he never really developed a hate for the Nazi's, but he did become obsessively hate filled towards Finny, who he saw as the face of the conflict within himself. Gene was full of insecurities and competitive to a malicious point, which reflects that he probably felt he had something to prove to himself and everyone around him. Finny being naturally talented and good natured, challenged that competitive spirit and brought of the darkest point within Gene. Finny was not the enemy, Finny just represented everything Gene felt he was not, which was Genes enemy. However when he says "I killed my enemy there (Knowles 204)," he is saying that with Finny's death, he killed that part of his nature, or at least found a way to suppress it.

Assignment #12: Gene reflects on Phineas' impact on his life at the bottom of page 202 and the top of page 203. In this passage, what do you think Gene means when he says "Phineas alone has escaped this," (202)? What did he escape? And did he do so by dying or by the way he lived his life? (also see page 204)

Finny "escaped" having to deal with such a large challenge that he would crack under the pressure, and not know what to do. He escaped this by both dying and how he lived his life previous to his death. All the other characters in the story "at some point found something in themselves pitted violently against something in the world... When they began to feel that there was this overwhelmingly hostile thing in the world with them, then the simplicity and and unity of their characters broke and they were not the same again," (Knowles 202). Like the poem we read in class, An Athlete Dying Young, Finny died in his prime, forever engraved in everyone's memories as the outgoing kid who could do no wrong. There is always the possibility that if Finny had not died then perhaps he would've one day come across that one challenge that would break him. If this had happened, Finny wouldn't be remembered as a unique person he was, he would be just like everyone else. However, Finny's personality before he died had also contributed to this. Finny possessed "an extra vigor, a heightened confidence in himself, a serene capacity for affection which saved him," (Knowles 202). Even though Finny suffered in his lifetime, he was able to persevere and not let the hardship of breaking his leg, twice, crush him. Even though Finny is gone, his legacy of having fun and not abiding by everyone else's rules lived on afterwards, and nothing can ever tarnish the memory of him.

Assignment #12 -- Explore the implications and subtleties of the conversation with Mr. Hadley. What does he say about “manhood” (see what he says about the G.I.’s) and how does he feel about Brinker and Gene’s involvement in the war effort? (198-200)

Mr. Hadley thinks that being a man means using your hands to get the job done, and he approves of Gene but not Brinker. Mr. Hadley is disgusted of the G.I.’s because they use machines for everything, “This war’s so technical they’ve got to use all kinds of machines… I can’t picture that at all.” (Knowles 198). This shows that Mr. Hadley does not approve of men who use the sewing machines when there is a war going on. Mr. Hadley thinks that Gene and Brinker is the image of himself in this war. While Gene is going to enlist in the Navy, Brinker is going to enlist in the Coast Guard. This connects back to getting your hands dirty to get the job done. Mr. Hadley thinks that the coast guard just sit in America defending the coast. This is shown when he scowls at Brinker’s decision. Mr. Hadley, being a veteran in the first world war, thinks that the only proper way to do something is to get your hands dirty.

Assignment #11: Explain the significance of the last paragraph: "I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case."

Gene feels that Finny's death is his own funeral, because of their shared connection and because of Gene's loss of innocence now that somebody close to him has died. Finny was the first one to cement their relationship by living his life through Gene, and now Gene is dying his death through Finny. Their relationship has come full circle, which is a fitting conclusion to the book. When Finny first says that "Gene will have to play sports for him" (Knowles 85) and when Gene decides that his purpose is to "become a part of Finny," (Knowles 85) this is when their shared life begins. Gene figures that since that phone call, they have shared an identity, and that means part of himself is dying with Phineas. Gene decides it is morally wrong to cry at your own funeral, that it diminishes your "manliness." Finny has already lost his manliness by being a coward and lying to the world. Do you think Gene's character will become even less righteous?

Assignment #11 (178-194) – 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?

Gene, along with the war's affects on life at Devon, were the two factors responsible for Finny's fall and his death.  If Gene hadn't pushed Finny off the tree in the first place, there wouldn't have been a trial that resulted in Finny breaking his leg and ultimately dying.  With this said however, it is questionable if Finny's first injury would have happened if there was no war.  As their time before senior year, when they would become "draft-bait" or "practically soldiers" (Knowles 15), is dwindling, the two boys fully indulged in the atmosphere of a "careless peace" which surrounds the pre-military-trained students at Devon (Knowles 24).  They tried to make the most of their summer.   As a result of their innocence, the boys end up representing the "sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve" (Knowles 24).  Now seniors, the war seems far more real than it did in their carefree summer days as sixteen year olds.  It brings a cloud of dread and tension over Devon, and causes the boys to feel a sense of anxiety that they did not feel when they were younger.  Due to this sudden change in mood, the boys act differently than normal.  Brinker feels more of a thirst to be in control, and all of the boys feel apprehensive as the constant weight on their shoulders of enlisting gets heavier and heavier with the draft approaching.  Additionally, Gene feels unable to admit the truth that he was to blame for Finny’s first accident because he knows with the war happening, the consequences are so much worse.  Not only will Finny be unable to pursue his athletic career, he won’t be able to fulfill his responsibility of enlisting.  Because of his inability to tell Finny what really happened, power hungry Brinker feels the need to discover the truth.  Overall, the events leading up to both of Finny’s injuries were caused by the change in atmosphere because of the war. 

Assignment #11 (178-194): Explain what Gene means when he says, "Phineas, you wouldn't be any good in the war, even if nothing had happened to your leg." Do you think this is true? Why?

            When Gene said, "Phineas, you wouldn't be any good in the war, even if nothing had happened to your leg" (Knowles 190), he meant that Finny was too friendly and innocent for the brutality of the war. Gene thought that Finny would not understand the rules of battle. “Next thing anyone knew you’d be over with the Germans or the Japs, asking if they’d like to field a baseball team against our side” (Knowles 190). Finny would be in denial about assault and killing, and he might pity the enemy, which Gene knew would not end well. “You’d make a mess, a terrible mess, Finny, out of the war” (Knowles 191). This statement would be logical as Finny was soft-hearted and preferred problem solving to violence. Gene favored this kind side of Finny, but realized that it was not fit for conflict.

Blog Post 11: 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?

I do not believe that you can blame Finny's second fall and death on Gene. I actually believe it was Brinker's fault. Gene did not push him, Finny "plunged out the doors" and went down the stairs himself (Knowles 177). If it is anyones fault it is Brinker's. Gene and Finny had come to an understanding that they were still going to be friends, even though both of them knew that Gene had jounced the limb. If Brinker hadn't constantly been bugging Gene about admitting to it, Finny never would have been out in in the first place, therefore Finny wouldn't have fallen down the stairs. "'We're taking you out' he said flatly" (Knowles 165). "His friends half-lifted us half roughly, and we were hustled down the stairs" (Knowles 165). This shows how obnoxious Brinker was. He would not let Gene and Finny rest in their room. Brinker forced them to go to the trial, because he was so obsessed with having Gene admit to breaking Finny's leg the first time. Then on page 176 Brinker keeps eagerly questioning Leper about what happened on the day of the tree accident. He bugged Leper so much that Finny said "'I don't care…I just don't care. Never mind, ' and he started across the marble floor toward the doors" (Knowles 176-177). Not only did Brinker force Finny to come, but he pushed him so hard that he left the trial room and then fell down the stairs. I believe it was Brinkers fault that Finny fell for the second time and died.
-Carly Newell

Assignment #10 (152-177): Explore Brinker’s role in the trial and his motivation. Why does he orchestrate the trial?

Brinker orchestrates the trial because he is committed to finding every single fact that there is in the school, and can not stand not knowing the truth of how Finny got hurt. "You get all your facts! You collect every f---ing fact there is in the world!" (Knowles 177). Brinker also acts as though he is a true patriot and says that along with Leper, Finny is another man who cannot fight in the army. "There is a war on. Here's one soldier our side has already lost." (Knowles 168). Brinker's true motivation is to have the limited knowledge that only Gene, Finny and Leper share of the fall that Finny had. Brinker's role in the trial is to ask the main questions and to ensure that order is being kept. Brinker cuts of Gene when he starts to raise his voice and keeps the process of the trial running relatively smoothly. Throughout the trial Brinker never raises his voice, but breaks the silence with his speech making the words that he says more dramatic, and powerful. In this second trial scene in the Assembly Hall, we see how Brinker is power hungry and looking for the truth with his criminal like actions.  

Assignment #10 (152-177): Discuss the irony of the dialogue between Finny and Gene on the second half of page 155.

            It is ironic that Finny does not believe there was a war as he stated that he would not be drafted in the war because of his broken leg, which caused Gene to give up on his goal. Brinker stated there were, “two men sidelined for the Duration . . . of course [Finny] is [one of the two]” (Knowles 157). Once hearing this remark, Gene immediately used Finny’s theory about how the war does not actually exist. “Not that there’s anything to be out of . . . Just this dizzy war, this fake, this thing with the old men” (Knowles 158). When Finny replied with “Sure. There isn’t any war” (Knowles 158), Gene realized that Finny was loosing hope in his original conjecture about the war and the old men. Gene then began to acknowledge that the separate peace and dreams he had at Devon were just a false sense of reality. Finny becoming reacquainted with the truth of the war made Gene recognize the false hopes that the school supplied. 

Discuss Leper’s return and its impact on Gene and Finny before Brinker’s trial. What does Leper represent now that he is back at Devon and what conversation does his return trigger between Finny and Gene? (see pages 163-164). (Tayseer)

When Finny and Gene are talking about what the war had done to Leper, they realize that, "the war was real, this war and all the wars. If a war can drive somebody crazy, then it's real alright" (Knowles 163). Leper has come to represent the pain that the war can cause, the things that the war can do to someone who joins the army, and that the war is a serious and real thing. It's not a joke, like they would like to think, but it is something important, something that has hurt someone they had known. Now that they know this, they can not just back away from it now. It will be surrounding them for the next few years. But, while they still can, they joke about how Gene had won every Olympic metal, and how Finny had collected every newspaper on it.

Assignment #9 (138-151) 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?

Knowles use of imagery and detailed description at the beginning of this chapter sets the tone for the scene that is about to take place. Gene has set off to meet Leper, who has just summoned him with an obscure and urgent telegram. While the boys were in a sheltered bubble of peace and harmony at Devon, Leper was out in the “real world” where the reality had become being at war. In the hope that he was safe, Gene and his classmates spent the time Leper was away fabricating stories of his magnificent adventures to help make light of the dark times they were in. Now that Leper has supposedly returned, Gene is unsure about what state he is in, yet he only wishes to think positive thoughts.

Although the harsh winter cold of Vermont is surrounding him, Gene chooses to feel only the hint of warm sunlight behind him. Gene describes the sun as “the blessing of the morning” that had no real purpose except to spread its comforting warmth. Gene explains, “As I walked briskly out the road the wind knifed at my face, but this sun caressed the back of my neck,” (Knowles 141). The contrasting feelings of warmth and coldness show how Gene is choosing to interpret the situation. He refuses to accept that Leper could be in trouble with the army. Gene believes that Leper's "escape" must have a good explanation behind it. This could very well be because he cares for his friend, but it may also be because he too will one day enter in the War. If Leper was alright, Gene might have a chance at surviving the War too. As Gene travels towards Leper’s home and describes the surrounding area, he says, “That natural state of things is coldness, and houses are fragile havens, holdouts in a death landscape, unforgettably comfortable, simple though they are, just because of their warmth,” (Knowles 139). He is presented with a “death-landscape,” yet once again he chooses only to seek and accept the warmth within it. This is representative of his frame of mind– the general denial of the apparent truth that Knowles’ descriptions suggest. Through all of the descriptions of the desolate landscape around Gene, there is a sense that what lies ahead for Gene isn’t very promising. Still, Gene reaches back into his past at Devon and finds a hope that Leper’s escape will only be positive.

Does Gene's choice to see the warmth in the cold Vermont landscape remind you of another time Gene chose to only see the light in a situation? How might Gene living in his "separate peace" be affecting the way he perceives the world?