A Separate Peace Chapter Summaries Essay Research — страница 2

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vision of peace. Finny begins to coach Gene in preperation for the 1944 Olympics. Finny is convinced that there really is no war at all. He thinks a bunch of fat men fabricated the whole idea of a war. Gene tries to forget about the war and concentrate on the Olympics. Mr. Ludsbury exlpains that all exercise is really part of the war effort. Chapter 9:The boys have returned from Christmas vacation. Leper Lepellier enlists in the ski troops. Gene reacts that war must be unreal for a peaceful Leper to enlist. Finny tries to draw Gene into a private world with just them two. Finny comes up with a plan for a winter carnival. Finny establishes a separate peace for the boys at Devon. A telegram arrives from Leper, saying that he has escaped and needs help. The boys are forced to

realize that war has broken in upon them at last in a real and important way. Chapter 10:Gene recollects preparations for war undertaken by himself and others his age. Most of his time was exhausted in traveling around aimlessly to different places until the war was suddenly and prematurely brought to a halt by the dropping of the atomic bomb. He is en route to visit Leper. Gene thinks Leper is a ?physco?. Leper explains that the army was going to dismiss him with a Section Eight (the nuts and physco?s in the service dismissal). Leper says that Gene is ?savage underneath,? and then supports his view by citing the way Gene knocked Finny out of the tree and ?crippled him for life.? Gene reacts angerly, but Leper?s mother enters. They have lunch, and then take a walk in the country.

Leper recalls some of military life. Gene screams that he doesn?t care about what Leper is saying because it has nothing to do with him. Chapter 11: Gene returns to Devon and finds Finny in a snowball fight. The fight rages as a war games. Finny is sobered and while saying that htere is no war shows that he knows that the war really does exist. Binker tells Gene to stop pitying Finny, because Finny will start pitying himself. Brinker points out that it would be good for Gene if everyone could forget about Finny?s accident. Finny confesses to Gene that he is no convinced that the war is real, and also explains that he has seen Leper hiding in various places around the school grounds. Brinker conducts a war trail, investigating the cause of Finny?s accident and ambiguously accusing

gene as the guilty party. Brinker asks Finny to recall the events leading up to his actual fall and slowly it becomes evident that Gene was up on the branch with Finny. Finny tells the boys that Leper is on the school grounds. Leper is brought to trial as a key witness who had been present when the accident occurred. Leper says he had seen both boys in the tree, looking ?as black as death? against the bright sun behind them. Finny ends the trial by rising angrily, cursing at Brinker, and for the first time starting to cry. Finny falls down the stairs. Chapter 12: Phil Latham, the wrestling coach, is brought to the scene of the accident and malkes finny lie still until Dr. Stanpole arrives. Finny?s leg has a clean break this time. Mr. Ludsbury orders Gene to his room. Gene sneaks

around to the infirmatory were Finny will be taken. Dr. Stanpole arrives and takes Finny in his car. Gene talks to Finny through the infirmatory window, explaining that he wants to help, but Finny remains angry and unreceptive. Gene sleeps at the stadium. He finds a note in his room from Dr. Standpol, requesting Finny?s things be brought to the infirmatory. Finny finally admits Gene?s innocence. Finny knows that Gene did not push him ot of the tree on purpose. Finny is very unhappy though. Finny wants desperately to be in the war. Dr. Stanpole announces that Finny is dead. Dr. Stanpole loses control of himself as he tries to explain that some marrow from the broken bone must have been released into the blood stream and gone to the heart, killing Finny immediately. Chapter 13:The

Far Common of the Devon School is being taken over by the army. Gene realizes that no one has accused him of being responsible for what happened to Finny. Mr. Hadley, Brinker?s father, arrives, and lectures the boys on bravery, heroism, and the importance of a military career. He is disgusted that Gene says he hopes he never sees a foxhole. Brinker himseld cannot accept his fahter;s mindless announcement that everyone should be willing to die for his coutry. Gene realizes that wars are caused by ?something ignorant in the human heart.? He realizes also that the hard part of the war is over for him; he endured it at Devon. For the real horror of war is slowly mitigated through the difficult period of preparation of war, not through actual war experiences.