Even thought it doesn't seem like Leper to enlist, the reason why he enlists seems to be a little more like him. When he says "Everything has to evolve. Or else it perishes," (p.125), you can begin to figure out why he would enlist. Leper was referring to himself in that phrase. He's saying that he's meant to go to war. He's saying that going to war is the only way that he can, in a sense, "survive". Leper thinks that war will help him learn about life, and give him experiences that he wouldn't be able to have elsewhere. When Leper says this, he's saying that he wants, or has, to change, in order to become who he's truly meant to be.
Do you think Leper made the right decision to enlist?
Do you think he will last in the war? Or do you think he will be taken out because of his peace-loving ways?
Jennifer, I don't think that Leper made the right decision to enlist because his actions were based on an impulse and not careful thought. As Gene described on page ninety-three, Leper was the one who was the most surprised by the war's advancement on the school. He did not plan to enlist and was interested in more innocent things such as nature and enjoying life. However, after Leper saw the skiing video he suddenly wanted enlist not because he wanted to join the cause or to fight enemies and save lives, but because he enjoyed the idea of innocently skiing down the mountainside. Leper will most likely suffer later on as he is exposed to more and more of the harsh reality of what the war really is; Leper will not last because he thinks the war is about skiing down a mountainside, and not fighting to the death to survive.
ReplyDeleteTieshun, I partially agree with what you are saying. The part that I agree with is the last sentence. Leper doesn't understand what this war is about and the full force of it. But we also have to look at the flip side of this. First of all, Leper didn't stay with the ski troops as they mentioned in the Butt Room. Also, had Leper not joined the forces, there wouldn't be stories about him and he might still be living his world with beaver dams and slow skiing. By him going to the war as the first of the class, it makes him kind of popular since he was an outcast before. My reason being the guys start talking about him a lot when they are in the Butt Room.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a great decision for Leper to enlist in the war. Leper might not be the best soldier with his peace-loving ways, but I think the war will help him evolve and make him fit in more with the people around him. Leper enlisting in the war will make him realize what war really is and this will help him drop his nature-loving attributes, and be manlier. I think he won't be kicked out because there would not be a reason to kick off a soldier at a time when they need more volunteers. He might not like it there and want to leave, but I do not see him being taken out of the war. I also believe that Leper will get used to being in the troops and he knows that he has to stay there to evolve into a more masculine Leper. This is a great opportunity to change his life and have a new ego of himself.
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