Assignment 2: (pg. 21-40) Question 3: Why was the talk with Patch- Withers so important? What do we learn about Gene, Finny, and the faculty?

Finny can get away with anything. For example, when Mr. Prud'homme found both of the boys, he had planned on punishing them for missing dinner the night before. But because Finny is such a calm, sly character, he was able to escape punishment by making up a story that was not entirely true, but very believable. (pg. 22) "The real reason sir was that we just had to jump out of that tree... We had to do that, naturally because we're all getting ready for the war. What if they lower the draft age to seventeen? Gene and I are both going to be seventeen by the end of the summer, which is a very convenient time since it's the start of the academic year and there's never any doubt which class you should be in." Finny was also able to escape when Patch-Withers caught Finny wearing the Devon tie as a belt. He said he could not find his belt and would much rather not have a tie than have his pants fall down in front of Patch-Withers and his wife.

I'm sensing jealousy coming from Gene. Most people in the Devon school appreciate Finny and his athletic appearance as well as his calm and sly tactics. Finny is a kid that is popular but does not like to brag about it. On page 29 Gene says, "It was quite a compliment to me, as a matter of fact, to have such a person choose me for his best friend." Gene said this almost as if Finny took him under his wing and raised him to be the person he is today. Sort of like Gene is a sidekick or a follower, yet he is the main character of the novel. I'm assuming that Gene will get sick of being a sidekick and betray Finny later on in the book.

Name a moment when you feel like you've been someone's sidekick, follower or third wheel. Explain how that felt. Or, if you have not been one of these three, name a moment when you felt like you were a leader or a main character to put in into different words. Explain how that moment felt.

The novel opens up with Gene narrating his return to Devon 15 years after he graduates . Why does John Knowles begin the novel this way?

For the first 5 pages of the novel, Knowles tries to hook the reader to the novel. He does this subtly however; he doesn't include dialogue or introduce any main charachters so the reader doesn't become overwhelmed with the story. This is a nice way to start the story, because it gives you time to soak in the information and feel comfortable with the start of a new book (which can be challenging at times). By having the main character walk through the well pictured town, a reader also gets a sense of the authors style.

John Knowless chose to start the book in mid november during a rain storm. The benefits that he got from that setting, were that it help to form the basic feel of the story. If Knowles had started the story in a sunny august setting, the story would be more fast paced; Gene wouldn't have to dodge puddles or get his shoes dirty, and the imagery wouldn't develop as well.

Overall i believe that Knowles was attempting to get the readers more comfortable with the beginning of a new book, as well as attempting to help the readers imagine the novels tones and styles.