Chapter 9: Why is it ironic that Leper is one of the first to enlist?

When the Devon boys are shown a video of ski troopers, Leper is almost immediately drawn to them. It has been made quite obvious in the book, the Leper enjoys skiing, but none of the Devon boys ever thought that he would enlist in the Ski Troops. Leper has been characterized as a boy who loves nature and peace. When all the other boys were shoveling snow at the railroad tracks, he didn't go because he was searching for a beaver dam. He would collect snails, and Finny even states that Leper is "good with plants and shrubbery,"(p.129). It is ironic that Leper enlists because the nature-loving, peaceful, almost hippie-like boy is the last person you would expect to enlist to a war.

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?

Chapter #8 (pages 103-122) What does Finny and Gene's conversation about enlisting show about their relationship?

When Finny learns that Gene is considering enlisting in the war, Finny immediately thinks that Gene is deserting him. He becomes upset and tries to divert the conversation by changing the topic. Finny changes the focus of the discussion from war to showers in an attempt to hide his astonishment, but Gene sees through it. While Finny is certainly surprised by the fact that he may be losing his friend to the war, Gene is also just as surprised at realizing what he means to Finny. On page 108 Gene comes to the conclusion that " Phineas was shocked at the idea of me leaving. In some way he needed me... He wanted me around," and that is when Gene understood that he would not be enlisting, and that he was going to stick with Finny.

The reaction that Finny has to the whole situation shows Gene that Finny needs him there. Their relationship used to make Gene feel as though he was blessed to have Finny as a friend. Now, it seems like the tables have turned and that Finny, not Gene, is depending on this friendship.

Do you think that Finny secretly always needed Gene, or that this is a recent development?

Is Gene going to regret his decision about now enlisting in the army?

How does this scene (pg. 107-108) blow open a new door into the relationship?

This section is explosive! Finny is just getting back and now he has to deal with Gene telling him that he is willing to enlist in the war. Finny obviously feels hurt because Gene didn’t even tell him. What makes it worse is that Gene was planning to do this before Finny got back to school. Finny reveals his surprise when he says, “‘Enlist!’ cried Finny at the same time. His large and clear eyes turned with an odd expression on me.”(pg. 107) By Gene getting that look from Finny, it reveals that Finny is completely caught off guard by the decision that Gene and Brinker made to enlist. Finny reveals that he feels that he is in charge of Gene because when he wasn’t told of the choice, it was as though he had just been betrayed by his best friend.

Gene described how Finny reacted to the thought of him leaving. “‘I can manage all right,’ Finny repeated with a set face.”(pg. 108) Finny is trying to get under Gene’s skin by saying, “Oh yeah. I can do perfectly well with or without you!” Finny starts to reel a bit and realize what he is putting his best friend through. First, though it is debatable, he makes Finny fall out of the tree; now he’s leaving an injured Finny to go to a war he didn’t originally support.

Gene tries to go back on what he said and argue with Brinker that he won’t enlist. They go back and forth with Gene saying that he wouldn’t enlist even if Brinker was related to some famous person in the war. They go to the point where Finny thinks up a new nick name for Brinker. Gene is obviously regretting what he has said so he tries to make it up, but he doesn't do a good job of it.

Why does Finny try to prove that he can take care of himself even with a shattered leg? Why does Gene suddenly go back on what he had first planned?