<A Separate Peace> by John Knowles
MS20310 SeungMin Lee이승민
<Chapter 1>
1)Summary
The first chapter starts off by introducing Devon School, which is the school that the main
character, Gene, attended when he was younger. Gene, now a full-grown man, goes back to Devon to
see two important places from his past, a flight of marble stairs in the First Academy Building, and a
specific tree in a grove of trees. Seeing these places makes him feel more comfortable, since they
feels so insignificant compared to how much of Gene’s past they had affected.
Gene’s mind and the fears he had about the two places have changed, and he begins a
flashback here. It is to a time when he attended the school, about 15 years ago. Finny, Gene, and
three of their other friends, Leper (real name Elwin), Chet Douglass, and Bobby Zane goes to a tree
that their seniors need to jump out of before being drafted into the army. Phineas and Gene jump out
of it, but the rest are too afraid. The two boys, now having something big in common, walk back to
their dormitories together.
2) Plot (contains 1) what part of the plot the chapter is and 2) the highest point of emotion in
the chapter itself, but not always the climax)
This chapter is the exposition of the story. I can know this because the introduction of the
main characters and the main setting is included. Also, Gene starts a flashback here, which continues
on for the rest of the story. This means that the main events begin in this chapter. The point of highest
emotion in this chapter is when Gene visits the school for the first time in fifteen years and goes to
visit the marble stairs and the tree.
3) Literary Elements
 Foreshadowing
“The marble must be unusually hard. That seemed very likely, only too likely, although with all my
thought about these stairs this exceptional hardness had not occurred to me. It was surprising
that I had overlooked that, that crucial fact, "This sentence emphasizes the hardness of the
marble too much, more than is necessary. Also, since the narrator keeps saying that it is a crucial
fact; readers can infer that there would be something important to do with it. These two facts
signify that something would happen because of the stairs.
 Flashback
There is a flashback in this chapter, after Gene visits the fearful sites from when he was a student
in Devon school. As he heads back into the school through the mud, he suddenly begins a
flashback that lasts for almost the whole book.
 Simile
“He and I started back across the fields, preceding the others like two seigneurs.” (p.18 line 1-2)
You can see a simile in this sentence, which compares Finny and Gene to two seigneurs. This is
a simile and not a metaphor because it uses the word ‘like’ to compare the two subjects.
 Allusion
The songs that are mentioned at the end of the chapter, such as “Don’t sit Under the Apple Tree,”
and the books “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” and “Far from the Madding Crowd” are allusions. This is
because the author is using the titles of songs and books that actually exist in real life.
4) Important Phrases
 “Looking back now across fifteen years, I could see with great clarity the fear I had lived in,
which must mean that in the interval I had succeeded in a very important undertaking: I must
have made my escape from it.” (p.10 line 11-14)
This phrase is important because it sort of foreshadows that Gene would explain about this ‘fear’
later on in the book. Also, Gene is thinking this while looking at the well-preserved Devon school,
so readers can know that the event is something that is connected with the school itself.
 “Everything at Devon slowly changed and slowly harmonized with what had gone before. So
it was logical to hope that since the buildings and the Deans and the curriculum could
achieve this, I could achieve, perhaps unknowingly already had achieved, this growth and
harmony myself.” (p.12 line 20-23)
This phrase means that Gene feels things that happened in the past has been covered up by
how much Devon has changed. Since the buildings and the curriculum have slowly transformed
to fit in with the past, Gene hopes he would be able to do the same thing.
 “The more things remain the same, the more they change after all. Nothing endures, not a
tree, not love, not even a death by violence.” (p.14 line 14-17)
This phrase means that Gene detects something different about the tree or the marble stairs. I
can know this because “the more things remain the same” part refers to how little Devon changed.
However, he probably thinks that the tree has changed somewhat, since something that had
played such an important role in his life feels so small now. This phrase can also be seen as
foreshadowing, because the second sentence says “not even a death by violence.” Readers
would be able to infer that Gene would not leave it off like that; he would go on to explain the
death later on.
5) Vocabulary
1. Sedate
Quiet and rather dignified, though perhaps a bit dull
p.9 l.3
2. Tacit
Agreeing without actually saying so
p.9 l.14
3. Nondescript
Rather dull; not at all interesting or attractive
p.10 l.22
4. Cupola
A roof or part of a roof that is shaped like a dome
p.11 l.18
5. Convalescence Period or process of becoming healthy and well again after an illness p.11 l.32
or operation
6. Demotion
Reduction to a lower grade, rank, class, or position
p.14 l.10
7. Enfeebled
Have become very weak
p.14 l.13
8. Irate
Very angry about something
p.14 l.21
9. Steeple
A tall pointed structure
p.14 l.21
10. Indignation
Feeling of shock and anger you have when you think that something p.18 l.10
is unfair
<Chapter 2>
1) Summary
Gene and Finny miss dinner, which is breaking a school rule. However, Finny’seloquence
gets the boys out of trouble with the teachers. Also, Finny starts wearing a pink shirt as an emblem, to
celebrate a bombing in the war. This is a serious crime in a school like Devon, but Finny explains the
meaning of the shirt to the teachers and gets away with it as always. Gene starts envying Finny’s
talent in persuading others and getting away from trouble.
That afternoon, the boys are invited to traditional term tea party by Mr. Prud’homme, the
substitute headmaster. Finny gets into trouble again, since he wore the Devon school tie as a belt.
Gene thinks that Finny would finally get punished, for doing such a disrespectful thing. However, the
teacher only laughs at Finny’s ridiculous explanation and doesn’t punish him.
The last part of chapter 2 is about a club that Gene and Finny formed together. It is called
the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, and they plan to jump out of the big tree together
as an opening every time. At the top of the tree, though, Gene loses his balance and almost falls off.
Finny catches hold of his friend’s arm and pulls him back up. Both of them make a good jump in the
end and officially establish the society. After dinner that day, Gene thinks back about the danger he
just barely avoided and realizes that Finny had saved his life.
2) Plot
This chapter is the beginning of the rising action in the story, especially toward the end. The
introduction and the briefing of all the characters and the main setting is over, and the main story
begins to unfold. Near the end of the chapter, Gene almost falls off the tree, and Finny saves his best
friend’s life. The tension begins to rise here, so chapter two is the beginning of the rising action.
3) Literary Elements
 Alliteration
Finny and Gene’s new society name, “The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session,” is an
allusion, since the ‘s’ sound is repeated five times in just eight letters.
 Foreshadowing
“I could have been killed.” I think this part is foreshadowing. The fact that Gene had almost been
killed does not feel good, and since it was an accident, the same thing could happen later on.
Readers might infer that the incident would repeat itself later on, and that someone would
actually be killed that time.
 Imagery
There is lots of imagery in this chapter. First, Gene explains how Finny talks back to Mr.
Prud’homme. A part of it is “…his eyes now and then widening to fire a flash of green across the
room. Standing in the shadows, with the bright window behind him, he blazed with sunburned
health.” Moreover, there is the part where Gene explains how the dormitories look. “The
dormitories we passed were massive and almost anonymous behind their thick layers of ivy, big,
old-looking leaves…” Finally, there is the part where Gene talks about the boys playing on the
fields and the area surrounding them. “Far ahead of us four boys, looking like white flags on the
endless green playing fields…”
4) Important Phrases
 “The master was slipping from his official position momentarily, and it was just possible, if
Phineas pressed hard enough, that there might be a flow of simple, unregulated friendliness
between them, and such flows were one of Finny’s reasons for living.” (p.22 line 14-18)
This phrase signifies Finny’s talent in persuading people, even teachers. He gets Gene and
himself out of trouble with this gift, and actually enjoys the process. I don’t think he is trying to be
rude, by making the teachers forget their responsibilities with his talent of speaking. However, it
just comes naturally to him.
 “I think we reminded them of what peace was like, we boys of sixteen.” (p.23 line 34~p.24
line 1)
During war, most adults, or even teenagers, have to enlist or be drafted into different parts of the
army. However, boys of sixteen don’t have to go to war just yet. The students of Devon were the
same, playing and laughing freely. The teachers probably knew that they would have less time to
enjoy as they grow up, and so became more lenient towards them.
 “There was a moment of total, impersonal panic, and then Finny’s hand shot out and
grabbed my arm, and with my balance restored, the panic immediately disappeared. I turned
back toward the river, moved a few more steps along the limb, sprang far out and fell into the
deep water. Finny also made a good jump, and the Super Suicide Society of the Summer
Session was officially established (p.31 line 25-27)
This part contains the highest amount of tension so far. Gene almost falls down from the tree,
which could easily have killed him. However, Finny catches him by the arm and practically saves
his life. Also, the two boys form a society, which signifies how much their relationship improved.
However, I think the name of the society, “The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session,” is
foreshadowing something bad. I don’t like how the word ‘suicide’ fits into it.
5) Vocabulary
1. Eloquence
Ability to persuade others
p.22 l.4
2. Unregulated
Non-limited; uncontrolled
p.22 l.16
3. Conceivably
Imaginable
p.22 l.30
4.Indulgent
Kind; lenient
p.24 l.9
5. Emblem
Symbol
p.24 l.27
6. Inane
Empty; void
p.26 l.6
7. Temperamental
Moody, irritable, or sensitive
p.27 l.7
8. Composed
Free from excitement or passion; tranquil
p.27 l.23
9. Resonant
Spreading out
p.27 l.24
10. Compliance
The act of conforming, acquiescing, or yielding
p.29 l.6
<Chapter 3>
1)Summary
Finny and Gene’s club, the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, recruits some
more members and start to meet every day. Gene doesn’t want to every night, but still follows Finny to
every meeting.
In school, Finny makes his own sport with his own rules, called blitzball, and teaches other
students about the rules and strategies he made up. The reason is that the school’s athletic program
dissatisfies Finny, since badminton is included in it. Finny ignores badminton and thinks it should not
even be counted as a sport. Blitzball spreads quickly, and is played in Devon for quite a long time.
In addition, Finny breaks the school swimming record, even though swimming is not a field of
sport he has been practicing before. He is astonished that nobody has yet broken a record that a
graduate student had established, and decides to try busting it himself. However, Finny doesn’t want
Gene, the only witness, to talk about it to anyone. Moreover, he doesn’t want to try again and exceed
the record officially. Gene is surprised at his friend’s modesty.
Finally, after swimming, Finny suggests that Gene go to the beach with him. Gene has an
important test the next day and thinks it is an outraging idea, but still follows Finny. They play there for
the whole afternoon and just before they fall asleep, Finny tells Gene that he is his best friend. Gene
is surprised at this exposure but doesn’t say anything back.
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The point of highest emotion in chapter
three is the part where Finny confesses his emotions to Gene. He tells Gene that he considers Gene
as his best pal, who is worthy of going to the beach together. Gene tries to say it back, which would
conclude what Finny has started, but is stopped by something inside him.
3) Literary Elements
 Imagery
“The ocean, throwing up foaming sun-sprays across some nearby rocks, was winter cold. This
kind of sunshine…The Boardwalk lights against the deepening blue sky gained an ideal, starry
beauty and the lights from the belt of honky-tonks and shooting galleries and beer gardens
gleamed with a quiet purity in the clear twilight” This is imagery because the sentences draw a
clear picture in our minds by using a language that appeals to the five senses.
 Foreshadowing
“It was a courageous thing to say. Exposing a sincere emotion nakedly like that at the Devon
School was the next thing to suicide. I should have told him then that he was my best friend also
and rounded off what he had said. I started to; I nearly did. But something held me back. Perhaps
I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth.”This phrase
is foreshadowing because Gene says that truth stopped him from saying back that Finny was
also his best friend. This means that some kind of conflict would happen between Gene and
Finny later on. Also, Gene probably doesn’t want to lose face to Finny by saying it back. This
shows me that Gene doesn’t actually consider Finny as his best friends. If they are so close, they
shouldn’t feel reluctant to say such things to each other.
 Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that have contradictory meanings,
such as ‘open silence’ or ‘controlled chaos.’ I think ‘happy disbelief’ (p.39) is an oxymoron, since
‘happy,’ which has a positive meaning and the negative word ‘disbelief’ have different meanings.
4) Important Phrases
 “We met every night, because Finny’s life was ruled by inspiration and anarchy, and so he
prized a set of rules. His own, not those imposed on him by other people, such as the faculty
of the Devon school” (p.34 line 14)
This phrase explains about Finny’s character. Finny is a free spirit and a free thinker, so he
makes his own rules, not those he does not believe in. In the book, it says “I noticed that he did
abide by certain rules, which he seemed to cast in the form of Commandments.” This shows that
Finny doesn’t really value any rules but his own.
 “I went along; I never missed a meeting. At that time it would never have occurred to me to
say, ‘I don’t feel like it tonight’ which was the plain truth every night. I was subject to the
dictates of my mind, which gave me the maneuverability of a strait jacket. ‘We’re off, pal,’
Finny would call out, and acting against every instinct of my nature, I went without a thought
of protest.” (p.34 line 23)
This phrase is related to Gene and shows the reality of his relationship with Finny. They might be
best friends externally, but internally, he is always being controlled by Finny. In the phrase, it says
“…and acting against every instinct of my nature, I went without a thought of protest.” This shows
how much Gene’s life is directed by Finny. Even though Gene feels and realizes it himself, he
can’t refuse Finny’s requests.
 “To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened that shock for me. It made Finny
seem too unusual for – not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. And there were few
relationships among us at Devon not based on rivalry.”
This phrase shows that every student in Devon is competitive except for Finny. We can tell what
kind of personality Finny has by these few sentences. He is a self-satisfied person, and how he is
viewed by other people doesn’t affect him in the least. I think this quality would make him selfconfident and full of pride, in a way, since he only cares about his own opinion.
5) Vocabulary
1. Anarchy
A state or society without government or law
p.34 l.15
2. Haphazard
Disorganized; unsystematic; careless
p.34 l.21
3. Chapel
A private or subordinate place of prayer or worship
p.34 l.32
4. Calisthenics
Gymnastic exercise to develop physical health and vigor
p.35 l.25
5. Cordial
Courteous; gracious; friendly
p.35 l.30
6. Retrieve
Recover; regain
p.39 l.5
7. Unleash
Release form; abandon control of
p.45 l.15
8. Intoxicate
To affect temporarily with diminished physical and mental control by p.47 l.14
alcoholic liquor, drug, etc.
9. Subdue
To conquer and bring into subjection
p.47 l.20
10. Monologue
Comedic solo; single speaker (to form dramatic entertainment)
p.48 l.11
<Chapter 4>
1)Summary
Gene and Finny wake up at the beach, on the morning of Gene’s very important trigonometry
test. They barely make it back to school on time, and Gene flunks a test for the first time. Later, the
two boys have a talk about their studies. Gene asks Finny whether he would mind if Gene became a
valedictorian. He realizes that Finny would mind, even though Finny himself denies it. Gene thinks
back to how Finny always dragged him away from studying, using excuses like society meetings.
Gene becomes wary of finny and thinks that they are even in jealously and enmity.
A few days after this realization took place, Finny tells Gene to come to another meeting of
the secret society to see if Leper would jump off the tree. Gene shouts at Finny that he has to study,
and Finny tells Gene that he doesn’t have to come. Gene gets confused and suspicious of Finny, and
follows him out to the meeting. Finny suggests that they try a double jump, and Gene accepts. Finny
climbs up first and Gene follows, but as he climbs to the top branch, it bounces and Finny falls off the
tree. Gene jumps off after him, mind blank.
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The point of highest emotion in chapter
four is when Gene starts shouting at Finny that he has to study. Finny didn’t know before that Gene
had to make an effort to get such good grades. However, Gene thinks Finny is just trying to interrupt
him from studying so that the two of them would be even. When Finny tells Gene to come to a society
meeting in the middle of studying, Gene gets frustrated and shouts at Finny to leave him alone.
3) Literary Elements
 Irony
There is an irony in this chapter. Throughout chapter four, Gene thought that Finny envied him,
but Finny turns out to be innocent and not at all jealous. This is ironic because Gene was so
convinced about Finny’s hatred towards him. However, his thoughts all turn out to be false, since
Finny was always open-minded and forgiving about his best friend Gene.
 Symbolism
The beginning of this chapter contains symbolism, about sunrise on the beach. At first, before the
sun has fully risen, the sky was dark and gray. However, as dawn changes into morning, the sky
becomes white and stainless. This is similar to Finny and how Gene thinks about him. At first,
Gene thinks Finny is dark with jealousy but finds out later that he is white and pure.
 Inner Conflict
Gene experiences an inner conflict in this chapter. At first, he doesn’t believe what Finny says
and thinks that Finny is not his best friend but actually hates him. Gene has conflicts in his mind
because he had thought that they were actually best friends until then. It was probably shocking
for him to find out that Finny might just hate and envy him.
4) Important Phrases
 “We would be even,”“We were even after all, even in enmity.”
The first phrase is about Gene trying to find the motive of Phineas. Gene thinks that Finny
interrupts him from studying on purpose so that the two of them could be even in their talents.
The second sentence explains why Gene felt better after his realization. Gene thinks that he and
Finny are even and that they hate each other equally. However, in the next few chapters, he
realizes that this is not true and that Finny has always cared for him no matter what.
 “I believed him. The joking manner was a screen; I believed him,”“He minded.”
Both phrases above are about Gene thinking that Finny was jealous of how good he was in
studying. Gene had just asked Finny whether he would be jealous if he wound up as a
valedictorian, and Finny had jokingly agreed. However, as you can see from the quote, Gene
does not believe his friend. Instead, he thinks Finny is lying because he doesn’t want to admit his
jealousy.
 “I was not of the same quality as he.”
This phrase is important because this is where Gene finally realizes that Finny is above him, and
that he can never be equal to Finny. Before, Gene had been living in illusion, thinking that
Phineas was actually jealous of him. However, Finny was never jealous, and had always cared
for his best friend Gene. When Gene found this out, he realized that he misunderstood Finny, and
that Finny was not of the same quality as himself.
5) Vocabulary
1. Burlap
A type of strong, rough cloth
p.49 l.4
2. Mordantly
Cruel and criticizing in a humorous way
p.49 l.7
3. Beacon
A light or fire on the top of a hill that acts as a warning or signal p.49 l.12
4. Shed
5. Valedictorian
6. Bulge
7. Solace
8. Enmity
9. Latent
10. Airily
To lose covering in a natural way or by accident
A student who makes a speech at a special ceremony at the
end of a school year
A curved shape sticking out from the surface of something
Help and comfort when you are feeling sad or worried
A feeling of hate
Present but needing particular conditions to become active,
obvious, or completely developed
In a jaunty or high-spirited manner
p.50 l.23
p.51 l.16
p.52 l.10
p.53 l.14
p.53 l.17
p.56 l.11
p.56 l.32
<Chapter 5>
1)Summary
Finny gets injured and goes to the infirmary. Rumors tell Gene that Finny’s leg has been
shattered. He waits in fear and guilt until Finny’s recovery, with no one suspecting him. One evening
Gene dresses in Finny’s clothes and gets a feeling that he has become Phineas himself. That night he
sleeps easily, the sense of illusion staying with him throughout the afternoon.
The next morning Dr. Stanpole tells Gene that Finny is better and that Finny wants to see
him. However, he also tells Gene that sports would be over for Finny, barely being able to walk again.
Gene feels very sorry for his friend and the awful thing he has done. He thinks that Finny would
accuse him face to face for pushing him off the tree. Finny does have a feeling but feels sorry to have
suspected his best friend even for a moment. Gene plans to confess everything to Finny but Dr.
Stanpole comes in before he gets a chance.
At the end of September, Gene goes to Finny’s house to visit him. Finny happily greets Gene,
but Gene feels shrunken among all the things that feel like and belong to Finny. However, he still gets
up the courage to tell Finny that the accident was caused by Gene himself. Finny doesn’t believe it for
a moment and thinks Gene is not making any sense. Gene realizes that his confession could make
Finny even sicker and place to take it back in Devon, when the new semester starts.
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in chapter
five is the talk between Finny and Gene in Boston. Gene failed to confess to Finny about his
wrongdoing in the infirmary of the school. He planned to visit Finny at his house in Boston and tell him
about it there. The confession ends up to be a shouting match between them, and in the end, Gene
decides that he has to take back his words later on.
3) Literary Elements
 Flashback
Even if the whole book is a flashback, there is another flashback in this chapter. “As I had to do
whenever I glimpsed this river, I thought of Phineas. Not of the tree and pain, but one of his
favorite tricks, Phineas in exaltation, balancing on one foot on the prow of a canoe like a river
god…” This is a flashback because Gene is imagining Finny on that boat as he has always done,
even though Finny is not really there.
 Repetition
In page 84, when Gene is telling Finny that he has become an assistant crew manager, Finny
keeps repeating the word in outrage. He probably cannot believe that Gene has not signed up for
anything that is worth the time, such as sports. The repetition emphasizes Finny’s feelings and
his disbelief in Gene’s choice.
 Inner Conflict
In this chapter, Gene experiences another inner conflict, about whether to tell Finny about jostling
the branch to make him fall off. Gene feels guilty and thinks he wouldn’t be able to say it, but then
thinks about what Finny would have done if he was Gene, and comes to a conclusion-to confess
everything.
4) Important Phrases
 “It was as though they felt it was especially unfair that it should strike one of the 16 year olds,
one of the few young men who could be free and happy in the summer of 1942.” (p.61 line
13-16)
The teachers probably knew that the sixteen year olds would have to go to war soon, and felt
sorry for Finny for losing his last year of freedom and happiness. After all, as the phrase states,
very few people could be happy in the year 1942, since most adults and even teenagers have
gone to participate in the war.
 “I decided to put on his clothes…I felt like some nobleman, some Spanish grandee. But
when I looked in the mirror it was no remote aristocrat I had become, no character out of
daydreams. I was Phineas, Phineas to the life....I didn’t go down to dinner. The sense of
transformation stayed with me throughout the evening, and even when I undressed and went
to bed. That night I slept easily, and it was only on waking up that this illusion was gone, and
I was confronted with myself, and what I had done to Finny.” (p.62 line 11-33)
These paragraphs signify that Gene had always wanted to be Finny. That is why Gene wore
Finny’s clothes in his absence. Also, since he felt like a grandee upon doing it, I can tell that Gene
looks up and kind of respects Finny. He would have thought that Finny was a nobleman at the
very least to think that way. Finally, Gene slept easily because the sense that he became Finny
put him at ease. Summarily, Gene had thought of Finny as a very noble person, and had always
wanted to be like his best friend.
 “And I thought we were competitors! It was so ludicrous I wanted to cry.” (p.66 line 19-20)
Before, Gene had thought that Phineas was as jealous of him as he was jealous of Finny.
However, he finds out that Finny had always been open-minded and generous towards him. This
fact makes Gene realize that Finny is above him, and he is ashamed at thinking even for a
moment that he is Finny’s competitor.
5) Vocabulary
1. Infirmary
Health facility where patients receive treatment
p.61 l.1
2. Numb
Lacking sensation
p.62 l.9
3. Grandee
A nobleman of highest rank in Spain or Portugal
p.62 l.20
4. Triumphant
Joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
p.62 l.26
5. Confront
Oppose, as in hostility or competition
p.62 l.32
6. Denounce
To condemn or censure openly or publicly
p.63 l.5
7. Amputate
Remove surgically
p.63 l.25
8. Delirious
Experiencing a state of violent mental agitation
p.66 l.9
9. Prestige
Reputation or influence arising from success
p.67 l.18
10. Upholstered Provided with coverings, cushions, stuffing, springs, etc.
p.69 l.10
<Chapter 6>
1)Summary
The summer session is over in Devon and the winter session begins. Gene observes that
the atmosphere of the school seems back to normal, with all its usual discipline. The war is becoming
a reality as some of the young teachers enlist and the maids are gone for the duration. In the summer,
Finny had been taking the lead for most things, but he stays at home due to his injury. Taking Finny’s
absence as a chance, Brinker Hadley is gaining power and control unofficially, just like Finny had
done before.
Meanwhile, Gene has become an assistant senior crew manager and has to work under Cliff
Quackenbush. After practice, though, Quackenbush mocks Gene for getting a job that is for invalids
and the disabled, who cannot row. Also, Gene is already a senior, so he cannot have any hope of
becoming a manager later. Even though Gene knows all this, he gets angry at the insults that
Quackenbush threw at him. They start to fight, which ends as both fall into the river. Gene pulls
himself out and Quackenbush tells him to never comeback. As he walks back home, he meets
Mr.Ludsbury, who shouts at him for taking advantage of the relaxed mood of the Summer Session to
do forbidden things. Then he suddenly informs Gene that he has received a long distance phone call.
Gene hurries to Mr. Ludsbury’s office and calls the number written down on the notepad there. He
hears Finny’s voice, congratulating him about the new term. When Gene tells him that he is an
assistant crew manager, Finny is shocked almost into silence. He tells Gene that he has to play sports,
and Gene feels that he must be destined to become a part of Finny
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in chapter
six is the fight between Gene and Quackenbush. Even though it is true that assistant senior crew
manager is a job for disabled students, Quackenbush should not have ridiculed Gene about it. It
brought forth all the emotions that had been inside of him, and was the main reason of the conflict
between the two.
3) Literary Elements
 Foil
‘Foil’ is a character whose actions or emotions contrast with those of another character. I think
that Brinker Hadley and Phineas are foils of each other. While Phineas signifies summer, with his
bright and cheerful spirit, Brinker represents winter, cold and calculative. They both assume some
power over the other students, but their ways of using it are different, almost opposite. They
highlight each other’s characteristics.
 Symbolism
This literary element also signifies the relationship between Finny and Brinker, and the seasons
that symbolize each character. Summer is related to Finny, and winter is related to Brinker. The
reason is connected with their personalities. To explain, Finny has a warm and friendly
characteristic, just like summer, and Brinker has a cold and hard personality, like winter.
 Imagery
“We had never used this lower river, the Naguamsett, during the summer. It was ugly, saline,
fringed with marsh, mud and seaweed.” This helps readers clearly picture how the Naguamsett
River looks during the summer. The paragraph goes on to explain how it flows into bigger bodies
of water. These details help readers visualize and understand the text better.
4) Important Phrases
 “Peace had deserted Devon”(p.72 line 1)
This phrase signifies symbolism. In the chapters before, it was summer in Devon, so the school
was in a happier mood. However, as the weather changed to fall, and then to winter, the mood
changed to a colder one. Also, as World War II becomes a reality and students need to enlist or
get drafted into different armies, you wouldn’t be able to find peace inside the school, or
anywhere else, for that matter.
 “I fought that battle, that first skirmish of a long campaign, for Finny. Until the back of my
hand cracked against Quackenbush’s face I had never pictured myself in the role of Finny’s
defender, and I didn’t suppose that he would have thanked me for it now. He was too loyal to
anything connected with himself-his roommate, his dormitory, his class, his school, outward
in vastly expanded circles of loyalty until I couldn’t imagine who would be excluded.” (p.79
line 31~p.80 line 6)
This phrase tells readers that Gene does care about Finny, no matter how jealous he is
sometimes. I think he does admit Finny as his best friend. No one will fight a battle for someone if
he/she is not an important person in their lives. By the sentences, I can tell that Gene knows that
Finny has a huge amount of loyalty towards him, and by thinking that he’s fighting for Finny, he is
repaying that with some of his own feelings.
 “’Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me,’ and I lost part of myself
to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose
from the first: to become a part of Phineas.” (p.85 line 2-5)
This phrase tells readers how much Gene had wanted to be like Phineas. Gene had always been
jealous of Finny’s free spirit and his skills in sports, and he should be happy that his best friend
had asked him to become a part of him. Also, this tells us about how much Finny trusts Gene. He
wouldn’t ask just anyone to do sports for him. Sports was everything to Finny before he got
injured, and asking Gene to represent him in that area is asking a lot in Finny’s part.
5) Vocabulary
1. Sultriness
Oppressively hot and close or moist
p.72 l.12
2. Apse
Architecture, a semicircular or polygonal termination or recess in p.73 l.5
building
3. Vindicated
To clear, as from an accusation
p.74 l.8
4. Idiosyncratic
Pertaining to the nature of or made or done as a trial
p.74 l.17
5. Amid
In the middle of; surrounded by
p.74 l.25
6. Emissaries
A representative sent on a mission or errand
p.74 l.28
7. Infinitesimal
Indefinitely or exceedingly small
p.75 l.33
8. Sinecure
An office or position requiring little or no work
p.77 l.12
9. Bantam
A small and feisty or quarrelsome person
p.78 l.7
10. Dispensation
An act or insane of dispensing; distribution
p.81 l.15
<Chapter 7>
1) Summary
Brinker pays Gene a short visit and congratulates him for getting to live in such a big room
alone. He jokingly accuses Gene of getting rid of Finny to get the room all to himself. Gene feels guilty
but tries to play along with the joke. However, Brinker keeps teasing him, and Gene suddenly
suggests they go down to the Butt Room, or the ‘dungeon’ as they call it, for a smoke. As they arrive,
Brinker pretends that it is a real dungeon and tells others that Gene has killed his roommate to use a
big room by himself. Gene tries to lift the suspicion off of himself by pretending making an
exaggerated confession. He chokes when describing the part about pushing Finny off the tree, though.
Gene suddenly turns on a younger boy that made him ‘confess’ everything, which directs attention
away from himself but making the boy hate him. Finally, Gene declares that he has to go study French
and leaves the room, without even smoking.
Since there are labor shortages due to the war, the boys in Devon have to shovel snow off
the railroad for a payment in return. Gene meets Leper, who is cross-country skiing, on the way to
work. Leper says that he is looking for a beaver them and tells Gene to come see it for himself later if
he ever finds it. At the train station, Gene is put in a group with Brinker and Chet Douglass. The boys
work hard to clear the main track and feel successful as a troop train packed with uniformed young
men passes by them on its way. All except Quackenbush are eager to become a part of it. However,
Quackenbush says that he will enlist after finishing school. The other boys accuse him of being an
enemy spy.
When the boys arrive back at the dormitory, they meet Leper coming back from his
adventure to the beaver dam. Brinker teases him, and then suddenly tells Gene that he is tired of life
at Devon and that he will enlist the next day. Gene feels that starting a new life at the military would be
exciting, and that leaving his current life at Devon would be good. He decides to enlist along with
Brinker. However, when he returns to his room, he is shocked to find Finny back.
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in chapter
seven is the scene of the Butt Room, as the other boys accuse Gene of doing away with Finny on
purpose so that he could get a large room by himself. Gene feels guilty because he knows that he
bounced the limb on purpose. However, since the other boys keep pressing in on him, he feels
trapped and reluctant to admit anything. Instead, he is desperate to escape from the uncomfortable
situation.
3) Literary Elements
 Imagery
“The windows near the ceiling were small and dirty, the old leather furniture spilled its innards, the
tables were mutilated, the walls ash-colored, the floor concrete. A radio with a faulty connection
played loud and rasping for a while, then suddenly quiet and insinuating.”This is a scene
describing the Butt Room. The atmosphere around it and how it looks can be inferred very clearly,
just by reading these few lines. This means that the author uses very good imagery and
describes everything well with lots of details.
 Idiom
“They didn’t find him. He hid his light under a Quackenbush.” This quote is an idiom because
‘hide one’s light under a bushel (or Quackenbush, in this case)’ means ‘hiding one’s talent.’
 Rhyme
The songs that Brinker composes can be counted as a rhyme, especially the second one, which
is titled the ‘Apple Ode.’ It goes like this: “Our chore/ Is the core/ of the war.” The words ‘chore’
and ‘core’ form a rhyme in this song.
4) Important Phrases
 “‘Well,’ I replied in a stronger voice, ‘first I stole all his money. Then I found he cheated on his
entrance tests to Devon and I blackmailed his parents about that, then I made love to his
sister in Mr. Ludsbury’s study, then I…’ it was going well, faint grins were appearing around
the room, even the younger boy seemed to suspect that he was being ‘sincere’ about a joke,
a bad mistake to make at Devon, ‘then I…’ I only had to add, ‘pushed him out of the tree’ and
the chain of implausibility would be complete, ‘then I…’ just those few words and perhaps
this dungeon nightmare would end. But I could feel my throat closing on them; I could never
say them, never.” (p.90 line 21-33)
This phrase is important because it shows Gene’s guilt about Finny’s accident, and how he reacts
to any suspicion thrown against him. He just exaggerates his false confession so that anybody could
see he was playing a joke. However, he chokes up at the end, just before saying that he pushed
Finny off the tree on purpose. This was because he felt that it was the truth and was guilty about it.
 “Going up the stairs I heard a voice from the Butt Room say, ‘Funny, he came all the way
down here and didn’t even have a smoke.’” (p.91 line19-21)
This phrase is important because it tells readers that someone is suspecting Gene. He was
escaping from the other students’ words about the accident. However, he forgot to smoke in the
process, and a student catches that and says the sentences above to express his thoughts that
Gene’s actions are strange.
 “Life at Devon was revealed as still very close to the ways of peace; the war was at worst
only a bore, as Brinker said, no more taxing to us than a day spent at harvesting in an apple
orchard.” (p.92 line 14-18)
This phrase is important because it shows how peaceful Devon can be, even in the midst of war.
The boys are able to be free and happy in their school. However, they have to work, such as
harvesting apples, due to the labor shortages following the war. This is why Brinker says that a war
signifies a day spent at an apple orchard.
5) Vocabulary
1. Salient
Most important or noticeable
p.87 l.15
2. Arsenic
A type of poisonous element
p.89 l.33
3. Extroverts
A lively and confident person
p.88 l.30
4. Contretemps
An awkward clash
p.90 l.11
5. Implausibility
Not seeming reasonable or likely to be true
p.90 l.29
6. Novelty
New; unique
p.92 l14.
7. Pruned
Cut; lopped off
p.92 l.23
8. Commandeer
To order or force into active military service
p.93 l.9
9. Emphatically
Strongly expressive
p.93 l.12
10. Locomotion
The power of or ability to move
p.95 l.10
<Chapter 8>
1) Summary
Brinker comes into Gene’s room in the morning and is surprised to find Finny back. He wants
to know if Gene would really sign up with him. Judging by Finny’s unhappy look, Gene realizes that
his friend doesn’t want him to enlist, and that he needs him. Gene tells Brinker, to Finny’s obvious
relief, that he doesn’t really want to enlist anymore. Brinker just accepts what Gene says without
getting mad at him for not keeping his words.
As Gene and Finny make their way over to their first class, Finny suggests that they miss
class to look around the school after his long absence. Gene agrees, and they immediately set out for
the gym. Gene guesses that Finny wants to look at and brood over his own trophies, but Finny heads
straight to the locker room. There, he asks Gene what sports team he has tried out for that year. Gene
replies that he has not tried out for any, and as an excuse, adds that sports would not be as important
during the time of war. Finny asserts that there is no such thing as war, and that it is all a story that fat
old men made up to keep young people in their places. Also, he tells Gene that he has always wanted
to be an Olympian athlete, and that since he became disabled, Gene should participate for his sake.
Gene tries to refuse at first, saying that the 1944 Olympics would be cancelled because of the war,
but Finny finally convinces Gene to undertake the training necessary for the Olympics. The two boys
start tutoring each other; Finny teaches Gene sports while Gene teaches him things necessary for
school classes. They both are improving very quickly, especially Gene, who feels himself getting
better day by day.
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in chapter
eight is when Finny says “Because I’ve suffered.” Gene had just asked Finny why only he could know
about the fat old men’s conspiracy, and Finny answers it is so because he has suffered. This reaction
shocks both of them to silence. Finny, who always seems to be so bright and cheerful, has just
admitted that he had felt suffering.
3) Literary Elements
 Repetition
Finny keeps repeating the words “What’s all this crap about no maids!” to signify his frustration
about the school’s policy in preparation of the war. This adds some humor to the chapter, and
expresses Finny’s frustration of his suffering, in a way. Even though Finny pretends that he is fine, he
can’t be, and probably isn’t. By saying that it’s a shame all the maids are gone, he is expressing some
of these feelings.
 Allusion
There is several allusions in this chapter, referring to people. General MacArthur and Madame
Chiang Kai-shek are some of those examples. Finny and Gene are telling Brinker that they would not
enlist with him even if he was General MacArthur’s eldest son or Madame Chiang Kai-shek.
 Simile
“So the war swept over like a wave at the seashore, gathering power and size as it bore on us,
overwhelming in its rush, seemingly inescapable, and then at the last moment eluded by a word from
Phineas; I had simply ducked, that was all, and the wave’s concentrated power had hurtled
harmlessly overhead, no doubt throwing others roughly up on the beach, but leaving me peaceably
treading the water as before.” This sentence is a simile, and also contains a bit of symbolism in it. The
phrase is comparing the war to a wave, and the wave becomes a symbol representing war itself.
4) Important Phrases
 “I could hardly believe it, but it was too plainly printed in the closed expression of his face to
mistake, too discernible beneath the even tone of his voice: Phineas was shocked at the
idea of my leaving. In some way he needed me. He needed me. I was the least trustworthy
person he had ever met. I knew that; he should know that too. I had even told him. I had told
him. But there was no mistaking the shield of remoteness in his face and voice. He wanted
me around. The war then passed away from me, and dreams of enlistment and escape and
a clean start lost their meaning for me.” (p.108 line 6-16)
In this phrase, Gene realizes that Finny sincerely cares for and loves him as a best friend. Gene
also noticed from Finny’s expression that he didn’t want him to enlist. If Gene signed up, Finny,
who could not be accepted into any army, would be left all alone. Gene is startled to find that
such a good person would trust and like him so much. After this realization, Gene gives up all his
dreams of enlisting and starting fresh; he just stays by Finny and keeps his lonely friend company
 “‘The winter loves me,’ he retorted, and then, disliking the whimsical sound of that, added, ‘I
mean as much as you can say a season can love. What I mean is, I love winter, and when
you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love.’ I didn’t
think that was true, my seventeen years of experience had shown this to be much more false
than true, but it was like every other thought and belief of Finny’s: it should have been true.
So I didn’t argue. (p.111 line 5-13)
This phrase tells readers about Finny’s personality. Usually, he guesses that everyone would
think the same way as himself. Since his belief is that love works both ways, he firmly believes
that Gene, who he loves a lot as a friend, would love him right back. It does not even occur to
Finny that Gene might not like him as much. This signifies Finny’s innocent mind and his
stubborn behavior. Also, Gene doesn’t argue with Finny’s logic, even though he does not believe
it, so Finny might have thought Gene was agreeing to it.
 “‘…but all exercise today is aimed of course at the approaching Waterloo. Keep that in your
sights at all times, won’t you.’ Finny’s face set in determination, with the older look I had just
detected in him. ‘No,’ he said.” (p.121 line 25-29)
Finny is normally friendly and cheerful to everyone. However, he flatly said ‘no’ to Mr. Ludsbury,
who is the master of the dormitories. It is not in Finny’s character to say such a thing so rudely. If
you follow the reason for his sudden and firm answer, you would find that Mr. Ludsbury had
denied one of Finny’s ideas-that there is no war. From this, readers can infer how much Finny
thinks about and values his ideas, so much so that those who try to prove them wrong is
considered a rival to Finny.
5) Vocabulary
1. Opulent
Wealthy; rich
p.110 l.14
2. Reticent
Unwilling to tell people about things
p.110 l.17
3. Whimsical
Unusual and not serious in a way that is either amusing or p.111 l.6
annoying
4. Aphorism
A terse saying embodying a general truth
p.113 l.10
5. Flighty
Slightly delirious
p.116 l.22
6. Gull
A person who is easily deceived or cheated
p.118 l.30
7. Entanglement
A difficult or complicated relationship with another person or p.120 l.19
country
8. Conventional
Tending to follow what is done or considered acceptable by p.121 l.16
society
9. Sententiousness Self-righteousness
p.121 l.23
10. Flustered
In a state of agitated confusion
p.121 l.31
<Chapter 9>
1) Summary
Gene finds that it is becoming harder and harder to believe that there is actually a war going
on. Even when Leper enlisted for the war after being inspired by a movie they watched about ski
troops, Gene cannot grasp the prospect of war. Brinker makes a joke that Leper must be behind any
Allied victory during the war, and Finny, seeing this, pulls Gene away from the group and from his
other friends. Gene starts spending more and more time with Finny, always training.
One day, Finny suddenly decides to plan a winter carnival and starts assigning tasks to
everyone. Brinker and his roommate, Brownie Perkins, also participate in the process of getting ready
for the carnival. The boys arrange a little ski jump, snow statues, and prizes, and Chet Douglass plays
music on his trumpet. As the carnival begins, the boys take the cider from Brinker and get intoxicated
with it. They are also enjoying life itself, especially Finny, who dances on the prize table with his good
leg. Finally, he announces the beginning of the Decathlon and makes Gene perform what he has
practiced so far to the crowd. In the middle of all this, Brownie comes up to Gene and gives him a
telegram, which changes the mood at once. The telegram is from Leper, and he has written to Gene
to say that he had escaped and that his safety depends on Gene coming at once to the ‘Christmas
location.’
2) Plot
This chapter is part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in chapter
nine is the telegram sent by Leper. Before, the boys were in an exhilarating mood, enjoying
themselves in the winter carnival. However, when Finny reads the telegram that Brownie hands over
to him, his face changes to that of shock and disbelief, and Gene realizes that the festival is over.
Leper’s telegram says that Leper has escaped, which means that he was in trouble before, and it also
says that Leper’s safety depends on Gene. These two things would be more than enough
responsibility for Gene.
3) Literary Elements
 Foreshadowing
Leper’s telegram foreshadows what might happen at the next chapter. Leper writes to Gene that
his life is at risk and that it depends on whether Gene would come to the ‘Christmas location’ or
not. By this the readers can infer that Gene would probably set out to find this place. Also, the
telegram also contains words like ‘escaped’ and ‘risk,’ which forms a pessimistic and negative
atmosphere. Unpleasant things might start to happen because of this telegram and how people
react to it.
 Irony
Leper’s actions are ironic in this chapter. From the beginning, Leper had always been a timid and
chicken-hearted boy. He would not want to risk his life on perilous situations. However, in chapter
nine, he is suddenly transformed into a brave and courageous man and suddenly enlists in the
US ski troops, inspired by a single documentary about them.
 Mood
The main event in this chapter was the Devon winter carnival. Due to this, the predominant mood
is exciting and vigorous. However, there is a change of mood as Gene and Finny receive Leper’s
telegram, given to them by Brownie Perkins. The telegram’s arrival and its contents create a
dismal and gloomy atmosphere, which contradicts the mood before.
4) Important Phrases
 “He drew me increasingly away from the Butt Room crowd, away from Brinker and Chet and
all other friends, into a world inhabited by just himself and me, where there was no war at all,
just Phineas and me alone among all the people of the world, training for the Olympics of
1944.” (p.127 line 19-24)
This phrase is important because it shows how much Finny cares about Gene. The people in the
Butt Room crowd start to spread rumors and jokes about Leper. Finny thinks that the Butt Room
crowd is not a very good influence for Gene, and tries to separate the two. Also, I think there was
a kind of jealousy to his actions. Finny probably wanted his best friend to spend most of his time
with him instead of with his other friends.
 “Only Phineas failed to see what was so depressing. Just as there was no war in his
philosophy, there was also no dreary weather. As I have said, all weathers delighted
Phineas.” (p.128 line 25-28)
This phrase is important because it states Phineas’s character directly. Finny is always cheerful
and optimistic. He would not be able to see the depressing or negative part of anything, even if all
the other students agree that it is. Gene says that Phineas’s philosophy has no wars, and that all
weathers delight him. However, I think there is some kind of hidden meaning in these sentences.
For example, it could mean that Finny loves Gene no matter what he says or does, just like he
loves all weathers.
 “…for on this day even the schoolboy egotism of Devon was conjured away-a wreath made
from the evergreen tree which Phineas placed on my head. It wasn’t the cider from which
made me surpass myself, it was the liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of
1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and
separate peace.” (p.136 line 29~p.137 line 3)
This phrase is important because it is almost the first part where all the characters come together
for something. Usually, they all considered each other as rivals and had egoistic personalities. As
Gene had observed before, “there were few relationships among us at Devon not based on
rivalry.”However, they are in an unexpected union with Finny in the center. This contrasts what
they have been conflicting and living for all along.
5) Vocabulary
1. Vagaries
An unpredictable or erratic action, occurrence or instance
p.123 l.15
2. Shroud
A cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped for burial
p.124 l.11
3. Surmise
To think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess p.126 l.28
4. Enfeebled
To feel weakened
p.128 l.21
5. Multifariously Having many different parts, numerous and varied
p.130 l.6
6. Browbeaten
To be intimidated by overbearing looks or words
p.131 l.11
7. Unnerved
Deprived of courage, strength, determination
p.131 l.19
8. Accolade
Any award, honor or laudatory notice
p.133 l.2
9. Mesmerized
To be hypnotized
p.134 l.3
10. Latent
Present but not visible
p.135 l.7
<Chapter 10>
1) Summary
Gene immediately sets out for the ‘Christmas location’ that Leper mentioned in his telegram,
which means Leper’s home in Vermont. He goes there by train and arrives at Leper’s town the next
morning. Gene walks the rest of the way to the house, all the while convincing himself to believe that
Leper had not escaped from the army itself, but just from spies.
Leper sees Gene as he approaches the house, and beckons to him. He tells Gene that he
had indeed deserted the army before they could give him a Section Eight discharge for mental illness.
Receiving it would have ruined Leper’s life, preventing him from getting a job forever. While he is
talking, Gene makes few comments. Then Leper suddenly breaks down and starts shouting and
accusing Gene of pushing Finny out of the tree on purpose. Gene gets mad at this accusation and
kicks Leper’s chair, knocking him down.
Leper calms down in a moment and invites Gene to eat lunch with him, probably out of guilt.
After they finish the meal, they go on a walk together. Leper starts sobbing uncontrollably and telling
Gene about his weird hallucinations, about men’s face changing into women’s and soldiers carrying
broken limbs. Gene listens to him until he can’t bear to any longer. Finally, he deserts Leper and runs
away into the snowy fields.
2) Plot
This chapter is the last part of the rising action in the story. The highest point of emotion in
chapter ten is the part where Leper, crying, is explaining his hallucinations to Gene. He has had
horrible experiences during his time in the army, and has gone crazy. He had seen officers’ faces turn
into the faces of women and brooms look like a man’s leg that has been cut off. He almost got a
Section Eight discharge for insanity. Anyway, in this part, he tells Gene about all this, but he doesn’t
want to hear and leaves Leper to tell his story to the wind.
3) Literary Elements
 Simile
“Fear seized my stomach like a cramp.” This sentence is a simile because it is comparing ‘fear’
and ‘cramp’ with the word ‘like’ in between them.
 Alliteration
There are several alliterations in this chapter. “Sail of snow” is one of them. The ‘s’ sound is
repeated in the phrase, in front of the words ‘sail’ and ‘snow.’ “…lay like a soft comforter over the
hills, and birches and pines indestructibly held their ground, rigid lines against the snow and sky,
very thin and very strong like Vermonteers.” This phrase also contains an alliteration, “snow and
sky.” Here, the ‘s’ sound is repeated again in the words ‘snow’ and ‘sky.’
 Repetition
There is one repetition in this chapter, towards the last part of it. It says, “I didn’t want to hear any
more of it. Not now or ever. I didn’t care because it had nothing to do with me. And I didn’t want to
hear any more of it. Ever.”This phrase comes after Leper tells Gene about his hallucinations in
the military. By repeating the two phrases “I didn’t” and “ever,” Gene is emphasizing that he does
not want to hear anything about Leper’s army life.
4) Important Phrases
“‘I escaped!’ the word surging out in a voice and intensity that was not Leper’s. His face was
furious, but his eyes denied the fury; instead they saw it before them. They were filled with
terror.” (p.143 line 11-14)
This phrase is important because it hints that Leper is very different than when Gene last saw him.
He is or is trying to be mad at something, but his eyes are filled with fear, as if reliving the life in
the army yet again. Also, what he says does not make any sense. You do not escape from the
army; you desert it or you come out with a discharge. However, Finny says that he has escaped.
There is probably something behind his words.
 “‘A Section Eight discharge is for the nuts in the service, the psychos, the Funny Farm
candidates. Now do you know what I’m talking about? They give you a Section Eight
discharge, like a dishonorable discharge only worse. You can’t get a job after that.
Everybody wants to see your discharge, and when they see a Section Eight they look at you
kind of funny-the kind of expression you’ve got on your face, like you were looking at
someone with their nose blown off but don’t want them to know you’re disgusted-they look at
you that way and then they say ‘Well, there doesn’t seem to be an opening here at present.’
You’re screwed for life, that’s what a Section Eight discharge means.’” (p.144 line 20-31)
This phrase is about Leper explaining what a Section Eight discharge means. Leper says that the
army gives such a discharge to people with mental illnesses or insanity. He himself has escaped
the army not to get a Section Eight discharge. These few sentences also signify how serious
Leper’s problem is. If the army was planning to give him a discharge which would affect and ruin
his life forever, he must have been totally insane.
 “’And the perfect word for me,’ he added in a distorted voice, as though his tongue had
swollen, ‘psycho.’” (p.150 line 4-5)
This phrase shows how much a war can affect a person. Leper was a very quiet and polite boy
before he enlisted. However, after he experienced the army life, he became insane, and knows it,
too. In this sentence, he is calling himself a psycho, saying it is the perfect word for him. Leper
has changed, and it is the war that reshaped him like that.
5) Vocabulary
1. Culminate
To reach the highest point, summit, or development
p.138 l.11
2. Holocaust
A great or complete devastation or destruction
p.139 l.13
3. Austerity
Sternness
p.140 l.25
4. Preliminary
Preceding and leading up to the main part, matter, or business
p.141 l.21
5. Furlough
A usually temporary layoff from work
p.142 l.31
6. Querulous
Full of complaints; complaining
p.143 l.29
7. Reconcile
To win over to friendliness
p.146 l.22
8. Modulate
Soften; tone down
p.146 l.25
9. Rejoinder
An answer to a reply; response
p.147 l.30
10. Exposure
Disclosure of something private and secret
p.148 l.16

<Chapter 11>
1)Summary
Gene returns to school to find Finny in the middle of a snowball fight, which he himself has
organized. Later, he and Brinker ask Gene about Leper, and Gene reveals that he has deserted the
army, and that he has changed a lot. Brinker immediately guesses that Leper has gone crazy, and
mourns over the fact that two people in his class, including Finny, are already unable to enlist, Gene
states Finny’s conspiracy theory that there is no war, and Finny repeats it, but in an ironic tone.
As time passes, all the boys, not including Gene and Finny, start signing up for the safer
branches of the military. One day, Brinker takes Gene aside and tells him that he knows he is not
enlisting because of Finny. Brinker says that they should make Finny accept his injury and the
accident that caused it by commenting casually about it. However, Gene refuses, saying that Brinker
is wrong. Later that morning, he reads Finny a book about Caesar. Although Finny does not accept
Caesar’s existence, he finally admits that there is indeed a war going on. He says that he had to
believe it when Gene told him that it was the thing that caused Leper to go crazy. He had seen Leper
hiding in the bushes after chapel. Gene is shocked that Leper came back, and the two boys decide
not to tell anyone else about it.
That night, Brinker comes into Gene and Finny’s room with a few other boys and takes them
to the Assembly Hall, where he and an audience interrogate them about Finny’s accident. He asks
Finny to explain what happened that day, and tries to get the exact picture of the event. However, the
details are confused, and Brinker says that it’s a shame that Leper, who would have provided the
exact details, is not present.
Finny announces that he saw Leper back in Devon that morning. Two boys go to find him,
and return with Leper, who is peppered with questions from all sides. He replies that he had seen one
of them shake the other one off the branch. However, he suddenly stops talking and refuses to go on.
Finny takes the chance to declare that he doesn’t care what happened, and then rushes out of the
room in tears. The boys hear his footsteps, accompanied by the sound of the cane tapping on the
floor, then the horrible sound of his body tumbling down the stairs.
2) Plot
The climax begins at the last part of this chapter. The point of highest emotion in chapter
eleven is the interrogation, leading up to Finny’s fall. Brinker asks Gene and Finny about what they
saw and felt when the accident happened, even pulling Leper into the whole thing. Finny had always
believed in his best friend, so he was probably shocked to find out that Gene had pushed him off the
tree on purpose. With his jumbled mind, he rushes out with his crutches, which made him trip and fall
off the hard marble stairs.
3) Literary Elements
 Allusion
A song titled “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is mentioned in the chapter.
 Repetition
“Old Leper. Quiet old Leper. Quiet old Leper from Vermont.” This phrase contains repetition, of
the phrase “old Leper.” Brinker is lamenting about how Leper had changed under the pressure of the
war life. “Old Leper” probably means how Leper was before he enlisted in the army. Brinker is
probably expressing his sorrow about the innocent Leper going insane, changed by his experiences.
 Imagery
There is imagery in this chapter, especially when Gene describes the Assembly Hall. “The
windows now had the closed blankness of night, a deadened look about them, a look of being blind or
deaf. The great expanses of wall space were opaque with canvas, portraits in oil of deceased
headmasters, a founder or two, forgotten leaders of the faculty, a beloved athletic coach none of us
had ever heard of, …” These sentences help readers visualize how formal and sincere the
atmosphere of the Assembly Hall is, and how much Gene felt weighed down by it. The writer uses lots
of descriptive words to depict the room in detail.
4) Important Phrases
 “I wanted to see Phineas, and Phineas only. With him, there was no conflict except between
athletes, something Greek-inspired and Olympian in which victory would go to whoever was
the strongest in body and heart. This was the only conflict he had ever believed in.” (p.152,
line 1-5)
This phrase signifies Gene’s relationship with Finny, and Finny’s fair personality. First, Gene says
that he wants to see Phineas, and Phineas only. He had been jumbled up and confused about
what Leper had been telling him, and even in that state of mind, he still looked for his best friend.
Also, Gene says that the only conflict Finny had ever believed in was the conflict in sports. Even
then, Phineas doesn’t really care about winning or losing, but thinks that sports are there just to
enjoy.
 “…you’ve got a little personal stake in this. What I mean is it wouldn’t do you any harm, you
know, if everything about Finny’s accident was cleared up and forgotten.’”
This phrase is important because it makes Gene realize that Brinker might be suspecting him for
Finny’s accident. He tells Gene that everything would be better for him if people quickly forgot about
Finny’s broken leg and what caused it to happen. There might be a hidden meaning behind his words.
Brinker might think that Gene purposefully pushed Finny off the tree and said the sentences to make
him feel guilty about the whole thing and agree to treat Finny’s injury as if it was perfectly natural.
 “The excellent exterior acoustics recorded his rushing steps and the quick rapping of his
cane along the corridor and on the first steps of the marble stairway. Then these separate
sounds collided into the general tumult of his body falling clumsily down the white marble
stairs.”(p.177 line 10-14)
This phrase is important because it explains how Finny fell and died on the marble stairs. He was
shocked at the realization that Gene was the person who had crippled him for life, and rushes out to
escape the scene. However, this just made him fall and break his leg once more.
5) Vocabulary
1. Austere
Severe in manner or appearance
p.153 l.6
2. Preposterous Completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense
p.153 l.20
3. Infantile
Babyish; childish
p.157 l.4
4. Corralled
5. Fortitude
6. Vestibule
7. Balustrade
8. Surmise
9. Urbane
10. Constricted
Seized; captured
Mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty courageously
A passage, hall, or antechamber
A railing with closely spaced supports
To guess
Reflecting elegance, sophistication, etc.
To draw or press in; compress
p.158 l.24
p.159 l.11
p.159 l.32
p.165 l.30
p.167 l.6
p.167 l.7
p.167 l.30
<Chapter 12>
1)Summary
The boys rush and help Finny in a systematical way. They fetch the wrestling coach, who
has excellent first aid skills, until Dr. Stanpole comes to examine the situation. When he does arrive,
he tells the boys that Finny’s leg is broken yet again, but more cleanly this time. After the crowd
breaks up, Gene sneaks over to the infirmary and tries to see inside. When the doctors leave the
room, Gene approaches Finny. Finny struggles in the bed and falls, but Gene stops himself from
helping. Finally, Gene tells Finny that he is sorry and then leaves the room.
Gene roams around the campus for through the night, until he falls asleep under the stadium.
The next morning, he packs some of Finny’s belongings and brings them to the infirmary upon Dr.
Stanpole’s request. While he is looking through his own things, Finny tells Gene about writing to
military branches all over the world, appealing himself to them, but getting rejected every time
because of his injury. Since he couldn’t enlist, couldn’t be a part of the war, he had kept telling Gene
that there was no war at all. Gene tells Finny that he would never have been any good in the war
even if he was not disabled, because of his friendly personality. Here, Finny suddenly starts crying
and tells Gene that he understands and believes that it was some impulse and not a feeling against
Finny that made him jostle the branch.
That evening, after the operation is over, Dr. Stanpole comes to find Gene and tells him that
Finny has died. Gene just sits there numbly and doesn’t cry at the news, not even at Finny’s funeral.
He feels that somehow, it was his own funeral as well.
2) Plot
This part is part of the climax and the falling action of the story. The climax leads up to the
part where Finny accuses Gene of trying to break another part of him. However, from there, the
tension breaks down a little, and falling action begins. The point of highest emotion in chapter twelve
is the part where Finny is laying helplessly on the infirmary bed, shouting at Gene, who is apologizing.
Finny probably felt a sense of betrayal, since he had sincerely loved Gene. It might have been hard
for Finny to take it all in, and he finally convinces both of them that it had been done simply on
impulse.
3) Literary Elements
 Allusion
In page 192, the author uses the title of the book “Le bourgeois gentilhomme.”This book actually
exists in real life, probably written by a different author, so it can be seen as an allusion.
 Repetition
“‘I’m sorry,’ I said blindly, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’” Gene is repeating the words “I’m sorry” to show
that his feelings are sincere to Phineas. Also, he does feel guilty about what happened, so he is just
expressing his emotions about it.
 Simile
“They unrolled impervious to me as though I were a roaming ghost…” Here, Gene uses the word
‘like’ to compare himself to a ghost, so this is a simile.
4) Important Phrases
 “’I’ll hate it everywhere if I’m not in this war! Why do you think I kept saying there wasn’t any
war all winter? I was going to keep on saying it until two seconds after I got a letter from
Ottawa or Chungking or some place saying, ‘Yes, you can enlist with us.’’ A look of pleased
achievement flickered over his face momentarily, as though he had really gotten such a letter.
‘Then there would have been a war.’” (p.190 line 15-22)
This phrase is important because it highlights Finny’s motive of saying that there was no war. He
knew that the war was a reality but was just saying it wasn’t to justify himself. Since he was
disabled, he could not enlist in any army or participate in the war itself. Phineas didn’t want to
admit that there was a war raging on, and even then he could not be a part of it. However, he
says that if there was a country that would still accept him regardless of his injury, he would have
admitted that there was indeed a war going on.
“His face had been struggling to stay calm as he listened to me, but not he was crying but
trying to control himself. ‘It was just some kind of blind impulse you had in the tree there, you
didn’t know what you were doing. Was that it?’” (p.191 line 7-10)
In this part, Phineas is refusing to believe that Gene would ever do something like pushing him
out of the tree on purpose. He is half-forcing Gene to agree that it all was an impulse and not a
feeling of hate towards him. Finny has loved his best friend throughout the whole year. It was
probably hard to believe what Gene had done to him. Perhaps Finny already knows deep in his
mind that Gene jostled the branch on purpose out of pure jealousy for him. However, Finny is
forcing himself to trust Gene yet again.
 “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.” (p.194 line 7-11)
This phrase is important because by saying that Finny’s funeral is his own, Gene is confirming
what he has always thought and hoped for-that he was a part of Finny. He was probably too
numb to cry or make any kind of reaction, though. I do not think that Gene was not sad or even
happy that Phineas had died. I think he sincerely cared about Finny most of the time, had loved
Finny back no matter how much he wants to deny it.
5) Vocabulary
1. Repressed
Affected by psychological repression
p.179 l.1
2. Incongruity
Out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming
p.179 l.30
3. Idly
Not working or active; doing nothing
p.181 l.9
4. Decrepit
Weakened by old age; feeble
p.182 l.30
5. Overcast
Overspread or covered with clouds; cloudy
p.185 l.21
6. Innately
Natively
p.185 l.27
7. Impervious
Not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable
p.186 l.15
8. Languid
Slack or slow; listless; indifferent
p.188 l.33
9. Clause
A distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty, will, or other formal or p.192 l.4
legal written document
10. Marrow
Strength or vitality; the inmost or essential part
p.193 l.27

<Chapter 13>
1)Summary
The school year ends, and it’s time for Gene’s class to graduate. The army drives in at the
beginning of summer to the school’s Far Common quadrangle, which has been donated for war
purposes. Gene meets Brinker’s father, who lectures the boys that they should find the country with
loyalty, not just with the purpose to be safe. Brinker apologizes to Gene about his father ’s attitude, but
Gene tells him that he understands.
The book comes to an end with Gene’s older self again, reflecting upon his life in the military
and in Devon. He confesses that he has not killed a single person during the war, that his real war
was fought in Devon. He says that the other boys in Devon, such as Brinker, Leper, and
Quackenbush had different ways of dealing with the war, which were all different. Gene himself had
found something totally against him, and had fought and killed his enemy. Only Finny had no
experience with such a thing, never having understood the concept of an enemy.
2) Plot
This chapter is the resolution of the story. This is because Gene stops his flashback and
wraps everything up as his older self again. Everything ends in this chapter, and all the events come
to an end. The point of highest emotion in chapter thirteen is the reflection. Gene had just finished his
flashback, and is reflecting upon his whole life in Devon School and the military. He has met many
people and had lots of different experiences in his lifetime.
3) Literary Elements
 Allusion
A song titled “Roll out the Barrel” is mentioned in the story.
 Repetition
“‘Left out!’ Brinker’s eyes lighted up. ‘Left out!’” This is repetition because Brinker is repeating the
phrase “left out” twice in a row. He is doing this to express his indignation about Gene’s words. By
saying them with enough emotion, it would be enough to make Gene understand how he feels.
4) Important Phrases
 “‘…You want to serve, that’s all. It’s your greatest moment, greatest privilege, to serve your
country. Were all proud of you, and we’re all-old guys like me-we’re darn jealous of you, too.’”
(p.200 line 2-5)
This phrase is important because it shows how old men think about the war. They think it is
important and that young men should serve the country with lots of loyalty, considering it as a privilege.
Also, they even envy the soldiers for being able to work for the country at all. They still have lots of
years to live, and are still healthy, so working in the army is not such a strain for them as it is for old
people.
 “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy.
Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at
school; I killed my enemy there.” (p.204 line 7-10)
This phrase is at the last part of the book, as the flashback ends and the older Finny reflects on
his experiences at Devon and then in the war. He believes that everyone has a moment in history
when they find that the world is actually a hostile place. He thinks that this moment was during
World War II for most of his class mates. However, for himself, it came before the war; Gene
fought a war with the world while he was attending Devon. He does not say exactly who this
enemy is, and leaves the part for readers to infer. Gene then goes on to explain how Phineas
never had such a moment; he didn’t understand the necessity of conflicts and rivalry, and that
this was what separated him from most of the other students.
 “Only Phineas never was afraid, only Phineas never hated anyone.” (p.204 line 11-12)
This is a part where Gene explains how Phineas never had a moment where he felt like he was
against everything in the war; he didn’t understand the necessity of conflicts and rivalry, and that this
was what separated him from most of the other students. By saying those things about Phineas’s
characteristics, Gene is separating and contrasting him from all the other students in Devon.
5) Vocabulary
1. Compiled
Put together
p.195 l.9
2. Poignant
Keen or strong in mental appeal
p.196 l.18
3. Berth
A shelf-like sleeping space
p.197 l.3
4. Consultation
Conference
p.197 l.16
5. Reprieve
To delay the impending punishment or sentence of
p.197 l.27
6. Synthetic
Not real or genuine; artificial; feigned
p.202 l.3
7. Sift
To examine closely
p.202 l.21
8. Regimentation
To manage to treat in a rigid, uniform manner
p.203 l.19
9. Parry
To ward off, as in fencing; avert
p.204 l.14
10. Frontier
The part of a country that borders another country
p.204 l.28
<Deep Character Analysis>
1) Gene Forrester
Gene is the novel’s narrator and the main protagonist of the story. He tells the story
as a flashback, existing as his older self but reflecting back on his days at the Devon School.
He tells readers about everything he feels, but is an unreliable narrator, regarding things from
his own viewpoint. He first appears in the story as an adult, returning to Devon School, where
he spent most of his teenage years at. However, he soon begins a flashback to the summer
of 1942, when he was still a student at the school. He becomes roommates and best friends
with Finny, who is very athletic and bright. However, Gene does not seem to accept and
return Finny’s innocent love. It is almost as if he resents Finny. Gene claims that he and
Finny are equal in enmity, though, and that Finny probably hates him back also. According to
him, the two boys are envying each other; Gene for Finny’s natural talent in sports, and Finny
for Gene’s academic successes. However, readers soon find out that this is not so, and that
Finny’s love for Gene does not waver at all. Perhaps his innocent and pure mind makes
Gene resent him all the more.
There is an incident here that changes the boys; life forever. They were planning to
jump off the tree together, hand in hand, when Gene accidentally jostles the branch and
Finny falls off of it and breaks a leg. At first, readers believe that this even was all an accident;
however, as the story unfolds, we can guess that Gene could have done it on purpose, out of
jealousy for Finny. Anyway, the doctor announces that sports are finished for Finny. This
brings Finny down and makes him equal to Gene. Gene now has a reason to become a part
of Finny; even if it is done by representing him in sports. Maybe this was Gene’s objective the
whole time. The readers do not know, not even at the end of the book, whether the accident
has been done consciously or not.
The story comes to a climax as Finny, realizing that Gene had jounced the branch
to make him fall down on purpose, runs out of the Assembly Hall with his crutches and falls
down the hard marble stairs. Gene had completely broken Finny, who had been the object of
his jealousy for the whole school year.
Despite all these happenings, Gene had also loved his best friend; however he
does not realize this until after Finny is injured. After that unfortunate incident, Gene devotes
himself completely to Finny throwing away all this feelings of awe and jealousy toward his
best friend. He even agrees to train for the Olympics for Finny’s sake. What Gene does not
realize until the end of the story, though, is that he had killed and broken a part of Finny,
which will bring about his death later on.
2) Phineas
Phineas is Gene’s best friend and the person he depicts most carefully and
seriously. He is the object that brings forth Gene’s jealousy and hatred but also receives his
love. His attitude towards life is always very optimistic and cheerful, and readers can realize
this in several parts of the story. An example would be blitzball, which is a sport that Finny
makes up. Even though the players try their best and compete furiously against each other,
they can never win in the game. There are no such things as winners and losers; the game is
just there to enjoy. This shows readers that Finny’s approach of life is very different from that
of all the other boys in Devon.
Competition takes on a whole different meaning for Finny. While a few people, even
Gene, takes life as a serious of war and conflicts, Finny does not understand the meaning of
enemies; that is, real enemies outside of sports. This can be both his strength and weakness.
First, it is his strength because it allows Finny not to make any real enemies in life, and keeps
him innocent throughout. However, this personality can also be his weakness, as he never
realizes that Gene’s feelings for him might not be as innocent as his for Gene.
Finally, Finny thinks that the others all view the world the same way as he does, so
he can be a little self-centered sometimes. He always try to see the good in others instead of
their faults and always manage to keep a positive thought about everything around him. He
never thinks that there are people who might resent each other, sincere are people who
might resent each other, since he himself is so pure to the heart He loves and believes in
Gene until the end when he dies, even when he knew Gene had done such a terrible thing to
him. He is a very innocent and pure person, perhaps not totally fitting in with the rest of the
characters in the story.
3) Elwin Likelier (Leper)
Leper is a quiet, peaceful, nature-loving boy. He decides to join the US ski troops
after being inspired by a documentary about them. His friends are surprised to see him be
the first student in Devon to enlist and become a part o the war. This provides some irony to
the whole book and makes other students realize that even a timid boy like Leper can have
the courage to enlist. Before, he had been teased and ridiculed by other students for his odd
interests and behaviors toward life, except by Gene, who thinks that the innocent boy would
never change into a bloodthirsty soldier of the war. However, Leper breaks down and
becomes totally insane under the pressure of war, totally disproving what Gene thought. He
has hallucinations in the army, and calls Gene to tell him all about it. However, the grisly
stories make Gene sick, and he leaves Leper to escape from his words.
When Gene first sees Leper, who deserted the army in fear of receiving a Section
Eight discharge, he is shocked at how much the little boy has changed. Leper had already
seen and experienced too much to go back to his original, innocent self. This shows both the
other boys and the readers how much fear and pressure can affect a person. The boys were
probably weighed down enough with all the responsibilities experienced of them. It was too
much for the naturalist to accept the horrible environments of the war through his pure eyes.
4) Brinker Hadley
Brinker, just like Finny, assumes control over the other boys at Devon for a short
time during the Winter Session. Even though he is very charismatic and disciplined, his
control over the students is very different from that of Finny. Finny, with his vibrant and
mischievous mind and innocence, becomes symbolically associated with the summer
session, while Brinker, with his suspicious mind and persistence of the rules, comes to
symbolize the winter session. He tries to sign up or the army with Gene, convincing him with
ideas of a new start by leaving their old lives behind. However, Gene refuses because of
Finny’s presence, and Brinker also gives up enlisting.
Later, Brinker becomes one of the reasons of Finny’s death. He calls Finny and
Gene to the Assembly Hall to ask them about the reason Finny suddenly lost his balance
and fell from the tree. He was not directly connected with the incident, but still wanted to
know what had happened. He was probably expecting and knew that Gene had caused it to
happen in a way. He could be curious for the exact details, though, but I think he was being
too nosy. He should not have interrogated the boys about it, as if he were a teacher. The
incident made Finny realize that it was Gene who had induced the event that had caused
him to be crippled. This thought made him rush out and break his leg once more by falling
down the stairs. If Brinker had kept his thoughts and suspicions to himself, nothing else
would have happened, Finny would have thought that the accident was his fault only and
would not have suspected Gene for it. Everything at Devon would have been normal and
continue that way if not for Brinker’s curiosity.
<Reflection>
Reading and writing a report about this book also made me think a lot about myself. In this
book, Gene is depicted as a calculative and deceptive boy, while Finny is described as a noble and
kind person. While reading, I wanted myself to be more like Finny; anyone would feel the same wayFinny obviously has the better personality. However, I found myself agreeing more to Gene or Brinker.
You could be jealous of your best friend, especially if they are like Finny, in Gene’s case. You could be
curious about what happened between two students in your school and use your power to ask them
about it. Like this, I found myself agreeing instead of rejecting the actions of the characters that are
meant to be representing bad things such as jealousy and hatred. However, I am glad to say that I
have some of Finny’s characteristics also; I think I have his cheerful and optimistic mind.
Anyway, to talk more about the story, I was surprised and sad at the end, where Finny falls
down the stairs and breaks his leg yet again. Before, I have thought that the accident with the tree
was Gene’s mistake. However, I have also been wondering how Gene did not even put out his hand
and try to catch Finny as he fell. I didn’t know that his jealousy affected him so much as to harm a
person he once called his best friend. I could understand how shocked Finny must have been; he has
just realized that the person he has trusted the most has betrayed him. I was sorrowful about his fall
and his death, and wished that Finny lived happily until the end. I couldn’t believe that such a good
athlete as he became crippled for life, having to give up what he had enjoyed the most before. This is
why I resented Gene so much, even if he is the main protagonist in the book.
As I tried to reflect upon the story, I couldn’t help thinking about myself-my actions and my
words and whether they could have hurt anyone. Finally, I found that I have not lived like I have
wanted to in the past. I sometimes deserted friends, even though I knew they trusted in me, and I
could sometimes call myself anything but honest. I was surprised to find that I was just like character I
hated so much throughout the story-Gene. Realizing this fact, I made a promise to myself to become
more like Finny-kind, pure, and always innocent. Of course, no one could have such a perfect
personality. Finny accepts everything around him with positive thoughts and does not view anything
as negative. I would try to be more like him and fix the personalities I have that are similar to Gene.
Then others may think positively about me, as I have done with Finny.