ASP Quote Significance Ch.8,9-12/1

Ch. 8:

"'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 this 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." (111)

Here, we have another of Finny's Commandments: "When you love something, it loves you back, in any way it can." I think this, at least to Finny, really stands for the saying that nothing is done for a bad reason. Everything has some good quality to it. It's also, I think, a way of justifying Gene's actions. Finny knows that Gene pushed himf rom the tree, but the previous visions of Finny as confused or troubled were probably of him trying to figure out exactly what happened and why. Now that he knows Gene did it for sure, he justifies it by saying this, another commandment. He's using it to justify Gene's pushing him out of the tree as, somehow, and act of friendship, or loving him back. How, I do not know, but it somehow is in Finny's eyes. It's Finny's way of making the world seem a beter place than it really is.

Could Finny be doing all this(making up games, acting spontaneous, etc.) as a way of justifying the world around him, of making it better in his eyes?

Ch. 9:

"It wasn't the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and separate peace." (136-137)

The quote itself is pretty explanatory. This explains the title and what exactly the boys were doing during their time at Devon. The outside world no longer existed, or even mattered, to them. What they were doing was their own world. They made their own games. They remade current events in honor of their friend [Leper] who enlisted. They trained for Olympics a year away that were not even confirmed yet. They made their own, seperate peace. Their world didn't have a war. This relates to the title of the book and, in my opinion, is a quintessential quote of the book.

What future events could Leper's enlistment and apparent escape(as seen in the telegram) incur on Gene and friends?

ASP Quote Significance Ch. 7-11/24

"They gathered there thicker by the minute, like noiseless invaders conquering because they took posession so gently. I watched them whirl past my window--don't take this seriously, the playful way they seemed to imply, this little show, this harmless trick."

I have a feeling this can be interpreted as foreshadowing of Gene's ideas of enlisting. They gather in his head quickly, gently taking root in his mind. I think this is foreshadowing how, at the end of the chapter, Gene forgets them. They were a harmless trick he thought of on a passing whim. The ideas fell into his mind, but like the next day, the ideas were completely melted away when Finny came back. If we go along with this motif of, at least for this chapter, snow predicting the future, Gene also says that the snow fell a few more times, and was solidly packed in at Devon. I speculate that Gene will ponder the theory of enlisting a few more times before he finally sets to it.

Do you think Gene will enlist or not enlist after Finny's return and why?

ASP Quote Significance Ch. 6-11/24

"Night of black-jack and poker and unpredictable games invented by Phineas rose up in my mind...Phineas losing even in those games he invented, betting always for what should win, for what would have been the most brilliant successes of all, if only the cards hadn't betrayed him. Finny finally betting his icebox and losing it, that contraption, to me."

To me, this seems like a disguised summary of the book so far. The games invented by Phineas represent all the things he got Gene and the other boys to do during the Summer Session. Losing those games represented him falling from the tree, and any negatives he may have encountered. He bets for what should win, or his 'commandments'. All that goes out the window when the cards betrayed him, or when Gene betrayed him. The last line, however, I don't think has happened yet. What could Finny be betting on, but lose to Gene? Perhaps, and I may be completely off, it is the Galbraith Football Trophy or some other athletic award he probably would've gotten had Gene not pushed him from the tree. Now, however, Finny entrusts Gene with the responsibility of playing sports for him. So, instead of Gene winning Finny's 'icebox', maybe he will gain a trophy Finny would've won, thusly fully completing his transformation as 'part of Phineas.'

What do you predict will happen next in the book?

Qoute: "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 even had his humorous expression in my face, his sharp, optimistic awareness. I had no idea why this gave me such instense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny's triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again." (62)

Significance: This is an example of Gene trying to be more like Finny. First, his jealousy caused him to purposely, opposed to accidentally, jounce the limb that he and Finny were standing on, as was revealed in this chapter. Now, in order to be more like Finny, he puts on his clothes. It's not simply just a shirt or some socks, it's the whole outfit, right down to the shoes. Maybe borrowing a shirt or two like Finny had done before is ok, but going so far as to dress in an entire outfit is rather odd. Yes, he is trying to be like Finny, but is this too far? It's almost obsessive. The last line, where he talks about stumbling through his own confusions, I think might be a solution to Gene's inner struggle of whether he is jealous or happy for Finny. Maybe some spark not mentioned occurred in Gene's head that told him the answer. By dressing like Finny, perhaps Gene saw that he could be like Finny, but still be himself. He was he, Gene, Finny's best pal, but he also had on his clothes, which could, to Gene, be interpreted as Finny's characteristics and qualities. Gene didn't need his 'There can only be one' mindset. I think, therefore, that this quote is an example of Gene trying to be like Finny, and in doing so, he found the answer to his inner struggle, and that's why he set off to get on Finny's good side again.

Question: Would Finny freak if he knew Gene was using his clothes, just like Finny used Gene's?

ASP-Quote Significance 11/19

"Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud. It was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make. With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten." (59-60)

What. The. Hell. You don't stand by and watch your friend fall out of a tree! I can't stand Gene right now! %$^@#! Expletive! Censored, Censored, Censored! Anywho, this quote is the turning point, the point which we all saw coming. Worse, however, it was Gene's fault. He shook the limb(jounced=shook), and that's what made Finny lose his balance. I would understand if Gene said he jumped as Finny moved, so he didn't see him fall or thud, and only heard one splash so when he looked to the bank he could see Finny lying there. Then maybe it wouldn't be his fault. The truth is, however, the Gene just stood there, watched his friend fall, and then a second or two later, Ok, NOW I'll jump. And, what, now he's not afraid? After seeing someone fall out of a tree with a thud trying to do something you're trying to do, you DON'T go running back the way you came? Really? Gene is a complete A-hole. First, he expected Finny of trying to sabotage his studying efforts to become Valedictorian when Finny was just having fun, and now this. Finny just wanted to have some fun. They're at an all boys boarding school for the summer. SOMEONE had to do something make it exciting. And, to throw some of Gene's bang-up wisdom on himself, if he had stayed at home and studied, he wouldn't have gone to the meeting and Finny wouldn't have fallen out of the tree and gotten hurt. Take that, Gene. Take that.

Question: Do you think Gene was responsible in any way for Finny falling out of the tree?

Sidenote: Caps lock does NOT fully express the extent of my dislike!

ASP Quote Significance-11/18

Ch.2) "Rigid, I began climbing the rungs, slightly reassured by having Finny right behind me. 'We'll jump together to cement our partnership,' he said."

Response: This quote may be short, but in this case, a little can go a long way. This quote is important because it demonstrates the importance of "The Tree". The Narrator, from the first chapter, has emphasized on the tree at numerous points in the text, but never really told us why. He's told us that it's smaller than he remembered it, he's told us that the seniors use it for Military Service, but he hasn't told us how it has had such a lasting effect on him that he would revisit his high school simply to see a tree. It stands as a symbol of his and Finny's friendship. In a book about friendship, a symbol of friendship has to be important. Perhaps whatever happens to the two will inolve the tree in some way.

Question: Which of the two do you like more, Finny or Gene, and why?

Ch.3) "'I hope you're having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can't come to the shore with just anybody and you can't come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal.' He hesitated and then added, 'which is what you are,' and there was a silence on his dune./ It was a courageous thing to say...I should have told him he was my best friend also...But something held me back."

Response: First off, I loved this quote, simply because of what Finny said. As of this point in the text, he's my favorite character. I thought it was very emotional, and to put yourself on the line like that is no small thing. No one likes to say cheesy stuff like that (I in fact despise it) but the feeling behind it is still there. Now, to it's significance. Finny has been depicted so far as a fearless, spontaneous, and quirky athlete. No one would expect the best athlete of an entire all boys school to in fact be nice as well. Some part of that equation just doesn't add up. This quote delves deeper into Finny as a character, showing that there's another side to the devil-may-care Phineas. Also, it demonstrates Gene's lack of reciprocal feelings. I personally don't like Gene that much anymore because something held him back from saying it. Finny takes him to the beach, kept checking on him as he lay on the sand, had dinner with him, and did all these nice things for him over the past few days, and he can't even say a word back!? I don't like Gene.

Question: Would you say this or anything like this to someone you cared about?

Side Note: "'No. You keep your arms crossed like this on your chest, and you just butt the ball carrier. No elbowing allowed either. All right, Gene, start again.'"

...

FINALLY! I mean, I know the narrator's name was said on the back of the book, but still. It takes the dude 38 pages to give us his first(no last yet) name!?

ASP Quote Significance/Characterization-11/17

It's you, pal," Finny said to me at last, "just you and me." He and I started back across the fields, preceding the others like two seigneurs./ We were the best of friends at that moment." (17-18)

This is a significant quote because this is the first time Gene (the narrator) first tells us that he and Phineas are best friends. A theme of A Separate Peace is Friendship, as it would seem from our activities in class prior to reading its first chapter. Also, from reading the summary on the back of the book, it is apparent that some event yet waiting in the wings will happen to the two main characters. Making them friends heightens the extent of potential damage after said event. As opposed to it happening to two strangers, two friends are closer, and thus the aftermath will be greater.

Phineas: Fearless, Encouraging, Athletic, Fun-loving, Proud
Quote: "He of course saw nothing the slightest bit intimidating about it. He wouldn't, or wouldn't admit it if he did. Not Phineas." (14)

Narrator (Gene): Nostalgic, Descriptive, Slightly Timid, Easily Persuaded, Smart
Quote: "What was I doing up here anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me?" (17)

Question: Is Devon School just a name for the school in the book? Wasn't the real life school called Phillips-Exeter Academy? Mr. George said Jasmine Glenn went there, but it's an all boys school in the book. Did it change?