Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Assignment #8: The "separate peace" moment is shattered by the arrival of the telegram from Leper. Explore the significance of the timing of the telegram and the content. From was, has Leper "escaped"? (Polcari)

During the winter carnival, Gene and the other boys at Devon were enjoying a day of fun separate from the reality of wartime and that was shattered when Gene received Leper's telegram. In the telegram, he says to Gene, "I HAVE ESCAPED AND NEED HELP. I AM AT CHRISTMAS LOCATION. YOU UNDERSTAND... MY SAFETY DEPENDS ON YOU COMING AT ONCE"(137). The timing was significant because the boys were in a "separate peace" moment were they were absent-minded of war and the reality of wartime. When Leper sends the telegram it shocks Gene of the truth of war. Gene will now possibly try his best to get out of his enlistment after Leper's warning of having to have to escape the army and the war.
Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 7, 2019 at 7:37 PM

    I agree with you here. To provide some context right before the telegram is received everyone is at the winter carnival. The winter carnival was organized by Finny, which marked Finny’s first step toward his old self after the injury. Phineas affected many people especially Gene, and the carnival was definitely having everyone in a good mood. Adding on to the fact that there was cider food and games. Just before Finny receives the letter, and reads it aloud to everyone he says, “A telegram for Gene? It’s the Olympic Committee. They want you! (Knowles 137). When the reader hears about Finny’s shocked expression it feels like you are right there when Gene narrates, “And it was this which drained away as I watched Finny’s face pass through all the gradations between uproariousness and shock” (Knowles 137). In conclusion, I completely agree with Quinn’s analysis. The carnival acts as a temporary shield from the war, but then finally the friends encounter a shock of hard truth on a personal level.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 8, 2019 at 6:48 AM

    I agree with Eric and Quinn because it really brought the boys back to reality, with this dangerous message from Leper. Leper who recently left to enlist into the army, had escaped the army and is hiding out. When he left the boys started to give Leper the credit every time something happened in war, giving them hope that Leper is doing just fine. Then on top of that all of the boys were able to finally let go and do fun activities without having to think about the war or what lies ahead of them. When Finny read what the letter said I think that he finally let it sink in that this war is real and all the bad things that were happening weren't fake. On page, "And it was this which drained away as I watched Finny’s face pass through all the gradations between uproariousness and shock” (Knowles 137). That was when Finny finally got hit with the realization that all of this is happening and he cannot change it.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)