Reading Assignment Chapters 1-3

1. A number of times in this chapter, he mentions that "fear" is a major part of his school life. In what way could his school life have been filled with fear?
Gene's school, Devon High School, could have been filled with fear mainly because of the war that was going on. Now that he turned 17, anyone who was a senior at Devon could be drafted into war at anytime if they were enlisted.

2. What is implied when he speaks about "how far my convalescence had gone"?
To be completely honest, I don't have a single clue on what this question means.


3. What two specific spots does he seek out to revisit?
Gene specifically goes to revist the site of the tree where the Super Secret Suicide Society used to meet and the lobby so that he can see the steps and how the school now looks preserved and newer compared to what it did when he went to school.

4. What jars the reader in the following stastement, and what is implied? "Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence." What literary term is employed?
Well, I'm a reader and "not even a death by violence" jarred me the most. The statement is implying that nothing lasts becuase trees die, love doensn't last because eventually every person dies and a death by violence obviously doesn't last because someone is dying.

5. What mood is conveyed in the first five and a half pages, and how is this mood reinforced by the description of the day?
The mood conveyed in the first few pages is sort of upsetting, to Gene anways, because he is looking back at the old Devon High School and it isn't EXACTLY how he remembered it. There are coats of varnish on the floors and he thinks that everything looks preserved and like a museum, which is what he didn't want it to be.

6. As the flashback unfolds, how does the mood of the last part of the chapter change?
Gene goes down to the tree and remembers all of the events that occured at the tree in his past and the mood gets sort of happier towards the end of the chapter.

7. Who does it appear will be a major character in this story, besides the narrator, and what do we find out about him in this first chapter?
Finny will be another major character in the story and in the first chapter we find out that he is the opposite of Finny and he rarely gets into trouble.

8. Why does Gene's West Point stride bother Finny?
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9. Why does Finny try to win over mr. Prud'homme?
Gene and Finny are about to get into trouble for missing dinner to go down to the tree but Finny makes an excuse and gets them out of it, so he sort of wins power over Mr. Prud'homme.

10. Which of Finny's character traits "stun[s] people"?
I think the trait of Finny that stuns people the most is how he is such a rebel but manages to never get into trouble and everyone likes him even though he doesn't always make the best choices.

11. On what dramatic note does Ch. 2 end?
It ends on an intense note because Gene almost topples off of the branch and Finny saves him from falling.

12. With what realization does Ch. 3 open?
Chapter 3 opens with Gene's realization that Finny basically just saved his life.

13. Regarding Finny's breaking of the swimming record, why does Gene say, "It mad Finny seems too unusual for -- not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry"?
Even though they're friends, Gene envies almost everything that Finny does because he is so good at sports he just tries it one time and he's good at it. For example, he wanted to try to break the swimming record and he tried it once and beat it.

14. What did Gene do to his own disbelief, and why did he do it?
To his own disbelief, Gene jumps off of the tree limb into the river below.



*GoOdNiGhT!<3Y