Why does Leper enlist in the military?

Why does Leper enlist in the military?

Leper’s decision to enlist stems from his inability to bear the prolonged waiting period, his desire simply to initiate what he knows to be inevitable. Leper’s descriptions of his wartime hallucinations constitute one of the novel’s darkest moments.

Who is the first person to enlist in a separate peace?

Leper Lepellier is the first Devon student to enlist in World War II. As Finny explains earlier on in the novel, Leper is seventeen and should be a year ahead of the rest of the class.

How old is leper Lepellier According to Phineas Why is this significant?

Leper is 17 years old. This is significant because Leper will be draftable before the end of this next academic year. How old is Leper Lepellier in chapter 2?

What happened to Leper after he enlisted?

When Leper enlists as the first volunteer from Devon, he disappears, almost without a word, into the world of war. The silence surrounding Leper’s leave-taking and the lack of information about his part in the war encourages wildly imaginative tales that Brinker weaves into the Leper legend.

How is Leper changed from before he enlisted?

Instead of being the nature-loving and timid boy he was, Leper has become defensive and angry. He was given a Section Eight discharge, which is a dishonorable discharge from the army based on psychiatric grounds.

How do the boys react to Leper enlisting?

Leper’s decision affords the reader several insights into his classmates, as the boys react in telling ways. First, they respond with disbelief, and because they find the idea of Leper in the army so unimaginable, the war becomes to them more distant and alien than ever.

What is the beginning of A Separate Peace about?

During the summer session of 1942, he becomes close friends with his daredevil roommate Finny, whose innate charisma consistently allows him to get away with mischief. Finny prods Gene into making a dangerous jump out of a tree into a river, and the two start a secret society based on this ritual.

Why is A Separate Peace called A Separate Peace?

Finny himself seems to understand this when, for all his insistence on unity and wholeness, he draws a stark division between his existence and the greater reality of the war. The “separate peace” of the title refers to Devon, the Eden-like enclave where young men can live as innocent children.

How does the invention of Blitzball reflect on Finny?

The invention of blitzball represents Finny’s childhood innocence. After starting the game of blitzball, Gene is confused about the rules of the game. Finny tells him “There aren’t any teams in blitzball…we’re all enemies” (38). There are no teams in blitzball, which means no one can lose.

How does Leper change throughout the story?

From the beginning, Leper breaks down under stress. Challenged by Finny to jump from the tree, he freezes. Tossed the ball in blitzball, he refuses it. And, faced with the rigors of basic training, he suffers a mental breakdown — thus becoming a “psycho,” who runs away from the army.

Why did Gene hit Leper?

Leper declares that Gene pushed Finny out of the tree, because Gene is “a savage underneath.” Accused and judged, Gene responds to his own dark instincts, his secret impulses, and knocks Leper from his chair, just as he once pushed Finny from the tree.

How and why has Leper changed?

Instead of being the nature-loving and timid boy he was, Leper has become defensive and angry. Leper is a psychological mess. He had always been different, but he had always been impeccably friendly, courteous, and reserved. When Gene goes to visit him at his house, however, he is bitter, ranting, and rude.