A Separate Peace: Chapter 9

I enjoyed this reading, even if it got confusing at times.
The truly persuasive nature of Finny is shown when Gene too begins to believe in peace. While Gene does not believe in Finny's crazy theory, he notices how distanced he is from the war.

The two important things of the chapter

• Leper leaves to join the army.
• Finny holds the Winter Carnival

The chapter ends with the boys going crazy with joy during the Winter Carnival, and Gene doing extremely well physically. When a telegram from Leper arrives asking Gene to help Leper, as Leper has "escaped". Honestly, I found this really scary and dark. What would cause Leper to get so desperate as to "escape" the military after he had so willingly joined.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 8

The chapter opens up with Phineas and Gene beginning their first conversation since Finny came back. The two go to bed, and when they wake up, Brinker Hadley comes into their room. Brinker asks Gene if he is going to enlist, when he notices Finny. Brinker makes a reference to his joke about Gene trying to get rid of Finny. Gene interupts with explaining that he was going to enlist. And then the cutest thing happened. Finny was shocked and wanted Gene to stay. So Gene being the good friend he is, makes his choice to stay.
Not going to lie, I was really happy about this. First off, Gene and Finny make the cutest couple...even if they do not know they are gay yet. Secondly, Gene needs Finny to keep his life exciting and worth living.
Later on in the day, when Finny and Gene visit the gym, Finny tells Gene that he wanted to be in the Olympics. Finny decides the train Gene for the 1944 Olympics. One day Gene is running, and he gets his rhythm and does much better. Mr. Ludsbury comes out and tells the boys that exercise is meant to be used to get ready for the war, not the Olympics. Again, the idea of the war comes up. An important part of the war is the fact that Finny refuses to believe in its occurence. Finny has some crazy idea that it was created as a way to control the young people of America. Since he has that magnetic of a personality, Gene begins to believe it. While I understand where  Finny is coming from, I do not see how it fits in with his suffering and personality. Yes, he likes to break rules, but he does not seem like one for large scale conspiracy theories.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 7

Chapter 7 started with Gene mentioning that his "baptism" took place in the river with Quakenbush. I found it funny because there was nothing religious about the experience, he had been fighting and fell in, however its really a point of true change between the summer and the winter. Brinker Hadley came and visited Gene, and joked that Gene "fixed" the problem of sharing a room by causing Finny's injury.
Of course, Gene is socially awkward and filled with guit, and the pair go down to the Butt Room. One line in particular really tied the book to the story of Cain and Abel. Talking about Finny "Doing away with his roommate....Rankest treachery...Practically fraticide." Which is the kill of one's brother. Some of the boys theorized that Gene pushed Finny off the branch, before Gene left the Butt Room.
Gene reflects on the changes of the war, which include the students working to pick up apples since the harvesters had gone into the army. On a later assignment, the boys helped clear the train tracks, while Leper went skiing to look for a beaver dam. A troop train passed through the tracks, which led to Brinker deciding he was going to enlist. Gene too contemplates the idea, until he walks in on a returned Finny. Things once again seem to be building up to a point, which is good because the reading is more interesting. It seems that enlisting and staying with Finny will be a hard decision for Gene to make.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 6

After the events of the past couple of chapters, the beginning was well...boring.
Gene reflected on the differences between summer Devon and winter Devon. He seems to get really sentimental with all these strange images brought to mind about gypsy summer with music and such.
Cliff Quakenbush enters the picture, when the two get in a fight once Gene takes a job that normally disabled boys take. Gene hits Quakenbush, and the two fall into the river. Gene initially claims he fought it for Finny, yet realizes it was more for himself.
Gene seems to have been fond of summer term when he feels he should have "taken advantage of the situation", however he had earlier referred to it as a time of hate and darkness. The difference in how he views it seems to be centered around Finny's falling and the end of their rivalry.
Finny seems to refuse to believe Gene tried to hurt him, and Finny and Gene talk over the phone. Finny gets irritated with Gene for him not participating in sports, and when Finny tells Gene to play them for him (finny), Gene says "this must have been my purpose form the first: to become a part of Phineas." Literally the creepiest sentence of the chapters if not the book. Sort of like his whole trying on Finny's clothes phase. Just weird. Who does that even?

A Separate Peace: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 was hard to read. Thankfully, Gene finally seems to actually feel some real emotion other than hatred. It seemed at bit crazy when Gene tries on Finny's clothes, and feels like he is Finny. I don't understand how that advanced the story at all or added depth to his character other than the fact that it officially makes this boy delusional. I found it interested how Gene only truly feels regret when it is established that Finny will no longer be able to play sports. Sure he could have died, and his legs are shattered, but the fact that you stripped him of his biggest talent, in which so much of his personality and identity come from, and now he cries.
Gene finally comes around to telling Finny, an entire month later. As he leaves, Gene seems to get all melodramatic when he promises that he wont live by the rules "and that was the most false thing, the biggest lie of all." While compared to the other problems and lies, this is minor, this is the one which is the worst to Gene. Maybe because it truly separates his world with Finny from how he acts without his friend.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 4

I felt like everything snowballed very quickly in this chapter. The confusing and fast series of events occurs.
1. Gene flunks his test
2. Gene goes crazy.
When I say crazy, I mean paranoid and just really really seeing the world differently from the way it is.
He decides that Finny wants to wreck his studies, and truly begins to hate Finny. Gene feels that since they are equal in their different talents, Finny is jealous and therefore created Blitzball and the Super Suicide Society. It gets to be that Gene is so defensive, that he begins to analyze his other rivals (Chet Douglass, the other academic rival).
Gene describes how he was "thoughtlessly slipping back into affection for him again." as if it is a mistake, an error on his part to once again love his best friend Finny.
3. Gene says no
For once, when Finny proposes that Gene attends a Society meeting, Gene exclaims that he has to study. Finny is surprised, and Gene realized that Finny thought that Gene's academic success came the same way sports came to Finny. Gene realizes that there never could have been a rivalry between Gene and Finny, as Finny was not jealous.
4. The jump
Finny and Gene decide to jump at the same time, however Gene jounces the limb.
Finny falls, and Gene fearlessly jumps into the river.
The way that Gene jounces the limb is so cold, calculated and emotionless, especially when he so easily jumps into the river just after causing his friend to fall.
The chapter was fast paced, interesting, confusing, and ultimately disturbing.
The parallels between the bible passage of Cain and Abel and A Separate Peace are shown in the jealousy, which results in harm of the "better" person.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 3

Chapter Three only supported evidence to make everyone love Finny.
Finny and Gene really begin the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. The club met nightly, and despite Gene's wish against jumping off the tree, he continues to do so daily. He explains that he could have chosen to not attend the meetings, however at the time he did not feel able to. I understand that feeling where just saying no seems so wrong, so crazy that I would never consider it to be an option.
Finny creates blitzball, which grows to be extremely popular. If put in that situation, most likely I would have become very irritated with the sudden changing of rules.

I love the writing style of the book. It matches my sort of thought process. There is the story with branching off moments of personal reflection. Such as when future Gene talks about what moment he lives in forever, with the color of the time being green and the way the world is.

As a swimmer, I found Finny's breaking of the school swimming record to be interesting. It is very hard to break a record, however Finny  only takes personal pride in his accomplishment. Finny decides that he does not want anyone else to know. Gene is confused, but I understand Finny's side of the story. He is used to being great at sports, and breaking that record was a moment to test himself.

The chapter ends with Gene and Finny breaking the rules to go to the beach for the afternoon. It is hard to imagine just leaving school and riding my bike to have a day in the sun. The memory was only really happy for Finny, and Gene felt negative towards the whole thing. It would be one of those memories in ones friendship which would be unforgettable. And Finny feels the same way when he tells Gene that he is his best friend. I feel sorry for Finny because Gene has already become jealous enough that he can not admit to reciprocating his feelings.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 2

Chapter 2 continues to develop the characters of Finny and Gene.
Finny is shown as persuasive and adept at conversation. There are numerous instances when Finny could have been in trouble, yet manages to escape with his speaking ability. One teacher comes because of the skipped dinner, and the headmaster Mr. Patch-Withers almost gets angry at Finny's use of a Devon tie as a belt. However, both times Finny manages not only to escape punishment, but win over the teachers. A similar situation occurs when Finny wears a pink shirt that no one else would wear for fear of being made fun of, however Finny uses it as a sign of pride for the United States.
Besides that, the two boys create the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session by jumping off the tree for a second time. In a tense, and scary moment, Gene almost falls, but Finny grabs  him. At the very end of the chapter, Gene realizes if he had fallen without Finny, he would have been seriously hurt, if not have killed.
The reading was funny, interesting, intense all within one seemingly random chapter.

A Separate Peace: Chapter 1

From the first page, I found the book to be extremely interesting. The descriptions of the place simultaneously allow me an accurate mental image with sensations, sights, perspectives, sounds, and even smells, while not over describing so I am overwhelmed. While nothing of importance has happened yet, the main character is introduced to us (Gene). He visits his old school, and reflects on how so very little has changed since he left. The observations he makes on the calm harmony of the place is mentioned to be something he wishes in himself. There is a very fast, almost disorienting time switch back to his time at Devon. Gene's friend Phineas is introduced as an athletic, confident daredevil when he is the youngest person to jump off the tree into the river. Gene is then pressured into jumping after Phineas, however Gene refuses Phineas' teasing. The chapter ends with the two boys wrestling, missing dinner, and going to bed.
Most of the time, by this point, I would have found the book to be boring and uneventful, however the way it is written is engaging and foreshadows to future conflict.

The Bible: Exodus Chapters 9-15

The reading was long, confusing, and repetitive. I personally have preferred all the other books we read this year. While content wise, the bible is actually quite interesting with the 10 plagues, murder, and miracles, the way it is written makes it dull. In chapter 9, God brought boils and hail upon the Egyptians. Next were locusts,  darkness, and the death of the firstborn  God told the Israelite to put the blood of a lamb upon their doors, so their firstborn sons would not die. The Israelites were finally allowed to leave, and their bread was unleavened. As a result, God said that every year for a week, unleavened bread will be eaten. God leads the Israelites through the land as a pillar of clouds/ fire, and they end up right next to the Red Sea. As he has done throughout the tale, God once again hardens Pharaoh's heart, and the Egyptians give chase. As they reach the Israelites, God parts the Red Sea, and the Israelites escape. When the Egyptians attempt to follow, they are swallowed up by the sea. The reading ends with the Israelites getting water from trees in the middle of a desert, which seemed random. The need for the hundreds of deaths by drowning seems unnecessary, and God was hardening the Pharaoh's heart the entire time. It was irritating cause it felt like a waste of resources in repeatedly killing livestock and crops of the Egyptians, and later on, the people of Egypt.

The Bible: Exodus Chapters 1-8

Things I found interesting:
I found Moses' lack of speaking ability to be interesting, since Aaron did most of the work. Moses almost acts as a telephone, telling Aaron the messages from god, but Aaron talks and often performs the miracle by moving the staff over the waters and such.
Also, the fact that Moses is a murderer, yet he is never punished by God is interesting. Moses did have a reason, but just because he ran away does not make him better, or worthy of saving the Israelites.
Things I found confusing:
Everything was repetitive, and chapter 6 seemed to only cover Moses being worried. The language at some points was very difficult to understand.

The Bible: Genesis Chapter 4

In Chapter 4, Eve has Cain. And Cain gets jealous of his brother Abel, and kills him. I was disturbed by the absolute lack of emotion and detail in Abel's death. All it says that in the field, Cain killed Abel. God punishes Cain in an odd way, he makes Cain a fugitive who cannot use the earth to farm (maybe?). Cain says he will be killed, however the birth of more humans was never discussed. Also, the reason as to why God would make it so that whoever kills Cain has vengeance sevenfold is weird. If Cain were to be killed, how are they killed sevenfold? The reading was boring, confusing, and left much to the imagination.

The Bible- Genesis Garden of Eden Chapters 1-3

The bible begins with God creating the earth and the things which are found on it. The way in which it was written is very different from the way other works of literature are written. While creating the things the format starts as "And God..." and many phrases are repeated when referring to that which he makes, and "it was good" is used to describe everything. The way that the characters speak is very different with an indirect use of nouns such as "man" instead of Adam and when God punishes Adam and Eve, the punishments seem unfair and indirectly described. Eve has to be ruled by Adam and have painful childbirth, and the pair is kicked out of Eden because God does not want them to live forever. That which is written in the three chapters could have been summarized much faster. First, god creates stuff (including man), God tells Adam not to eat the fruit, makes Eve, and the two eat the fruit and recieve their punishments.