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.
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