This book was the best way to end the summer reading, it was witty and serious in all the right places. I think that John Knowles did an exceptional job at depicting the lives of young men during a very scary uncertain time in their lives. What happened to Finny, was like a slap in the face sort of. He is the definition of the saying "The good die young." Finny and Gene's friendship was unconventional, throughout the first couple chapters Gene is convinced Finny is competing with him and trying to ruin him, when actually it was Gene who ruined Finny. Gene would have to be my favorite character, something about him made him relatable. Almost all of us have had a friend who we do love, but deep down loath. Even if some of us won't openly admit it, you know it's true.
In this book, I believe that one of the main theme's is coming of age. It introduces the characters when they're just leaving young boy hood, and entering adult hood, a scary and uncertain place already but with the added pressure of the war, it was horrifying. Although he was the character I least liked, Brinker did have a very good point when he said "Left out! He and his crowd are responsible for it! And we're going to fight for it!" It seems as though even today, most of the time the people who actually started the war, aren't the ones who are bleeding, dying, and being mentally scarred for life. Speaking of being scarred for life, my heart went out to Leper. It was sad the sort of effect the war was actually having on people. When he was describing what happened to him to Gene, it was uncomfortable to actually read, and I was not surprised by the way that Gene responded. I'm pretty sure that's how a lot of people would've reacted, who wants to hear that quite possibly in a couple months it could be you having a Section Eight discharge?
The one part of the book that left me unsure, was Finny's feelings towards Gene in the end. Gene was the cause of his accident, the reason why he was robbed of everything he held near and dear. The tree, that at the beginning were jumping off of and the one that pretty much killed Finny sort of symbolized the war. Some made the jump safely in the water, like Gene. Some were to scared to even try, like Leper. Some, it just wasn't in the cards for them to survive, like Finny. What happened to Finny was a tragic loss, and at the end I thought the doctor was going to cry. I'm not surprised Gene didn't cry, most likely Finny wouldn't have wanted him to cry. If you think about it, Knowles showed the four type of people the world have through Leper, Brinker, Gene and Finny. Overall, this was a good novel, and I liked more then the others.
In this book, I believe that one of the main theme's is coming of age. It introduces the characters when they're just leaving young boy hood, and entering adult hood, a scary and uncertain place already but with the added pressure of the war, it was horrifying. Although he was the character I least liked, Brinker did have a very good point when he said "Left out! He and his crowd are responsible for it! And we're going to fight for it!" It seems as though even today, most of the time the people who actually started the war, aren't the ones who are bleeding, dying, and being mentally scarred for life. Speaking of being scarred for life, my heart went out to Leper. It was sad the sort of effect the war was actually having on people. When he was describing what happened to him to Gene, it was uncomfortable to actually read, and I was not surprised by the way that Gene responded. I'm pretty sure that's how a lot of people would've reacted, who wants to hear that quite possibly in a couple months it could be you having a Section Eight discharge?
The one part of the book that left me unsure, was Finny's feelings towards Gene in the end. Gene was the cause of his accident, the reason why he was robbed of everything he held near and dear. The tree, that at the beginning were jumping off of and the one that pretty much killed Finny sort of symbolized the war. Some made the jump safely in the water, like Gene. Some were to scared to even try, like Leper. Some, it just wasn't in the cards for them to survive, like Finny. What happened to Finny was a tragic loss, and at the end I thought the doctor was going to cry. I'm not surprised Gene didn't cry, most likely Finny wouldn't have wanted him to cry. If you think about it, Knowles showed the four type of people the world have through Leper, Brinker, Gene and Finny. Overall, this was a good novel, and I liked more then the others.
