Jack Kerouac's Winter Tone, Revised Version.

The winter session at Devon had a warlike tone. This warlike tone relates to World War II, which was going on during the time of the winter session. Furthermore the boys had to decide whether they were going to enlist or not. An example of Devon’s winter session being war like is the fight between Quackenbush and Gene on page 79,

“You Quackenbush don’t know anything about who I am. That launched me, and I had to go on and say, or anything else. Listen you maimed son of a bitch … I hit him hard across the face. I didn’t know why for an instant; it was almost as though I were maimed."

The way Gene says “you, Quackenbush” shows his anger toward Quackenbush. This feeling of anger leads to Devon’s winter session being much more warlike. The fact that Gene was “launched” shows how he then went on further on the offensive about Quackenbush for little reason. The word launched can come from shooting something out of a cannon, which was still going on during World War II and shows how the fighting in Devon was similar to that of what was going on in Nazi Germany. Calling someone a “maimed son of a bitch” obviously shows that the boys are fighting with one another. Furthermore the word maimed means crippled or injured, which relates to the war over in Europe. When Gene says that he were maimed he may be talking about the emotional blackmail that Finny has over him. This is the guilt inside of himself that he ruined Finny’s life and he will be emotionally maimed for the rest of his life. His emotional problems are similar to those of returning war veterans who have witnessed the death of many fellow soldiers.

Winter Session 1942 by John Keats

The winter tone at Devon is dull. The younger teachers are gone to war. These younger teachers can be generally described as the cooler ones. They are rather personable. Older, stricter, and traditional teachers such as Mr. Ludsbury, who brutishly claims that Gene had “slipped” over the summer, create a boring atmosphere. Because of the war, the students find ways to contribute to the war effort. One way was to shovel the snow off nearby railroads, an onerous duty that required a day of hard labor. Gene narrates that the “grime of the railroad and the exhaustion of manual laborers were on us all.” The words “grime” and “exhaustion” show the tough task that was placed before the students in the winter. The first train to go on the cleared tracks was a troop train, which suddenly puts the war on the students' minds. As they are in their senior year, the classmates of Gene have enlistments or the day they are eligible for the draft on their mind. Brinker, after seeing the troop train and Leper coming back from inspecting a beaver damn, declares that he is going to enlist. Brinker exclaimed that:

I’ve got to preside at a meeting of the Golden Fleece Debating Society tonight,” he said in a tone of amazed contempt, “the Golden Fleece Debating Society! We’re mad here, all mad,” and he went off raving to himself in the dark.

Brinker is saying that, while there is a war going on, he is attending unimportant clubs such as the “Golden Fleece Debating Society.” This frustrates Brinker so much that he shouts again in bewilderment, “the Golden Fleece Debating Society!” Then, he goes off “raving to himself” in frustration. He is craving to escape the daily, boring life at Devon and go off to war. The war, at this point, obsesses him. This stresses the fact that while Devon is living in normalcy, there is a war going on. As a result the war makes a large impact on the winter session.

The revision of Truman Capote's paragraph on the tone of the winter term at the Devon school.

The tone of the winter term for Gene is very fearful of what Finny will think of him. All day Gene can only think about his so called friend Finny who he knows he pushed off of the tree. Although he no longer has to see him and pretend to have a different life because of him, he is anticipating terrible things from Finny’s arrival back at Devon. He knows that many of the things he is doing would not go well with Finny. An example of this is when Gene tries out for the crew manager. He tells Finny about this and he gets very angry saying things like, “what do you want to do crew for? What do you want to manage for? What’s that got to do with sports?” Although this shows Finny’s extreme influence and care on what Gene does, the best example of Gene living in fear of Finny’s opinion is when Gene wants to go to war, but does not because of Finny.

“Why go through the motions of getting an education and watch to war slowly chip away at the one thing I had loved here, the peace, the measureless, careless peace of the Devon summer? Others. The Quackenbushes of this world, could calmly watch the war approach them and jump into it at the last and most advantageous instant, as though buying into the stock market. But I couldn’t… He looked up with a provocative grin, ‘Hi pal, where’s the brass band?’ Everything that had happened throughout the day faded like the first false snowfall of the winter.”
Pg. 101-102

In this paragraph, Gene really wants to go to war. He gets himself completely ready mentally and is excited to leave. Once Finny comes in he knows there is no way he will be able to go to war. He describes as if it “faded like the first false snowfall of the winter.” This shows that after seeing Finny there was not even a minor thought of going to war. It was out of the realm of possible and he would never be able to consider it again. Finny makes it very difficult and almost impossible for Gene to leave by saying such nice and friendly words like “Hi pal.” By saying this, Finny lures Gene in by making him feel so guilty for causing Finny’s fall off the tree. Gene is forced to stay there, with Finny, for the rest of his time at Devon. From the outside and the least deep part of their relationship, it seems as if a friend has been reunited with another friend and that Gene must stay faithful to his “best friend.” This is clearly the start of a chain of events where Gene will pretend to be friends with Finny, until he finally says no.

Ernest Hemingway's Re-Tone of Winter

The winter term of Devon is filled with tension. With Finny gone, the entire school has lost its former cheerfulness, reverting back to traditions and strict reinforcement of them. As World War progresses outside the country, the boys start to distrust anyone they've come to dislike. On pg 98, some boys mock Quackenbush for his ambition to rise through the ranks of the army. "Which army, Quackenbush? Mussolini's? "Naw, he's a Kraut." "How many rails did you sabotage today, Quackenbush?" Gene and Quackenbush are alike except Gene wishes to fit in while Quackenbush couldn't care less. Though they don't get along, the students of Devon should get along together in order to survive the term instead of bickering among themselves.

Edward Albee's Winter Term

The Winter Session at Devon is very tense. The disputes between the boys are good examples of the tense atmosphere at Devon. One dispute between Quackenbush and Gene at the Crew House shows how the tense atmosphere affects their relationship. The disputes start out with Quackenbush reprimanding Gene for being late for crew practice and then brakes into a full out fight started by personal attacks. This makes the term tense because it shows disputes between the boys. Another tense moment is between Gene and Brinker in the Butt Room. The dispute starts with Brinker questioning Gene on Phinny’s fall and the then continues with Brinker saying “Here’s your prisoner, gentlemen … practically fratricide” The choice of words made by Brinker shows how the atmosphere at Devon is tense. The word “prisoner” is reserved for people who are guilty of horrible things. Using the word on Gene shows that Gene did push Phinny, and creates a tense atmosphere with that thought in the boys’ heads. The word “fratricide” means brother killer, which clearly states that Gene intentionally pushed phinny. This again puts bad thought into the heads of the boys. The tense events and thoughts of the Winter Session make the Winter Session Tense.

Percy Shelley's revision

The Winter Session at Devon is the worst and most unhappy time of the year. The Summer Session, characterized by its constant joy and relaxed manner, morphs into a Winter Session filled with fear. The passiveness of the summer session is not present during the winter session. During the winter session the boys fear the strictness of the teachers. The presence of Mr.Ludsbury was a clear example of Devon’s rigidness. For the first time in the book the reader observes a strict, old-fashioned teacher who students fear. An example of Mr.Ludsbury strictness was seen after Gene “slipped” into the river and was walking into the school wet. Mr.Ludsbury approaches Gene in a harsh tone, telling him how his behavior during the summer was unacceptable. Gene agrees with a “schoolboy look” fearing a punishment. This is a clear example of the fright students feel towards teachers at Devon. Secondly, during the winter session at Devon the reader could sense a feeling of hatred. Leper’s snails and the games of blitzball were replaced by gossip and fighting. The character of Brinker is a clear example of such malevolence. In the Butt Room he said, “He is your prisoner, gentlemen. Doing away with his roommate so he could have a whole room for himself. Rankest treachery. Practically fratricide” In the quotation Brinker uses the words treachery and fratricide to describe Gene’s actions. These words have an exceedingly negative connotation involving betrayal and assassination. Furthermore, Brinker also uses the word prisoner to describe Gene. To be a prisoner you must’ve committed a crime. Brinker uses these words to describe something that is not even true. At Devon Gene fears that people will believe such assumptions. Furthermore, Gene also fears that Brinker’s malevolence will make him tell everyone about Finny's fall from the tree. Devon school has an overall tone of fear.

EM Forster Revised Winter Term Tone

The winter session is stricter than the summer session. The teachers are different during the winter session, and coincidentally are stricter. In the beginning of the book, during the summer session, Mr. Patch-Withers laughed at Phineas’ story of his belt mix up and jumping out of the tree. In the winter session teachers don’t tolerate any behavior of any sort. After Gene fell into the river Mr. Ludsbury was not sympathetic, just angry that he was fooling around. Mr. Ludsbury even goes to shame Gene by being disappointed. Having someone be angry with you is annoying, but having someone be disappointed in you is humiliating.

“I think you have slipped in any number of ways since last year”

The boys don’t let it affect them for the most part, except for this instance and maybe one or two others because no one can be completely passive. The strictness of the school is definitely at a higher level. The winter session is also going to be awkward because Phineas is in denial about Gene pushing him off the ledge and not even they know where they stand as friends. The situation between Phineas and Gene looks like it might heat up even more soon, which will not make the winter term at Devon any better. The tone of the winter session is going to be tense.

Mark Twain's: The Tone of the Winter Session Revised

The tone of the Winter Session at Devon is cold and hateful. The boys at Devon have returned to their competitive ways in school, sports, and social lives. The boys are all dedicated to their studies and the fun that our narrator refers to, the Summer fun is gone , like Phineas. A great example of the new tone that the boys experience is when Gene runs into Mr. Ludsbury after fighting in the Naguamsett River with Quackenbush. Mr. Ludsbury says,

"No, sir. I'm sorry, sir, I fell into the river."

"And could you tell me how and why you fell into the river?"

'I slipped."

"Yes." After a pause he went on. "I think you have slipped in any number of ways last year. I understand that there has been gaming in my dormitory this Summer..."

"Gaming? What kind of gaming sir?"

"It didn't matter. There won't be any more of it."

In Gene's exchange with Mr. Ludsbury, he is caught in a tough situation because he is asked about the gaming after he had a heated fight with Quackenbush. The gaming that went on in the Summer was a symbol of their freedom, and carefree lives. In the Winter Session, the boys find themselves obeying everything they are told and are stuck in this routine without any fun and all the friendships that were formed in the Summer are gone now, replaced by a cold ambition.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Revisions

The tone of the winter term at Devon is angry and depressing. As the boys are allowed to be outside and run around less because of the weather, they begin to take their energy out in different ways. Classes and rules replace Blitz-ball and swimming. After a summer of fun, the winter turned Devon into a sad academic prison. Also, just like a prison, Devon seemed like an angry place. For example, when Gene went to the Butt Room with Brinker:

“Here’s you prisoner, gentlemen,” announced Brinker seizing my neck and pushing me into the Butt Room ahead of him, “I’m turning him in to the proper authorities.”....

“What’s the charge?”

“Doing away with his roommate so he could have a whole room to himself…. Practically fratricide.”

The quotation shows the angry tone at Devon. The boys are accusing each other of fratricide and throwing each other around like prisoners. Unlike the summer, there is no mercy from anyone at Devon. A fight even broke out between Quackenbush, the manager of the Crew team, and Gene for no reason other than a sense of constant anger that seemed to float through the whole school.

Tone of Winter Term Revised Copy

The tone of Winter Term at Devon is more serious and angressive than the mood was during the Summer Term. It starts to become a serious prep school and the rules are starting to be enforced. The students learn to obey the teachers and the overall rules of Devon. The students are not allowed to go to the beach and they cannot be late for dinner. The winter term is more aggressive to Gene because he is feeling guilty that he pushed Finny off of the tree. The tone of Winter term is also aggressive to Gene because he starts a fight with Quackenbush. The fight with Quackenbush shows that the Winter Term is much more aggressive than the Summer Term. The author uses words that elaborate on aggression such as "hit him hard across the face". Gene is obviously feeling more aggressive since he is under a lot of pressure due to his situation with Finny.

Charles Dickens: Revised Paragraph

The Devon School during the winter session has a somber tone. During the winter session, the Devon school is unhappy because of strictness. The rules at Devon are much more stricter in the winter session than the summer session. Also, the teachers are much more harsh. For example, at the Crew House, Gene and Quakenbush get in a big fight. Gene falls into the river. Mr Ludsbury says:

"Just one moment, Forrester, if you please."... "Has there been

a cloudburst in your part of town?" "No, sir. I'm sorry, sir, I fell

into the river."... "And could you tell me how and why you fell into

the river?"... "I think you have slipped in any number of ways

since last year"

Gene responds to Mr Ludsbury by repeating the word "sir". Mr Ludsbury and every other teacher at Devon should be referred to as "sir". The words "I'm sorry" shows that all teachers at Devon must be respected. This shows that Devon and all the teachers at Devon are very strict. When Mr Ludsbury says "one moment", he is lying. Mr Ludsbury asks Gene many questions that are not necessary and have already been answered. Mr Ludsbury takes more than just one moment to investigate Gene. When Mr Ludsbury says "any number of ways" and "last year" he knows that Gene has gotten wet more than once in the past. In the past, when Gene got wet, he would not get in trouble. Mr Ludsbury is a strict teacher because he will not let Gene off the hook, easily.

Lewis Carroll Revised Paragraph

The overall tone at Devon in the Winter Session is angry as compared to the more subtle and nicer side of Devon during the Summer Session. The anger at Devon is escalated through the bad weather compared to the nice weather during the summer. Quackenbush, the manager of the crew team displays this angry and violent tone when he says, “Go to hell Forrester… listen you maimed S.O.B. I hit him hard across the face. I didn’t know why for an instant; it was almost as though I were maimed.” This quote demonstrates the escalating tempers and angry comments seen during the winter months at Devon. Now, all of a sudden, major fights break out because of mean and vicious words. These vicious words are “maimed, S.O.B. and things like go to hell.” All of these words carry terrible connotation and are almost always used to offend someone. This kind of conversation is not described in the Summer Session at all. This is also more evident because of the fact that his temper truly escalated over the position of being the manger of the crew team and a stupid fight. Not only do the things that are in their control anger them, the things that are not in control do to. The weather is a very plausible reason to make a person mad. When a person is cold, they might not be as comfortable and this can cause people to be in a bad mood.

Winter at Devon

In the winter at the Devon school, there is more students and less freedom than in the summer. In the summer, gene could go with Finny way out of town to a beach, in the winter this could not happen because teachers are now more strict and the rules are enforced. The reason their are more students in the winter is because some parents did not let their kids go to summer school to keep up with the war. The Devon school is now crowded again and not as peaceful as summer.

Overall Summer at the Devon school was peaceful and kids had more freedom and when winter came the school became crowded and the teachers were more strict and enforced the rules.

writing assignment

The tone of the winter term is of immense tension between Gene and Finny forcing Gene to pretend that he's a person that he isn't. In the beginning of the winter term and the end of the fall term, Finny and Gene were best friends and nothing could get between there friendship, as it seemed on the outside. As the year progressed, Finny kept on showing his superiority through things like setting the school swimming record without even telling anybody. After a while, Gene started to realize how jealous Finny, his leader, really was of him. He realized that Finny was only good at sports while he was good at sports and academics. As Winter progressed Gene wanted to get away from Finny and be his own person. But getting away from Finny was a hard thing to do, when it appears as if he is such an ignorant person. This was shown when Gene visits Finny in the hospital. “It struck me then that I was injuring him again. It occurred to me that this could be and even worse injury” This quotation shows that Gene in a way wants to break away from Finny, but it would be so hard, and it would kill him inside. Finny’s popularity at that moment could be taken straight away from him . The only thing that was good about Finny was his great ability to play sports. To stay cool among other people, Finny would have to stay friends with Gene and make Gene just as cool as he was. He comes up with crazy ideas to keep Gene cool and himself cool. He tries to have him get ready for the olympics, even though the war will clearly be obstructed by the war. Gene realizes that it would ruin his life so he can’t do it. For the rest of his time at school, Gene will have to keep Finny his friend, until the tension raises too much.

James Baldwin Tone

The tone of Winter Term at Devon is more serious and less foolish than the mood was during the Summer Term. It starts to become a real prep school and the rules are starting to be enforced. The students learn to obey the teachers and the overall rules of Devon. Gene is starting to act out more than he did during Summer term. His head is mixed up and he is trying to find out if he is friends with Finny and if he Finny actually knows the truth about the accident. For example, in the Butt Room, he is pressured by a boy to confess to everything and he tries to lie his way out of it. He also tries to belittle what he has done, p. 90. Another example that Gene is starting to act out is when he gets into a fight with Quackenbush. He insults him and "hit him hard across the face". This proves that he is starting to act out more than he did during the Summer Term.

Percy Shelley "Devon's Winter Session"

The author of the novel describes the Winter Session as Devon’s worst and most unhappy time of the year. The Summer Session, characterized by its constant joy and relaxed manner, suddenly morphed into a Winter Session with an atmosphere full of hatred, rigidness and lies. Gene, alike those who were present in the Summer Session now have to follow orders and school rules. As a crew manager assistant being late was unacceptable. Although it was a minor job at the Devon School, during the Winter Session Gene had to be committed to his tasks at school and set them as a priority. The passiveness of the summer session was not present in the winter session. In addition, the presence of Mr.Ludsbury was a clear example of Devon’s rigidness. For the first time in the book the reader observes a strict, old-fashioned teacher at Devon. During this time of the school year students at Devon strive for academic perfection not a fun time. Secondly, during the winter session at Devon the reader could sense a feeling of hatred. Leper’s snails and the games of blitzball were replaced by gossip and fighting. The character of Brinker is a clear example of such malevolence. In the Butt Room he said, “He is your prisoner, gentlemen. Doing away with his roommate so he could have a whole room for himself. Rankest treachery. Practically fratricide” In this quotation the reader can observe Brinker’s malevolence. In the quotation Brinker portrays Gene as sneaky. The tone and words Brinker uses show that he wanted to give Gene a hard time. Brinker was giving false information about a classmate for no true reason; therefore, he is a mean person. The students during the winter session were angry. Quackenbush for instance, was a resentful person. The constant resentment he felt towards his peers made him an angry person. The way he approaches Gene at the crew meeting was an example of such anger and resentment he feels constantly. Winter session influenced Devon and the students negatively.

Thursday, April 8

Dear Illustrious Authors,



You are ready to take the next step in making your pens mightier than swords. You are ready to give one another analytical-writing feedback without my intervention (well, sort of).



Working with a partner, you will be assigned to read three (3) of your peers’ paragraphs.



Follow these instructions:



1. Before you even read the paragraphs, paraphrase the question. Make sure you know what kind of answer you’re looking for before you read. Keep in mind, there will be many possible answers, but they all must respond to the topic.



2. Read the paragraphs. Take turns reading aloud to one another.



3. For each paragraph, ask the following questions:

• Does the paragraph have a topic sentence?

• Does the topic sentence answer the question?

• Is it a good answer?



4. Rank the paragraphs according to topic sentences. Best---Not-so-much-the-best.



5. For each paragraph ask the following questions:

• Does the author use quoted evidence?

• Does the evidence connect to the topic sentence?

• Is this the best piece of evidence the author could have used? (i.e., did they make a good choice, but not the BEST choice?)



6. For each paragraph ask the following questions:

• Does the author analyze the quotation with word-by-word exploration?

• Does the analysis make sense?

• Does the analysis make the same point that the topic sentence makes?

• Does the author stay on track?



7. Rank the paragraphs according to evidence & analysis. Best---Not-so-much-the-best.



8. FINALLY, for each paragraph, do a punctuation, grammar, typo check.



9. RANK the paragraphs. Which one is the strongest? Which one is the weakest? Be prepared to explain your choices tomorrow.



Partners & Reading Assignments:
Peter-- Max (Blake, Carroll, Hawthorne)

Johnny-- Wizard (Dickens, Shelley, Twain)

Findlay-- Michael (Woolf, Baldwin, Dreiser)

Chris-- Ruvkun (Conrad, Hemingway, Forster)

Henry-- Kevin (Kerouac, Nabokov, Blake)

Juan-- Ryan (Carroll, Hawthorne, Dickens)

Caspar-- Aaron (Shelley, Twain, Forster)

Jack Kerouac's Winter vs. Summer Session

The winter session has a more boring tone than the summer session does. An example of this is on page 81 where Mr. Ludsbury finds out about the gaming during the summer and then Gene reflects on it,

“Cards, dice, he shook his long hand dismissingly, I didn’t inquire. It didn’t matter there won’t be any more of it.

I don’t know who that would have been. Nights of black-jack and poker and unpredictable games invented by Phineas rose up in my mind; the back room of Leper’s suite, a lamp hung with a blanket so that only a small blazing circle of light fell amid the surrounding darkness; Phineas losing even in those games he invented, betting always for what should win, for what would have been the most brilliant successes of them all, if only the cards hadn’t betrayed him.

The use of the word “cards” instead of the actual name of the card game shows how boring Mr. Ludsbury thought their games were. This is an example of how the winter session was more boring because they were not allowed to play fun games. However when Gene thinks on the “Nights of black-jack” it sounds like a lot of fun. This shows how the summer session was much more interesting than the winter one. The thought of “unpredictable games” shows how Phineas had crazy fun and random ideas that the boys all loved. This also shows how the summer session schedule allowed for more free time and hanging out and games for the boys. However when Mr. Ludsbury “shook his long hand dismissingly” it showed how the boys were going to have to follow the rules and not be able to have as much free time. The “small blazing circle” was an example of all the crazy things the boys did during their free time in the summer session. The “brilliant successes” Phineas almost had showed how much fun the boys were having during the summer session with out so many rules. However When Mr. Ludsbury says, “there won’t be any more of it” the boys know that they will have to be prepared for a much more boring winter session.

Ernest Hemingway's Tone of Winter

During the summer term, the students of Devon held a kind of innocence to the world, they were able to joke and play even though a war was going on because Finny was able to inspire them to forget about the surrounding dangers, while the winter term was filled with the grim maturity of the real world. With Finny injured and unable to play sports ever again, the winter term is filled with seriousness because of the loss of Finny's near invulnerable and youthful stature. The students realize that the world is far more harsher than they suspected. The students of Devon including Jean who previously ignored their duties of campus and beyond, for fun and frolicking during the warm breezy days of summer now have to prepare for their lives outside of school and mature to face a world at war like the winter itself is placing a chilly breeze over their hearts.

Mark Twain's: The Tone of the Winter Session

The tone of the Winter session is very different from the tone of the Summer's Session. During the Winter Session, things seem to return to how they were before, and the preppy prep school feeling returns. Obedience is one of the things expected of the students. For Gene, there is empty feeling and a constant nagging fear, mainly caused by Finny. Finny ran Gene's life for him and he is kind of lost without him. Gene is terrified though that someone will discover the truth and he will have to come to terms with the fact that Finny getting hurt was his fault. This can be proved by using Brinker's exchange with Gene in the Butt Room. Obviously, Gene "Almost completely loses control," because Brinker is so close to the truth, which is also why he had to make fun of the little kid, which connects to my earlier point of the preppy prep school feeling creeping back into the boys daily lives. That, I believe is the tone of the Winter Session.

The Winter Session At The Devon School- William Blake

The winter term at the Devon School is definitely different from the summer term. The students do not compete with each other in a friendly way, they compete in a more vile way. The freedoms of the summer session were not tolerated during the winter. During the winter term they are expected to be students and nothing more. Also Devon had lost its eccentric summer vibe where in some respects it felt like a summer camp. In terms of Gene's winter term experience, the memories of Finny haunt him constantly. He really doesn't have any friends at Devon other than Finny. Gene's life has become barren, he has lost his purpose without Finny. Now the only thing study and watch the days pass by. an example of this is shown on page 75,

"As I had to do whenever I glimpsed this river, thought of Phineas. Not of the tree and pain, but of one of his favorite tricks, Phineas in exaltation, balancing on one foot on the prow of the canoe like a river god, ".

This shows how during the winter session, Gene also has lost his vibe and humor without Finny. It also shows how Gene has nobody to look up to anymore. It also represents Gene's guilt for destroying Finny's life.

Lewis Carroll Paragraph

The overall tone at Devon is angrier and more violent in the Winter Session as compared to the more subtle and nicer side of Devon during the Summer Session. During the Winter Session, the campus at Devon is a sadder and more serious place. Quackenbush, the manager of the crew team displays this angry and violent tone when he says, “Go to hell Forrester… listen you maimed S.O.B. I hit him hard across the face. I didn’t know why for an instant; it was almost as though I were maimed.” This quote demonstrates the escalating tempers and angry comments seen during the winter months at Devon. These things never happened during the Summer Session. Now, all of a sudden, major fights break out because of mean and vicious words. This is also more evident because of the fact that his temper truly escalated over the position of being the manger of the crew team and a “yes it does matter and no it doesn’t” type of conversation. This somewhat childish conversation demonstrates that the students in Devon are much more angrier through Gene’s perspective.

Robert Frost’s Paper

The atmosphere of the Devon school during the winter term in my opinion is troubling. It is troubling because of several reasons. Now that the boy’s final year at Devon is almost over, the war is quickly approaching. The war is not a far off event lurking in the back of their mind anymore, but now a approaching reality. They can now enlist into the military and are supporting the war effort on the home front. There is also a social tension because Finny is gone. There is no king to the student body and there is no heir to the thrown. The boys are not directly investigating if it was an accident or if it was on purpose. It is defiantly still on peoples minds if anyone was responsible for this event. With both the war and the social anarchy infesting the minds of the boys, this seemingly peaceful school is not peaceful at all.

Winter Term EM Forster

The winter session is stricter than the summer session. The teachers are different and the weather is worse. The boys don’t let it affect them but the strictness of the school is definitely at a higher level. The situation between Phineas and Gene looks like it might heat up which will not make the winter term at Devon any better. The tone of the winter session is going to be tense.

Sherwood Anderson's paragraph

The tone in Devon is very boring in the winter session. Unlike the summer session, which is more fun, the fall session, is colder, darker and windier making the atmosphere very gloomy. In the winter, kids don’t go outside to the park, one stays inside to keep away from the cold. In the summer everybody was outside giving the school a more alive atmosphere. Also, in the winter session there are many more people, taking away the peace. In the summer all of the teachers stayed in the school but in the winter, the younger, cooler teachers left. After most of the cooler teachers left, they left behind the stricter ones. Because of this all of the school traditions were forgotten.

“I knew, perhaps I alone knew, that this was all false. Devon had slipped through their fingers during the warm overlooked months. The traditions had been broken, thestandards let down, all rules forgotten.”

Because of all the broken traditions, there was no more fun in school. Everything was now all strict. People couldn’t play around as often, no more secret societies and no more things that people look up to in a boarding school. The tone of the winter session in Devon is very boring because there is nothing fun in the school any more. There are no more “cool teachers,” no more old traditions, no more free time outside.

Charles Dickens post: 4/7/10

The transition from the summer session and the winter session has a negative effect on the Devon school. The character that stands out the most in the summer session is Phineas. The character that stands out the most in the winter session is Quakenbush. The reason why the summer session has such a positive vibe is because of Phineas. In the conversation with Mr Prud' homme, Phineas said that Gene and him were late for dinner because they were preparing for the army. Finny was being charming to Mr Prud' homme. Phineas is being a friendly person. Phineas also created Blitzball. Finny created Blitzball so that everyone could have fun especially Gene. Phineas also created The Super Suicide Society. Phineas has fun jumping out of trees, so he wants to share the experience with his closest friends. Phineas has a positive effect on Devon because he has a positive attitude and wants to share his happiness with everyone. The reason why the winter session has such a negative vibe is because of Quakenbush. At the crew house, Gene and Quakenbush had a fight. Gene attacked Quakenbush because he got on Gene's nerves. Phineas and Quakenbush are the opposite of each other because everyone loves Finny and everyone hates Quakenbush.

Theodore Dreiser's Paragraph of Winter in Devon

During winter at Devon things get strict, acrimonious, and sometimes depressing. There are no sports to play, people get mad at each other, and many of the academics get more strict. Also, because summer was so relaxing, it was difficult to get back on track for the winter. For instance, Gene says that Devon had "slipped through their fingers during the warm, overlooked months." Gene is stating that people at Devon started getting to relaxed during the summer. Gene also mentions that traditions had been broken, the standards were let down, and all the rules were forgotten. Since all these rules were forgotten and the standards were let down, the boys were going to have trouble during the winter. Also, the winter at Devon made the boys angry.

"'Well, it doesn't matter.'

'Yes it matters.'

' I don't think it does.'

'Go to hell Forrester. Who the hell are you anyway.'

I turned with an inward groan to look at him"

Gene and Quackenbush start to argue which leads to a fight.

"'You, Quackenbush, don't know anything about who i am, or anything else.'

'Listen you maimed son-of-a-bitch...'

I hit him hard across the face."

The boys at Devon get angry at each other, probably because of the stress of winter.

Winter of Truths

The Summer Session at Devon was a more relaxed time for the students. Not academically but rule wise. The boys got to stay up, play cards, sleep on the beach, jump out of trees, and even sweet talk teachers sometimes. The winter and Devon was the back to normal clean-cut traditional boarding school. But besides the fact that it was physically back to normal, it was definitely not social normal at all. With Finny not yet back at the beginning of school, Brinker was growing suspicious. All of the boys talked about Finny’s fall but not to Gene. With the social hierarchy in awry, Brinker stepped up his game with knowing everybody and being a bit more suspicious with Gene.

“‘Here you are in solitary splendor,’ he went on genially. ‘I can see you have real influence here. This big room all to yourself. I wish I knew how to manage things like you.”… It didn’t seem fitting go Brinker Hadley, the hub of the class, to be congratulating me on influence.”

Without Finny’s sports he isn’t as popular as Brinker is and everything socially tipped. Phineas, already knowing that Gene jounced the limb but doesn’t want to believe it, is going to be very awkward in front of Gene when Brinker starts asking questions. If and when Brinker prosecutes Gene and it comes out, Finny will still not believe that his best friend shattered his leg and ruined his life. The winter term at Devon is going to be a session of truth.

Joseph Conrad's revised winter paragraph

I think that the general atmosphere in Devon during the winter session is full of negative attitude. The weather during winter is dark and cold. This weather is like how the boys treat each other now. They are darker characters and a bit more cold to each other than before and they are also competitive and spiteful of each other. An example of this is when Gene has that fight with Quackenbush for not much reason. Also, during winter at Devon there are more rules and the consequences are greater for disobeying them. In one sentence Gene says "If you broke the rules, then they broke you.". This clearly shows that the rules are more strict, less forgiving and there are more of them. The fact that Finny is not there could be one of the reasons that the winter session is so bleak because when Finny was there everything seemed a bit brighter.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Form II English

The Winter Tone at Devon

As the freedom of the summer session at Devon slipped away from the boys, the general atmosphere of winter quickly took its place. The tone of the winter session was different than usual because it came after their first summer session at Devon. The fun they had jumping into the river and paying attention to no rules and playing blitz-ball, made the winter session at Devon seem so monotonous. Suddenly the boys had to do chores and go to many classes. There was no free time to mess around anymore. The transition from a zero effort term to a normal one was not a smooth one for Gene. Also, many of the traditions of the school were broken over the course of the summer session.

Gene says:

“I knew, perhaps I alone knew, that this was all false. Devon had slipped through their fingers during the warm overlooked months. The traditions had been broken, the standards let down, all rules forgotten.”

Because of all the broken traditions, the boys seemed unprepared for the school year. They had to get used to the idea that they now had leaders and rules to follow, but they did not want to be told what to do. This made the winter session depressing, tedious, and controlled.

Nabokov's Paragraph Revised

The tone at the Devon School during the winter session is violent and hostile. Students are feeling the freedom and the loosely kept rules of the summer session drift away. Students are also compete with each other in a more violent way, where as during the summer it was a more playful competing. An example of this is in the fight between Quackenbush and Gene, "Starting alittle late aren't you? Am I? Damn right you are! Well, it doesn't matter. Yes it matters. I don't think it does. Go to hell Forrester." That is pretty much the main reason for their fight, because Quackenbush made a big deal about something so little. He started as a manager late so what, nothing to fight about.

General atmosphere of the Winter session

The general atmosphere between the sessions has changed because of the things that happened during the summer session, there is tension between Gene and Finny and there are some problems that have to be straightened out. The winter session is different in that Finny has come back to Devon but there is still a problem between him and Gene this problem is what kept Finny from coming to school the first term and part of the second.

I thought the issue was settled until at the end he said, ‘listen, pal,

if I can’t play sports, You’re going to play them for me,’ and I lost

part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed

that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a

part of Phineas.

This would be only one example of the winter session, in this part of the story Finny creates a problem in which he makes Gene realize what he had done and then tries to make him do sports instead of him. When Phineas says Listen pal if I cant play sports you’re going to play them for me. This shows how there is tension from the accident and Finny makes Gene do Things instead of Finny doing them. Finny could use this in the future to make Gene do things for Phineas. This is what Phineas could finally end up doing by having Gene feel bad for what he did.

Wintery Devon

In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the winter session at the Devon school is shadow of the summer session. In the summer, the Devon school had “slipped through their fingers.” Gene and Phineas had been allowed to go to the beach, jump from a high tree, skip dinner, and play card games without getting caught. The master of the summer session, Mr. Prud’homme, was a substitute that did not know all the rules and traditions, which the boys “simply took advantage of.” Once the winter session started strict rules, hierarchy, and busy schedules came back, and “continuity was stressed.” Gene narrates the impact of the summer on the winter session when talking about Brinker Hadley, who got Leper’s summer room:

Ordinarily he should have been a magnet for me, the center of all the excitement and influences in the class. Ordinarily this would have been so – if the summer, the gypsy days, had not intervened. Now… Brinker had nothing to offer in place of Leper’s dust motes and creeping ivy and snails.

Because of the summer session, Gene feels that Brinker has “nothing to offer” compared to Leper. “If” there was no summer session, Gene thinks that Brinker would have been the cause for “excitement” and would “influence” him. Gene thinks this, because he views the summer as the gypsy days. The definition of a gypsy is a person who leads an unconventional life. This means that in the summer Gene was living an “idiosyncratic” life, and as a result cannot get used to the ordinary life of rules and traditions at Devon.

Henry James' Winter at Devon

In John Knowles A Separate Peace the summer is more relaxed and the winter is more war oriented and strict. During the summer session everybody at The Devon School was more relaxed and easy going. It was more relaxed because it was the first summer session at Devon as opposed to the 163 winter sessions that had come before it. The summer instilled a relaxing and stress free term. However, in the winter session at Devon it was more traditional and war orientated. The students were focused more on the war because the falling snow reminded them of invading armies. “They gathered thicker by the minute, like noiseless invaders conquering because they took possession so lightly.” According to Gene to him the snow is like an army coming in and engulfing and taking over everything in sight. The war is like the snow because it came quickly and unexpectedly. The war and the snow changed the students lives in different ways, but they both “invaded the school” in the same way. An example of how the snow transforms the boys daily lives is by making them go outside and clear the snow off the R.R. tracks. At Devon during the winter term the maids at the school vanish because of the war. This affects the boys because now there is more work for them and no one to come and clean up their clothes. Brinker Hadley even writes a short ode that says how the war is a bore and it’s our chore. Without the maids the boys have become more independent. Now they have to go out and wash their clothes as opposed to having someone else do it for them. During the change from summer to winter there is a character change from Finny to Brinker. The summer describes Finny in a way by being care free and more relaxed. While Finny was at Devon everything was happier and mellower. In the winter the character of Brinker comes into play. Winter also describes Brinker because it is more orientated and strict, as he is. All of the boys change in the transition from summer to winter because during the summer months their attitude is more relaxed and childish. They jump of trees and play blitzball. However, in the winter there are no fun games that the boys play, the only thing that they do outside is shovel the R.R. tracks.

Langston Hughes Paragraph

Winter Session

During the winter session at Devon the fun and freedom of the summer session is replaced with strict rules. In the summer session Gene and Finny skipped dinner and usually this is a major offense, but Finny was able to sweet talk a substitute master. In the fall this would not be tolerated. Also in the summer Finny and Gene were able to sneak out of Devon and go to the beach without being caught. In this quote by Mr. Ludsbury it shows that the careless attitude of the summer has come to an end and the realization of Gene had forgotten the strict rules of Mr. Ludsbury.

“I think you have slipped in a number of ways since last year. I understand for example that there was gaming in my dormitory this summer while you were living there.” He was in charge of the dormitory; one of the dispensations of those days of deliverance, I realized now, had been his absence.

When Mr. Ludsbury states “you have slipped in a number of ways since last year”, this shows that the master believes that Gene had forgotten about all of the rules and also needed to learn the strict rules of the previous winter session. This also shows that the masters no longer had their loose attitudes. When the master said “there was gaming in my dormitory” this implies that there will be no more fun in the dormitories because the master is really saying that he disapproves of cards and it will no longer occur. The master also uses the word “my” to show that he was the head of his dormitory and there will be no more playing in his dormitory. When Gene thinks to himself “dispensations of those days” he means the exemptions of rules in the summer. He also uses the word “deliverance” which tells that there was also no one to deliver the rules. In the “absence” of Mr. Ludsbury and other strict masters, Gene now realizes that the lack of enforcement has now come to an end. The winter session will be full of strict masters and enforced rules.

Robert Browning's Post

The winter term at Devon is described as a major turn of character from the fall and summer terms. Due to the new term commencing, there is now a more strict policy on the boy’s social lives and interactions with other students. On page 74 the reader can see a clear difference in the boys attitude to authority. “If you broke the rules, then they broke you.” This clearly shows how much more strict the teachers are in this term compared to the summer term in which the boys snuck out multiple times. “Peace had deserted Devon.” In this quote the author seems to be using the weather to show the feeling throughout the school. The word “deserted” in this quote is a very strong and powerful word. The word makes people have thoughts of desolate landscape and people feeling alone in a large area, further illustrated by the image on the cover of the book. This may be how Finny is feeling. He may know that Gene was the cause of him falling of the tree and may now feel abandoned by his “best friend”.

Coleridge paragraph

In A Separate Peace, the tone of the winter term is dramatically different then the summer term. In the summer term things are much more relaxed and school isn’t a top priority. The top priority of the summer term is to match Finny. In the winter term, with Finny not being there, there was never that constant threat. It was more about sticking up for Finny for example when he got into a fight with Quackenbush. He threw the punch because he was called “maimed.” He thought about Finny in this instant because of his leg and thought of it as an offense to Finny. Also in the winter term things were different because people, for example in the Butt Room, always thought about how Finny fell. They played out a whole “mock trial” trying to get the truth. Also with Finny gone in the winter term, Brinker took his place. Although Brinker was much different than Finny, he plays the same role.

“Here you are in your solitary splendor,” he went on genially. “I can see you have real influence around here. This big room all to yourself. I wish I knew how to manage things like you.” (87)

Brinker seems to me like a wise businessman. He admires that Gene managed to get the room all to himself. But I don’t think that he was really impressed. I think he was just trying to “work the room.” Meaning he was making small talk with everyone not just Gene, and Gene knew that. Finny had one group and only talked to that one group of people. The mood changed from relaxing with your “best friend” on the beach, to a race for power.

Chinua Achebe's Winter Tone

The tone of the winter session at Devon is very boring and routine. One line in the book that really describes the winter session as being boring and comparing it to the summer session as being fun is "It scattered the easygoing summer spirit like so many fallen leaves." Another example of the winter term being boring at Devon was when the students went to shovel out the railroad lines, and Gene described that day by saying "Nothing was very funny that day, the work became hard and unvarying;I began to sweat under my layers of clothes." Also in that section of the book Gene describes the Winter session as being very routine and repetitive, a great example of that was when Gene thought "Continuity was the keynote. The same hymns were played, the same sermon was given, the same announcements were made." Lastly Gene had said that it was the schools one hundred sixty third winter session and thats statement again gives a feel of total repetitiveness.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Tone

The tone of the winter session at Devon is strict. The winter at Devon means that school is in session and that the extended freedoms of the summer are over. On page 74, Gene said, "If you broke the rules, then they broke you." This quotation says that the rules during the winter are much more stringent and that intolerance against the masters is not acceptable. This quotation also says that it is much harder disobeying the rules in the winter compared to the summer. Also, in the winter the masters become much more suspicious and cautious of what the students are doing while the students are not in their classes. An example of the masters being much more suspicious is when Quackenbush and Gene were fighting in the river and then Mr. Ludsbury comes up to Gene. On page 81, Mr. Ludsbury says:

Has there been a cloudburst in your part of town? No, sir. I’m sorry sir, I fell into the river... And could you tell me how and why you fell into the river? I slipped."

When Mr. Ludsbury asked how and why Gene fell into the river shows that the teachers are very suspicious and that they are very loyal to the strict rules of Devon. In addition to when Mr. Ludsbury asks how and why Gene fell into the river shows that the masters are very curious of what the students are up to during the winter session. When Mr. Ludsbury was questioning Gene it shows that also during the winter the masters have no trust of the students and what they are up to. During the summer, Gene never was questioned about the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. This quotation also shows that it is very hard to get away with mischievous acts during the winter session because the masters catch every little thing that looks suspicious to them. Also, this quotation also shows how serious the teacher's attitude is during the winter toward the students and that there is no connection between student and teacher.

Thomas Hardy's "Tone" Paragraph

The tone in the winter session at Devon is unhappy and miserable. The session begins somewhat normal, and then goes down hill. There is tension between Gene and Cliff who get in fights in crew. He feels sad, confused, and angry because of the lie that made up a false friendship between Gene and Finny that resulted in Gene badly hurting Finny. It is not happy at Devon. Finny is terribly injured. Gene gets in trouble for escaping to the beach, and playing poker at night. Students are accusing Gene for pushing Finny. All of this illustrates an unhappy time. An example of this miserable feeling is:

"Here's my prisoner gentlemen," announced Brinker..........
"What's the charge?"
"Doing away with his roomate so he could have a whole room to himself. Rankest treachery." ........
"Brinker......." "G*d d@&m it! Shut up! You ride a joke longer than anyone I know!"

Brinker addressing Gene to the other boys as a prisoner obviously suggests unhappiness. They are fighting and have negative feelings towards each other. They are bullying Gene. They are just being mean to him, accusing him, and questioning him putting him on the spot. They are investigating in a mean way why he jounced the tree. In the summer, it was more relaxed, and somewhat more happy, and in the winter the tensions between kids rise resulting in a general unhappy feeling. The cussing and yelling portray anger. This sets a negative tone between students. The tone in the winter at Devon as a more miserable and unhappy time compared with summer session.