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.