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.