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.