Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

In the beginning of this chapter, although the adult Gene acknowledges that he never discussed the actual war, he does liken his journey to the Christmas location indicated by Leper was quite similar to the many journeys he made when part of the Army, from one domestic base to the other, but never overseas.

The child Gene, on his way to meet Leper, hopes that Leper’s escape is from the enemies and not from the Army. While he hopes that Leper is not a deserter, he fails to prepare himself for the version of Leper that he would meet — one that struggles mentally. Leper invites Gene into his dining room where spends most of his time, almost in hiding and looking out only for himself. Leper’s current situation is eerily similar to Gene after Finny’s fall. Gene’s way of dealing with Finny’s fall is similar to Leper, who has been traumatized by war.

Leper confesses to Gene that he has in fact escaped from the Army in order to not undergo a Section 8 discharge, which is given to soldiers declared insane. Running away from the Army to avoid having a discharge on his record made it clear that Leper was mentally unstable.

Leper also accuses Gene of being twisted underneath like everyone else and brings up the issue of Gene masterminding Finny’s fall. Gene, upset with Leper’s accusation, kicks the chair from underneath him, causing him to fall. Gene clearly has no problem resorting to violence to protect his sense of self. Gene tries to get away, but Leper stops him and insists that he stay from lunch.

The two take a walk outside and the conversation shifts to Brinker. Leper calls Brinker a bastard, but Gene defends him and saying Brinker has become a better person. Leper then remarks that he hasn’t changed into Snow White. After this remark, Leper suddenly starts sobbing and convulsing. He then says that it was such transformations of female faces on male bodies that got him into trouble in the Army. He once saw the Corporal’s face turn into a woman’s, prompting him to point at the Corporal and yell what he saw for everyone around. Hearing this, Gene becomes extremely uncomfortable, much like the Army, and is unable to stand any semblance of insanity from Leper. He says that the only person he cares for is himself and does not care about Leper’s well-being. He runs away from Leper immediately, leaving him abandoned in the snow.

Gene cares enough about Leper to come all the way the Christmas home, but is unable to handle Leper’s insanity. He runs away from Leper, who is now the representation of the real world outside Devon. Gene abandoning Leper is indicative of how he cares for himself more than the well-being of the traumatized soldier, much like how the Army cared less about their soldiers and their people, and cared more about winning the war.