A Separate Peace.pdf - Southwest High School
A Separate Peace.pdf - Southwest High School A Separate Peace.pdf - Southwest High School
110His face had been struggling to stay calm as he listened to me, but now he was crying buttrying to control himself. "It was just some kind of blind impulse you had in the tree there, youdidn't know what you were doing. Was that it?""Yes, yes, that was it. Oh that was it, but how can you believe that? How can you believethat? I can't even make myself pretend that you could believe that.""I do, I think I can believe that. I've gotten awfully mad sometimes and almost forgottenwhat I was doing. I think I believe you, I think I can believe that. Then that was it. Somethingjust seized you. It wasn't anything you really felt against me, it wasn't some kind of hate you'vefelt all along. It wasn't anything personal.""No, I don't know how to show you, how can I show you, Finny? Tell me how to show you.It was just some ignorance inside me, some crazy thing inside me, something blind, that's all itwas."He was nodding his head, his jaw tightening and his eyes closed on the tears. "I believe you.It's okay because I understand and I believe you. You've already shown me and I believe you."The rest of the day passed quickly. Dr. Stanpole had told me in the corridor that he wasgoing to set the bone that afternoon. Come back around 5 o'clock, he had said, when Finnyshould be coming out of the anaesthesia.I left the Infirmary and went to my 10:10 class, which was on American history. Mr. Patch-Withers gave us a five-minute written quiz on the "necessary and proper" clause of theConstitution. At 11 o'clock I left that building and crossed the Center Common where a fewstudents were already lounging although it was still a little early in the season for that. I wentinto the First Building, walked up the stairs where Finny had fallen, and joined my 11:10 class,which was in mathematics. We were given a ten-minute trigonometry problem which appearedto solve itself on my paper.At 12 I left the First Building, recrossed the Common and went into the Jared PotterBuilding for lunch. It was a breaded veal cutlet, spinach, mashed potatoes, and prune whip. Atthe table we discussed whether there was any saltpeter in the mashed potatoes. I defended thenegative.After lunch I walked back to the dormitory with Brinker. He alluded to last night only byasking how Phineas was; I said he seemed to be in good spirits. I went on to my room and readthe assigned pages of Le bourgeois gentilhomme. At 2:30 I left my room, and walking alongone side of the oval Finny had used for my track workouts during the winter, I reached the FarCommon and beyond it the gym. I went past the Trophy Room, downstairs into the pungent airof the locker room, changed into gym pants, and spent an hour wrestling. I pinned myopponent once and he pinned me once. Phil Latham showed me an involved method of escapein which you executed a modified somersault over your opponent's back. He started to talkabout the accident but I concentrated on the escape method and the subject was dropped. Then
111I took a shower, dressed, and went back to the dormitory, reread part of Le bourgeoisgentilhomme, and at 4:45, instead of going to a scheduled meeting of the CommencementArrangements Committee, on which I had been persuaded to take Brinker's place, I went to theInfirmary.Dr. Stanpole was not patrolling the corridor as he habitually did when he was not busy, so Isat down on a bench amid the medical smells and waited. After about ten minutes he camewalking rapidly out of his office, his head down and his hands sunk in the pockets of his whitesmock. He didn't notice me until he was almost past me, and then he stopped short. His eyesmet mine carefully, and I said, "Well, how is he, sir?" in a calm voice which, the moment afterI had spoken, alarmed me unreasonably.Dr. Stanpole sat down next to me and put his capable-looking hand on my leg. "This issomething I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of," he said quietly, "and I willhave to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead."He was incomprehensible. I felt an extremely cold chill along my back and neck, that wasall. Dr. Stanpole went on talking incomprehensibly. "It was such a simple, clean break. Anyonecould have set it. Of course, I didn't send him to Boston. Why should I?"He seemed to expect an answer from me, so I shook my head and repeated, "Why shouldyou?"In the middle of it his heart simply stopped, without warning. I can't explain it. Yes, I can.There is only one explanation. As I was moving the bone some of the marrow must haveescaped into his blood stream and gone directly to his heart and stopped it. That's the onlypossible explanation. The only one. There are risks, there are always risks. An operating roomis a place where the risks are just more formal than in other places. An operating room and awar." And I noticed that his self-control was breaking up. "Why did it have to happen to youboys so soon, here at Devon?""The marrow of his bone . . ." I repeated aimlessly. This at last penetrated my mind. Phineashad died from the marrow of his bone flowing down his blood stream to his heart.I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him beinglowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape afeeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.
- Page 60 and 61: 60"So," Brinker curled his lip at m
- Page 62 and 63: 62So the war swept over like a wave
- Page 64 and 65: 64We went into the gym, along a mar
- Page 66 and 67: 66you at the Funny Farm.""In a way,
- Page 68 and 69: 68large rambling, doubtfully Coloni
- Page 70 and 71: 709This was my first but not my las
- Page 72 and 73: 72Giraud but Lepellier; we knew, be
- Page 74 and 75: 74"Who wants a Winter Carnival?" he
- Page 76 and 77: 76Still the sleek brown head bent m
- Page 78 and 79: 78ELWIN LEPER LEPELLIER.
- Page 80 and 81: 80escapes from is danger, death, th
- Page 82 and 83: 82"That's what you say. But that's
- Page 84 and 85: 84a good boy underneath," she must
- Page 86 and 87: 86the Mess Hall, I had to eat every
- Page 88 and 89: 88"How's Leper?" he asked in an off
- Page 90 and 91: 90I didn't say anything."He must be
- Page 92 and 93: 92never will.""You're so wrong I ca
- Page 94 and 95: 94I believed you," he added hurried
- Page 96 and 97: 96acoustics in the school. I couldn
- Page 98 and 99: 98the tree did it by itself. It's a
- Page 100 and 101: 100"Here! Go get him," said Brinker
- Page 102 and 103: 102"I can't think of the name of th
- Page 104 and 105: 104Dr. Stanpole stopped near the do
- Page 106 and 107: 106hurt my stomach and I could feel
- Page 108 and 109: 108and "psycho" and "sulfa," strang
- Page 112 and 113: 11213The quadrangle surrounding the
- Page 114 and 115: 114Brinker slid his fingers into th
- Page 116 and 117: 116At the gym a platoon was undress
111I took a shower, dressed, and went back to the dormitory, reread part of Le bourgeoisgentilhomme, and at 4:45, instead of going to a scheduled meeting of the CommencementArrangements Committee, on which I had been persuaded to take Brinker's place, I went to theInfirmary.Dr. Stanpole was not patrolling the corridor as he habitually did when he was not busy, so Isat down on a bench amid the medical smells and waited. After about ten minutes he camewalking rapidly out of his office, his head down and his hands sunk in the pockets of his whitesmock. He didn't notice me until he was almost past me, and then he stopped short. His eyesmet mine carefully, and I said, "Well, how is he, sir?" in a calm voice which, the moment afterI had spoken, alarmed me unreasonably.Dr. Stanpole sat down next to me and put his capable-looking hand on my leg. "This issomething I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of," he said quietly, "and I willhave to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead."He was incomprehensible. I felt an extremely cold chill along my back and neck, that wasall. Dr. Stanpole went on talking incomprehensibly. "It was such a simple, clean break. Anyonecould have set it. Of course, I didn't send him to Boston. Why should I?"He seemed to expect an answer from me, so I shook my head and repeated, "Why shouldyou?"In the middle of it his heart simply stopped, without warning. I can't explain it. Yes, I can.There is only one explanation. As I was moving the bone some of the marrow must haveescaped into his blood stream and gone directly to his heart and stopped it. That's the onlypossible explanation. The only one. There are risks, there are always risks. An operating roomis a place where the risks are just more formal than in other places. An operating room and awar." And I noticed that his self-control was breaking up. "Why did it have to happen to youboys so soon, here at Devon?""The marrow of his bone . . ." I repeated aimlessly. This at last penetrated my mind. Phineashad died from the marrow of his bone flowing down his blood stream to his heart.I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him beinglowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape afeeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.
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