Explore the significance/symbolism of the Nagaumset (Amy Khoshbin)

The Nagaumset river symbolizes the immense change Gene has undergone since the beginning of the Summer Session, both internally and within his environment. At the beginning of the book, The Devon river is where Gene and Finny first jump off the tree, which solidifies their friendship and introduces the idea of fear which is omnipresent throughout the story. This is seen at one of the first jumps when Gene says, "What was I doing up here anyway?....My legs hit the soft mud of the bottom, and immediately I was on the surface being congratulated. I felt fine," (Knowles 17). This quote illustrates an overarching theme of the summer session, which was Gene holding on to Finny both for his own gain regarding social clout, but also a feeling of peace and happiness. In addition, it represents an almost cleansing process, in the sense that jumping into the river was a way in which Gene conquered his fears. However, these emotions are strongly contradicted by the ones of the Winter Session. Because of the tension of the war, feelings of peace and excitement have been replaced by feelings of anger, insecurity, and a fear far greater than that of simple jealousy. After falling into the river during his fight with Quackenbush, Gene says, "Going into the devon was like taking a refreshing shower itself...the Naguamsett was something else entirely...it seemed appropriate that my baptism there had taken place on the first day of this winter session...in the middle of a fight" (Knowles 86). This quote demonstrates how Gene's feelings have matured from jealousy to anger. This relates back to the comparison between the Nagaumset and the Devon by showing how different the summer and winter sessions are, in addition to showing how Gene has been changed by his actions. He has not only corrupted his friendship with Finny, but instead of overcoming his fears, he has lost his perspective on his own identity by doing something that, at the beginning of the novel, he would have seen as pointless and as an act of malice. Furthermore, his feelings of impurity could come from the fact that he feels as if he is betraying his own people,while others are dying in a war fighting for his safety. The Nagaumset not only symbolizes an immense change, but shows the start of a new time, one entirely different from the peace and, by comparison to the Winter Session, minute fears faced by the boys of Devon.