Assignment 9 (138-151): Explore the difference between what ‘escape’ means to Gene as opposed to what it means to Leper (see usage in context on the middle of page 143).(Myles)

Escape means much more to Leper than it does to Gene in the sense that Leper has escaped from what he thinks is his doom. Because Gene has never really taken Leper seriously, as illustrated throughout the book, Gene is unable to grasp the true intention of Leper's words. It is intention because the word has a different meaning to many people. On page 143, Gene says " Than you 'escaped'." This shows that escape has a different meaning to him than the meaning that Leper is implying. Later Gene says "You don't escape from the army." He and Leper are on an different side of the word. Leper is all prison escape while Gene just wants to believe that there is nothing wrong, that Leper is just on temporary discharge. This also ties in to how Finny won't believe there is a war. Gene and Finny just want to stay safe and tight in their bubble, and it is a shock to them when anything that could disturb this bubble comes along, something such as Leper.