Abby : Assignment #9, Question #3: What causes Gene to attack Leper? The answer needs to involve a literal and figurative exploration of what occurs here (middle 145).q

Gene attacks Leper because the feelings inside of him have been steaming up to finally let loose and attack. When Gene travels to Leper's house to come and find him, Leper starts talking about Gene and how he pushed Finny off the tree, "like a savage underneath.. like that time you knocked Finny out of the tree... like that time you crippled him for life" (Knowles 145). In this quote, Leper talks about how savage, or mean and angry, Gene is and that is the first time Gene has really heard that from anyone. Gene attacks Leper after he says that because he knows that it is correct but he doesn't want anyone to know. But also, all of Gene's guilt about jouncing the branch and purposefully making Finny fall is bubbling up inside of him and this one comment from Leper made him let it all out. After Leper hurts Gene, Gene acts out on it and pushes Leper, making him fall and get hurt which is what he did to Finny. After Finny hurts Gene emotionally about sports and academics, but Gene knows he's better than Finny, he decides to physically hurt Finny. Overall, Gene's reaction to getting emotionally hurt is to physically hurt the person who hurt him.