Leper has always been known as the wimpy kid who would rather be out in nature than preparing for war, or practicing sports. "He generally made little sketches of birds and trees in the back of his notebook"(Knowles 93). Leper is an outsider. Unlike the other boys who whizz through life in the fast lane, Leper decides to just slow down, go along, and see what happens.
After watching the film about the ski troops, Leper decides to enlist. This hits everyone as a shock. He says "Everything has to evolve or else it perishes"(Knowles 125). This is just what Leper is trying to do.
In this time of war it is impossible to survive by drawing plants and birds in his notebook. Leper is evolving from the naturalist he once was, into a fearless ski trooper. This has a certain level of irony to it because Leper has always tried to avoid the war as much as possible. However "only the things and people who've been evolving the right way survive"(Knowles 125), and that's just what Leper is doing.
I agree with what you have said. I think another great quotes is on 95 where Leper says to Gene, "Yeah but that's why it isn't skiing. Skiing isn't suppose to be fast. Skis are useful locomotion. You can break a leg with that downhill stuff" (Knowles 95). This quote shows how cautious Leper is and that he won't downhill ski out of the fear of an injury, yet he still wants to joins the United States Ski Troops where plenty of people have not only broken a leg but died.
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