Describe Leper Lepellier's role and what his enlistment reveals about the novel's themes.

• A. Leper provides a foil to Gene and Finny; his enlistment marks the seductive pull of war and how it enters adolescence, leading to a crisis of identity.
• B. Leper is the school prankster who mocks the boys.
• C. Leper becomes Devon's athletic captain in Finny's absence.
• D. Leper's stay at Devon shows how war never affects youth.

Answer: (A)

Leper Lepellier's role as a foil to Gene and Finny shows how war's lure can intrude into adolescence and shake a young person’s sense of self. Leper is quiet, earnest, and observant, standing in contrast to the more confident, rule-defying dynamics of Gene and Finny. His enlistment makes war feel immediate and seductive rather than distant, revealing that the pressures of history can pierce a sheltered school world and provoke a crisis of identity. This points to a broader theme: youth is not immune to larger forces, and the pull of war can force characters to question who they are beyond friendship, games, and the ideals they’ve been living by. The other descriptions miss the mark because Leper is not a prankster, he does not become Devon’s athletic captain in Finny’s absence, and the novel treats war as something that deeply affects youth, not something that leaves them untouched.