The Blitzball Finny invented.Although Finny saved my life, I couldn't help but think that he wouldn't have to of, if he hadn't made me go up there in the first place. Our Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, is also a huge success. On the down side, every night is spent initiating new members. Because Finny and I are, "Charter Members", we have to jump into the water at the beginning of every meeting, according to Phineas. I should be flattered that I am a charter member, I personally hate it. "At every meeting the limb seemed higher, thinner, the deeper water harder to reach" (25). I am always amazed that I actually do this at every single meeting. Despite the fact that I'm scared, I jump anyway, because, "Losing face with Phineas" (26), is worse than jumping out of any tree. Finny also likes to make up his own rules, which means we meet every night, and every night I think about how much I don't want to. When its time to go to the meetings, he'll call me, "And acting against every instinct of my nature, I went without a thought of protest" (26). I know I should stick up for myself, but it feels like Finny has an in invisible control over me, and it's impossible for me to go against him. One thing that Finny is the best at, is sports. He believes that, "They were the absolute good" (27), and is furious about the athletic program for this summer, which includes tennis, swimming, softball, and badminton. Finny continued to complain about the sports, until he got to a tower and found a medicine ball. All of us decided that we should make a game up, using the ball and so Blitzball was created. To play, one person holds the ball and runs towards the river, with the other players chasing him, and trying to tackle him. If you want to get rid of the ball pass it to another player. The game is everyman for himself and has only a few penalties. One of them is that you cannot tackle with your hands and must cross your arms on your chest and hit them. Another thing is that you are allowed to "refuse" the ball, but this can only be done three times during the game. Of course, Finny was outstanding at Blitzball and made the rest of us look bad.
The war for me, is "My four years in history". Living through this, I've noticed a few things about war's characteristics. One thing is that this country is not "A land of plenty" (32). This is because all of the supplies are short, including meat. I also noticed that there are many jobs, but not enough people to do them, and no matter how much money you have, it doesn't matter because there is barely anything to buy. There are many other things I've noticed, but the main thing is that, "There are just tiny fragments of pleasure and luxury in the world, and there is something unpatriotic about enjoying them" (33). This is the "Real America for me" (33).
A couple of days ago Finny did something amazing. We were at the swimming pool, and looking at the school records. A. Hopkins Parker was the last person at the school to beat the 100 yards freestyle, in 53 seconds, and Phineas was incredulous. He couldn't believe that noone had beaten the record since we've been in school. All of the sudden, he got in and asked me to time him. When he was done, I couldn't believe my eyes. Finny had beaten the record by .7 seconds. When I told him we could come back tomorrow with the official timekeepers, he told me he didn't want to. When he first told me this, I couldn't believe what he was saying. Now that I think about it, however, I think that he was scared that if his name went up on the board, someone else might be able to beat him, and he wouldn't be the best anymore. He also said, "Swimming in pools is screwy anyway" (37).
Yesterday, Phineas decided he wanted to go to the beach. We rode our bikes there, even though it was against Devon's rules. We jumped into the water and all of a sudden, I was brought under by the tide. I finally dragged myself out of the water and Finny came out for a brief second, to check my pulse, before jumping back into the water. We ate hotdogs for dinner and each had a beer, because of our forged draft cards. As we were falling asleep, Finny said, "I hope your having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can't come to the shore with just anybody and you can't come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal. Which is what you are" (40). I admired him, because he could share this with me, and I wanted to, but something was holding me back.
The war for me, is "My four years in history". Living through this, I've noticed a few things about war's characteristics. One thing is that this country is not "A land of plenty" (32). This is because all of the supplies are short, including meat. I also noticed that there are many jobs, but not enough people to do them, and no matter how much money you have, it doesn't matter because there is barely anything to buy. There are many other things I've noticed, but the main thing is that, "There are just tiny fragments of pleasure and luxury in the world, and there is something unpatriotic about enjoying them" (33). This is the "Real America for me" (33).
A couple of days ago Finny did something amazing. We were at the swimming pool, and looking at the school records. A. Hopkins Parker was the last person at the school to beat the 100 yards freestyle, in 53 seconds, and Phineas was incredulous. He couldn't believe that noone had beaten the record since we've been in school. All of the sudden, he got in and asked me to time him. When he was done, I couldn't believe my eyes. Finny had beaten the record by .7 seconds. When I told him we could come back tomorrow with the official timekeepers, he told me he didn't want to. When he first told me this, I couldn't believe what he was saying. Now that I think about it, however, I think that he was scared that if his name went up on the board, someone else might be able to beat him, and he wouldn't be the best anymore. He also said, "Swimming in pools is screwy anyway" (37).
Yesterday, Phineas decided he wanted to go to the beach. We rode our bikes there, even though it was against Devon's rules. We jumped into the water and all of a sudden, I was brought under by the tide. I finally dragged myself out of the water and Finny came out for a brief second, to check my pulse, before jumping back into the water. We ate hotdogs for dinner and each had a beer, because of our forged draft cards. As we were falling asleep, Finny said, "I hope your having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can't come to the shore with just anybody and you can't come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal. Which is what you are" (40). I admired him, because he could share this with me, and I wanted to, but something was holding me back.
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