When Gene Forrester, comes back to visit his old boarding school it is described as a “dismal day.” As Gene examines the school thoroughly on this day, however, he is there to find peace with one object only, a tree. As he gets closer to approaching the weather seems to get worse. This is the reader's first clue that something went wrong with the tree. As he feels more and more drawn to the tree, the weather gets worse. Gene is feeling so numb about being back that he does not care about the weather and what it is doing to his appearance. As he gets closer to the tree the wind starts blowing harder and it seems to get colder. With the weather worsening he takes time to closely examine each tree trying to find the one that he wants, until he does. Rather than, discourage him, the rainy weather seems to be empowering Gene to move forward. The weight of the water and the mud covering…show more content… Winters were horrible because the snow was keeping them stuck inside with nothing to do. To Gene, the snow had lost its majestic feel that it had at the beginning of the season. He says that the snow had turned gray through the winter season just like everything else in his life. He found it depressing and the gray snow meant that everything was dead and still. The snow also represent how the war is affecting the students at Devon. At the first couple of snow falls they were excited to play in it and enjoy it, like how with the war the students were excited to serve their country in any way they could. However, as the realities of war became more real and getting closer the boys lost the excitement in the way and see that it was a serious thing that would not always be fun. Knowles uses whether throughout this book to reveal how Gene came to his peace. It took many battle in all types of weather and finally rain to ways the wounds out, for Gene to accept what exactly had happened to
