“It’s like a test, isn’t it, and only the things and the people
who’ve been evolving the right way survive” (125).

This sentence explains much of the book in my perspective. When Gene came to the Devon school, he wasn’t exactly the best athlete but he was smart. In the Devon school smarts didn’t really get much people anywhere. His roommate, Finny, was one of the best athletes. Not the strongest either, just very sports-minded and active. Finny didn’t bend over to get to Gene, but Gene immediately bonded and built a friendship bringing him up through the social ladder. Finny never really changed throughout the book when he obeyed only his own rules. He wove around and dodged under every rule set in place for him. In the end, Finny dies. He cannot change to fit the stability of a wartime effort so he is eventually, sorrowfully killed. Though Leper gets the exception to trying to evolve, but it went horribly wrong, After enlisting in the ski troops, Leper becomes mentally unstable. He goes on to better things and has to recede, where evolving never works perfectly for anything. The school even evolves from Summer to Winter. When summer laxness gives way to strict rules and Harsh Winters, not all of the boys agree but end up conforming so that they may continue on to their goal.