mistakes and attempt to make an amends. The truth is simpler in A Turn with the Sun as, "Lawrence felt dizzy at the barefaceness of this lie." (A Turn with the Sun:16) Gene continues to question his motivation for moving the branch while Lawrence, "...felt himself more thoroughly aware than he had ever been of how the world went, of who fitted where, of what was grand and genuine and what was shoddy and fake." (A Turn with the Sun:16) Lawrence sees what he believes to be the truth because, like many freshmen, he is too na? to perceive how childish he is. His gullibility is especially evident in his plans to become the "proteg?of Captain Marvel, a senior. "He rushed ahead now, eager to impress him even more; no, by golly, he was through impressing people. Now he was ready to leap, in one magnificent bound, to the very peak of his ambitions..." This leap is too far; Lawrence attempts to do too much at once, bouncing from one extreme to another.Although one could compare Lawrence with Gene, Brinker, and Leper, they contrast enough to where they cannot be said to represent the same ideas. Just as Brinker is left out of Gene and Finny's relationship (Barron), so is Lawrence excluded from the society of the upperclassmen; they are both odd-man-out. They are self-righteous characters, who act childishly when they do not get their way. Lawrence possesses Gene's quietude, without his detached perspective; he has Leper's rejection, but without Leper's thoughtfulness. Gene acts as a symbol of questionable motivations. This extends into questioning not only why he "jounced" the limb, but the cause of the war. Leper is the innocent going to war, trusting of the propaganda video which betrays him. Lawrence does not seem to possess any redeeming qualities, except his determination. He is an empty character who Knowles uses to portray a typical first-year experience. He is more child than adult, a true adolescent. Perhaps he represents a y...
