Summer Session Definition

The Summer Session takes place at the Devon Military School for Boys in New Hampshire in 1942. One way that the Summer Session is different from the Winter Session is the enforcement of rules is varied. In the Summers Session, rules are not enforced at all, really, but in the Winter Session, the rules are strictly enforced with an iron fist. One example of this is when Patch-Winters allowed Phineas to wear his school tie as a belt! One example of the strictness of Winter Session in when MR. Ludsbury forbids Gene and his friends from “gaming” and tries to confiscate their fridge. Phineas perfectly represents the Summer Session. When he falls and breaks his leg, the seasons change at the same time Phineas does too. The carefree feeling that once existed during the Summer Session is now gone- only the cold Winter

The Summer Session also feels fun, relaxed, and easy. Conversely, the Winter Session is cold, miserable, and harsh. Only a few of the boys who attend the Winter Session also attend the Summer Session. Being the Devon School’s first Summer Session, it also represents a breakdown of the Devon School’s standards. On the outside, the Devon School appears proper, elite, and noble. Despite this mask, the Summer Session is just the opposite. The boys who attend Summer Session are allowed to do whatever they want, from jumping out of trees to running away for a night to visit nearby landmarks. This is definitely NOT proper and elite. On the other hand, Winter Session exemplifies the Devon School’s standards. Academic achievement, athletic accomplishment, and military enlistment are of the highest priority. Many of the important Masters change from summer to winter. In the summer, Mr. Prud’Homme is a main Master. He is relaxed and charmed by Phineas, and does not enforce Devon’s strict code. One example of this is when Gene tells him about how he and Phineas escaped for one