This first chapter establishes the primary setting at the Devon School. The school is identified as being in the South, sitting between a freshwater. The most of the story takes place in the years of 1942 at the same time as World War II, but the beginning and end of the book consist of Gene looking back on his years at the Devon School 15 years after he had attended it.
             The mood of anxiety is created in the beginning of the first chapter as older Gene wanders around the Devon and refuses to give us any details of the story from his past; however he makes vague indication to "fear's echo," and to a "death by violence." These clues of darkness are clearly linked to two places that the older Gene visits: the stairs and the tree, which is foreshadowing the exposure of the terrible events that occurred in those two places. More over, through his return to Devon, he wants things to be different and to feel that the past is erased, which we believe are the dark events from his high school years. Therefore, he is confused at how polished the school looks, as if it had been frozen in time since he was in Devon. For instance, the solidity of the marble stairs he finds equally disturbing, for it makes them look "the same as ever." Moreover, he also comes to realize that the course of time hasn't changed him either. However, the only things that have changed for him in the years since high school are the superficial matters of "money and success and 'security.' " The theme of reflection (memory vs. reality) is illustrated here through his visit back to Devon. The reader can observe the conflict between the memories of ones past and the present, and the relation of man to his young self.
             The flashback that starts halfway through this first chapter creates an unusual outcome because as reader encounters the flashback from 1940's, the story is being told through the viewpoint ...