Leper actually has his breakdown before the action of Chapter
10, but when he is talking to Gene, Leper's fragile mental state is revealed to Gene. When Leper
is in boot camp, his anxiety and eccentricities that had been tolerated and somewhat coddled at
Devon become obvious to all, including Leper himself, and when he goes into a psychotic rant, his
superiors begin the process of discharging him for being mentally unfit. Leper is sane enough to
realize that a Section 8 discharge will be life altering in a negative way; so he deserts the
military.
In Chapter 10, when Gene goes to visit Leper at his home
in Vermont, Leper no longer has the ability to hold in his suspicions and paranoia. He associates
Gene (whom he saw jump on the branch, causing Finny's injury) with the "cruel" men at boot camp
and projects his fears onto Gene.
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