Explanation:
Gene, the narrator had a rethink in his initial viewpoints of war when he heard from Leper. However, when Finny echoed his views that "war is fictional and unrealistic." saw his statement as a joke.
After reflecting on what Leper said, Gene responded,
"In the silences between jokes about Leper’s glories we wondered whether we ourselves would measure up to the humblest minimum standard of the army...., I wondered...whether the still hidden parts of myself might contain the Sad Sack, the outcast, or the coward."
In other words, he agreed with the views expressed by Leper. However, when responding to what Finny said earlier, he said,
"What a joke if Finny was right after all! But of course I didn’t believe him... So of course I didn’t believe him... I came away thinking that if Finny’s opinion of the war was unreal, l, Mr. Carhart’s was at least as unreal."
