Free Essays - Gene and Finny of A Separate Peace

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A Separate Peace Gene and Finny In A Separate Peace, the main characters are foils of one another. The plot is pushed along by the changing dynamics of their friendship. Their relationship begins to drift apart when their personalities clash. The changing dynamics of Gene and Finny's relationship and the revelations in Gene's personality are what move the plot along. At first, Gene fights against his memories. The story is opened with Gene returning to his old school, Devon. A struggle, or some sort of conflict, is clear by the way he practically forces himself to return to the staircase and the tree. He comments on how things have changed, which reflects how he himself has changed. The staircase is hard now, he notices, showing that he feels detached from the object. Meanwhile, the tree is now shrunken and identical to the other trees, which could mean that Gene has moved on from whatever significance the tree once held. The rain that starts falling later is a universal symbol of sadness, foreshadowing a tragic event later on in the story that involves him and the school. After seeing the tree and staircase and noting that they no longer seem as intimidating, a weight seems to be lifted off of Gene's conscious and he returns to shelter. At first, Gene seems to be awed by Finny. Although his friend is more athletic than him, Gene is proud of the other boy's accomplishments. In fact, he is proud to be so close to a well-loved student. He considers himself lucky to be considered Finny's best friend. It becomes evident that jealously engrains itself into the friendship, however. Gene soon views not himself to be the lucky one, but Finny. He views all of Finny's good fortune to be his own bad luck. Whenever Finny gets out of trouble by being blatantly obvious, he thinks of it as himself being inadequate and not as good as his friend. This is shown at the luncheon both boys are invited to when Finny explains his inappropriate belt. Although Gene and Finny are very different, they are also united in several ways. Both boys like to be in charge and are comfortable in leadership positions.

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    First, I believe that Gene and Finny were not sincerely friends throughout the novel due to their relationship being driven by competitiveness. Along with the competitive atmosphere came jealously, envy and enmity. Gene created a rivalry between him and Finny. Since Finny was

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    Throughout A Separate Peace, John Knowles effectively uses his characterization of Finny to teach one of life's greatest lessons. Although at times Gene and Finny appear to be enemies, the tests and challenges Finny presents to Gene actually cause him to blossom, making him a stronger person. Despite Finny's death, his wisdom, courage and actions live on in Gene. Gene learns that throughout life accomplishments that one works for and achieves will provide much more reward than those handed to a person. Many times, the greatest reward is finding one's true self and discovering his or her capabilities.

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  • Phineas 'Denial In John Knowles' A Separate Peace

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    Insidiously and pervasively, Gene's original doubt creeps into his mind while at the beach, when Finny confesses that Gene is his best pal, yet Gene's hesitation holds him back, stating that “perhaps [he] was stopped by the level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth” (50). By pondering his motivations, Gene reveals that he truly does not believe that Finny considers him his best friend; Gene doubts Finny because he believes that hate forms the cornerstone of the relationship, which in turn leaves no room for love. Instead, Gene believes the confession of friendship serves the purpose of disillusioning him, that, as a conniver, Finny wants Gene to falsely trust him. Through a lack of communication, neither boy truly knows where they stand as a friendship based on trust and mutual affection fosters no home for envy, and yet Gene believes that Finny is his adversary. Finally, Gene ponders how he “might have asked, 'Who are you then?'” while realizing that Finny cares more about him than the fake rivalry; as Finny's personality seems to suddenly veer away from competitive, Gene feels he “was facing a total stranger” (50). Because Finny fears destroying the friendship by addressing its problems, he never empathizes with Gene and therefore does not see Gene's deluded misinterpretation of the association or the hatred that he fosters towards Phineas. Finny throws Gene off guard as he expressed his true feelings because, fed by doubt, Gene does not believe that Finny truly cares for him. Again, Gene's fears escape his mind as he exclaims “to drag me down too!” (57) when Finny talks of how he could have reached out to Gene in the moments before his fall. In his mind, Gene molds Phineas into a resentful person, so he automatically assumes the worst with Finny's intentions. Like an animal of prey, Gene retreats suddenly when

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  • A Separate Peace Jealousy And Jealousy

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    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

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