How My Understanding Which Was Menaced In The Crucible

A Separate Peace

“My understanding which was menaced. He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he” (59).

This passage reflects Gene’s true thoughts on his friendship with Finny and jealousy. His tone in this text is of disappointment and anger as he realized that Finny was never jealous of him. This is a contrast to Gene and Finny’s friendship at the beginning of the book, where the two seem to be best friends with no hard feelings at all. Thus, this shows how Gene’s view of their friendship is slowly reveled, and proves Gene has feelings of jealousy toward Finny. It seems to bother Gene quite a lot that he and Finny were

not on the same level of importance, which could mean that Gene finds power and authority significant. Gene has found that because Finny is not the slightest jealous, it degrades his self-esteem. In addition, it supposedly confirms his suspicions that Finny does not think they are of the same “Quality” because Finny was not jealous. Therefore, this shows how Gene really cares about what Finny thinks of him, and how vital it is to him to be equal with Finny. This thinking affects his decisions later on in the text and makes him question what sort of friendship they really have. It also gives a different view on what Gene really thinks when he see’s Finny playing sports, and breaking records. This contrasts to Holden in The Catcher in the Rye; when Holden compares himself to Stradler and other people, he tends to not be jealous at all that he is not the same quality as everyone else. Instead almost everyone Holden meets; he depicts them as jerks, drunks, or just plain ridiculous. For Holden he mostly admires people’s nice characteristics such as their smile, or intelligence. Gene on the other hand really cares about being equal to Finny when Holden could care less about being equal to his siblings or people in general. I think this contributes to how both Holden and Gene’s relationships with other people are different, and how it reflects what they think about the people close to them.
“And I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas” (85).
I think this passage is interesting because it reveals another side of why Gene had “pushed” Finny down from the tree in the first place. As Gene describes a sense of freedom, it is as if something within him was released and now allowed him to embrace being Phineas. Perhaps Gene really did want this all along, yet he was hesitant to try because he knew he could not ever be as good as Phineas. However, since it is been confirmed Phineas may never play sports, and Phineas gave an order to Gene to play for him, it seems like it made something snap inside Gene. Now Gene can fully embrace the thrilling fact of becoming Phineas. Maybe Gene is confused with who he wants to be, so he is intrigued by the fact of becoming a part of somebody he so desires to be on the same quality of. This also reflects when Gene put on Finny’s clothes and actually became Finny, yet that calmed him as he realized he could never pull off being Finny and he realized what is true character was. Then in this passage it seems his view has changed drastically. Finny is physically damaged, and with permission to do sports for Finny it let Gene reveal what he truly wants. This is similar to The Catcher in the Rye where Holden seems to be confused with who he wants to be. Holden keeps jumping back and forth about his sexuality. He always seems to want to go all the way with a girl or neck her, yet he criticizes other guys for actually going through with it. In addition, Holden always depicts people as idiot drunk phonies, but he himself drinks often and is a compulsive liar. Thus, it shows how Holden is confused about his identity and who he really is. Both Holden and Gene seem to resent the people they actually are a little part of. Therefore, both are confused about their identity and keep trying to push away what they have become or want to become.
“All except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way-if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the enemy” (204).
This quote was confusing when I first read it, so I looked up what the Maginot Lines were. I learned that the lines were a defense system built by the French during WWI to block any more attacks from the east. When WWII came the lines did slow the attacks down, but ultimately failed its purpose and Germany invaded France destroying the Maginot Lines. I found it interesting the author chose to mention this system when describing how the boys at school reacted to the “enemy”. I think the author was trying to explain that humans use up all their power to build up a shield that would only fail to protect them in the end from what was not there. The enemy they recall seeing across the frontier (which I assume is the war) was not really their enemy. All the boys got worked up and many built up their own Maginot Lines to deal with the war, but really they did not need to. It was themselves they needed to control because; it was people who got them into war in the first place which are the evil within mankind. I think overall, the author is trying to explain that humans all build up a Maginot Line within themselves to protect from the evil within the world such as prejudice, and war. But really it is the evil within themselves that they need to realize and that the Maginot is not going to protect them forever from evil. This is similar to how the theme in The Catcher in the Rye where Holden discovers evil is within human kind. Holden understands how sin is within the world because as he runs all over town there are drunks, perverts, and phonies. Because Holden see’s these types of people all over, it shows how he depicts the world is full of these people and evil. Both Holden and Gene realize that evil is within humans and what we need to do is to fight the evil inside.
“Phineas created an atmosphere in which I continued now to live, a way of sizing up the world with erratic and entirely personal reservations, letting its rock like facts sift through and be accepted only a little at a time, only as much as he could assimilate without a sense of chaos and loss” (202).
Within this passage it explains why Phineas was so different and stood out from the crowd. Phineas had never built up a Maginot Line but rather accepted reality slowly, as much as he could handle so he would not lose control of himself. The others on the other hand allowed facts to sink in quickly shocking themselves and causing a defense to be built when it is not necessary. Because of Phineas’s different way of seeing things he was able to control his emotions about his leg. He only allowed information to sink in when he was mentally prepared, and created an allusion of the war to comfort him. Phineas looks at the world on a personal level and in way that satisfies him. This way he was able to control himself and keep steady. Thus, I believe it shows that mankind needs to learn to control their minds, and only let in what they can handle at a time. People should not let facts scare them but rather take some time and alter their view on the world to handle it better. In The Catcher in the Rye Holden also takes on a similar strategy as Phineas when facing the evil in the world. Holden notices the world’s evil through everyday things, and sizes them down a level to make them seem less shocking. Just like when Holden got socked by Maurice he pretended to have a bullet in his stomach which helped him cope with the pain he was in. Holden is similar to Phineas as they both take in shocking information one piece at a time and decreases the magnitude of the situation on themselves emotionally.
“Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (201).
This passage reveals Gene’s thinking of the war as he realizes it was not the older generation who was at fault for the war; it was mankind itself. Everyone else had created an illusion for themselves to explain why the war occurred. For both Finny and Brinker they always blamed older adults for the cause of the war. Gene realizes that it was the evil inside a human that created the war and that was the reason why they were fighting now. Thus, overall it shows that all humans have evil within itself that creates destruction, not a certain generation of people. The wars we are fighting now are not to clean up the mess that the past, stupid generations made. It is as if we are fighting to erase the mess we ourselves and the evil within humans made. It is similar to fighting ourselves and battling the sin within mankind. This is similar to The Catcher in the Rye when Holden meets the nuns at a breakfast diner. Holden discovers how they had cheap suitcases, and knew they never went anywhere fancy to eat, yet they give their time to help others. Holden realizes that most people would never give their time to help out and many people only help out for the praise. This shows how both boys are able to see how the world contains evil through everyday situations such as war and charity. Both of them do not blind themselves and ignore the truth but rather they observe and discover the truth.
“It was only long after that I recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak” (29).
I believe here, Gene is reflecting on his younger self in which he now knows sarcasm is for the people who are weak. I think later in the book Gene discovers sarcasm is a way to cover up what you truly want to say. People do not have the guts to speak up about what they want, so sarcasm is used as a cover up. When Finny came around to take Gene away from his studies, Gene used sarcasm as a way to try to get Finny to admit to sabotaging his grades. However, as Gene realizes Finny was serious it is a reflection to what sarcasm was used for. Gene was weak for not owning up to what he thought, but instead slithered around it using sarcasm. Thus, this passage displays people tend to use sarcasm to cover up what they truly want to say. Therefore, these people hide behind the mask of sarcasm to cover up their true feelings. In return this causes them to be weak because someone who is strong would face their thoughts. Perhaps, Gene also realized sarcasm was a protest of the weak because Finny never really used sarcasm. During the boys time at Devon Gene must have realized that, and at the end of the book he also commends Finny for being stronger than anyone else at Devon. Finny naturally led people, showed confidence when stating his opinion, and realized his true feelings especially about his leg. Because Finny was able to understand his own mind-set without having to cover it up with sarcasm Gene could have seen how sarcasm really was a protest for the weak.
A Catcher in the Rye
“It was so nice and peaceful. Then, all of sudden, you’d never guess what I saw on the wall. Another “Fuck you”’(204).
I believe this quote explains the world is full of disruptions and evil no matter where you go. The obscene word (Fuck you) is written right where Holden feels nice and peaceful, employing that no matter how one tries to avoid the rotten parts of humankind it is impossible because they are everywhere. Within the text, Holden describes the museum as pleasant and calm. I believe this demonstrates that even in a peaceful place it can contain evil. Moreover, the word is written in the museum where Holden holds many delightful childhood memories. Thus, reflecting that even in the most innocent part of life evil can penetrate it. This also reminds me of when Holden was with Phoebe. Phoebe constantly kept telling Holden to quit cursing yet he continued to do so. I found it interesting that Holden says this word appalling yet, he was not afraid to curse around Phoebe who he adores. This suggests that, Holden realizes what is wrong with the world and how evil is everywhere, yet he gives in to being evil, demonstrating how humankind is not perfect. Furthermore, the tone of his voice in the passage shows he is not surprised and more sarcastic as if he knew there would be another word written on the wall. Perhaps this reveals that Holden already realizes evil is within the world as if it is a normal aspect of life. Therefore, it connects to the overall theme that evil is within the world and you cannot hide from it. This also connects to A Separate Peace when Gene realizes war is not caused by the older, stupid generation, but by something awful in the human heart. Both of these boys understand evil is within the world no matter where you go.
“The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs- if yours are really good ones and theirs aren’t….they don’t give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do. They really do” (109).
In this passage, it reveals how money plays an important role within society.

Holden explains his understanding of money through his situations of suitcases. Although Holden and Dick Slagle got along quite well, the issue of money still brought them apart. Thus, displays how money can affect someone’s view and emotions on one another. Dick feels ashamed and jealous because he does not have the same quality of suitcase as Holden, therefore suggesting he is not as rich. On the other hand, Holden feels bad that his suitcase has made Dick too embarrassed to leave his suitcase out. This also reflects Holden’s view on the world and how he notices money can affect people. Citizens around him assume he is not smart since he failed all of his classes. However, this passage proves Holden has deep thoughts and sees the world in its true form. As a result, he may be smarter than his criticizers. Holden’s criticizers are all lost and oblivious to what money does to people, yet Holden understands money and realizes why people associate with others in the same class. Or perhaps it also demonstrates how people manipulate money in a way that degrades others. Mankind turned money into something that is used to determine how to treat someone, and has such a large reputation that it affects others emotions. In a way this situation is similar to Finny and Gene in A Separate Peace. Gene shows jealousy towards Finny because of his ability to be perfect in everything. In addition, Gene is even more jealous that Finny does not see him as the same quality as Finny himself. It is just like Dick, where he is jealous of Holden’s suitcase being much better quality than his own, which could represent him feeling less important and worthless compared to Holden who has more money. Both Gene and Dick feel ashamed, and represent the jealousy that happens when they feel inferior to one another. Moreover, both the boys try to act like they were not ever jealous. Holden describes Gene and Dick as

“they act like they do not care but they do”. Gene never comes straight out to tell Finny exactly how he feels and neither does Dick. I believe this represents jealousy in humans, how it affects relationships yet it is kept inside and makes the person feel ashamed. Furthermore, jealousy is made by something that cannot be controlled, some people have more money and others are born with more skill.
“I certainly don’t enjoy seeing him in that crazy cemetery. Surrounded by dead guys and tombstones and all….it rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach” (155).
This passage shows how Holden has a different way of thinking and treating other people. Here Holden talks of Allie as if he was still alive. Holden appears to be appalled that Allie is stuck underground and gets rained on but cannot move or get away. I believe this represents how Holden has a soft spot for Allie in his heart. Throughout the book Holden dislikes many things and people to the point of where it seemed like he did not enjoy anything at all. Here, Holden treats Allie as though he were breathing which means he truly treasured the time spent with Allie, and wants him to be as comfortable as possible. It is as if Holden cannot accept Allies death. Perhaps this is why Holden has a hard time staying in school and interacting with others. In addition, this shows how Holden’s mind is different from other people. Normally one would not think anything wrong about a grave for their beloved, but Holden stands out thinking of how Allie would feel about it. I think this explains Holden’s way of noticing things in the world in a quirky way. He interprets the world through normal everyday items such as graveyards=unconventional, suitcases= money problems, movies/plays=phony people. This is similar to Gene in A Separate Peace as he starts to deal with Phineas and his leg. Gene like Holden still treated Phineas as if his legs had not affected him. Gene refused to believe Phineas may never play sports again and kept becoming surprised to see how Phineas was not as radiant as he remembered. Such as Phineas’s special walk. Gene was still getting over the shock that Phineas may never be able to fully recover. Both Holden and Gene were treating the affected characters as if nothing happened and tried to look past the awful thing that occurred. It seemed as if both boys refused to believe something this bad could happened to the ones they treasure. Thus, shows how both of the boys cared for their companions.
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (214).
I think the author intended to end this way, in order to wrap up how he started the book. In the beginning Holden clearly stated he was not going to tell us his life story and now we understand his reason for not telling. I presume Holden is explaining that re-telling stories and what you have been through can make you more lonely than happy. You begin to miss the people you encountered, no matter how annoying or angry they made you. Letting someone into your personal life is like opening your memories and eventually those memories lead you to other ones. Thus, it makes a never ending cycle of countless stories and feelings brought back up again by sharing your life. Holden has been through a lot especially with his brother Allie. Because of that experience he is more to himself careful not to tell too much and keep it inside. To retell his life is similar to re-living it again; hence he would re-live losing his own brother, which in turn would devastate him. Perhaps this passage shows Holden has a rather fragile and delicate mind. So much has happened to him that consequently, he is afraid to tell it over because he will miss the ones he lost. Gene in A Separate Peace contrasts Holden when talking about the past. When Gene visits Devon once again after all the craziness has happened, he finds a sense of relief as he sees the same tree (although now old and withered) and yet the tree comforts him. To see his past Gene feels more of a security to see all that he has been through while Holden seems to latch on to his emotions from the past. I believe this shows that Gene tends to use the past to heal his emotions and move on whereas Holden’s memories from the past is used as a reminder and a door to his personal, delicate emotions.
“Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them”(173).
In this passage Holden describes his dream job as a catcher in the rye. It seems as if Holden loves younger people for their innocence, purity, and non phoniness compared to adults. As a result, he wants to protect them. The passage conveys an image of children being able to run wild, free, full of worries and without the cruelty of the adult world. Then, Holden plays the role of catching the children right before they fall, basically becoming a shield for them from danger. This shows Holden’s side of caring for young children and protecting them from harm. In addition, Holden does not seem to find adults very amusing as he refers to many grownups as phonies. Therefore, Holden chose himself to be the only adult to save the children so they would not have to deal with phonies like he did when he was younger. Perhaps this dream of his connects with Allie’s death in which he wants to be the catcher in order to save children’s lives from dying. Since Allies death affected him quite a bit, Holden wants more than anything to have Allie alive. As a result, he choses a dream that reflects what he wished he could have done to protect his brother from death.
“I hate fist fights. I don’t mind getting hit so much-although I’m not crazy about it, naturally-but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy’s face….It’s a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it’s yellowness, all right” (90).
In this passage, Holden explains his reason for not fighting back and how he is yellow when it comes to fist fights and situations in general. I thought that Holden’s interpretation of yellowness was another form of grayness where it is a in between of white and black. Some people only see the world in black and white where others see it with patches of gray. Since yellow is one of the three primary colors which include red, and blue, perhaps the yellow Holden refers to is the in between of red and blue. Red is associated more with anger while blue is more related with cool and calm, thus yellow could represent how Holden handles situations, which include both anger and coolness. Holden will get angry and confront a person about what they did, but he would not go as far as to actually hit the person in the face. I think because of his reasoning, it demonstrates that maybe he is afraid to afflict pain when someone is watching, or he is afraid to see the reaction of someone when he punches them. Maybe this connects back to Allie’s death when he punched through a wall and hurt his hand greatly, or perhaps his opponents face would provoke him into the anger he has stored within himself since he seems to always be on the brink of a mental break down.