Phineas 'Denial In John Knowles' A Separate Peace

Denial, the defense mechanism of the previously ignorant, buries problems beneath lies, which only allows them to grow at unbeknownst to others. With it's presence, the evaded issues multiply at alarming rates, problems that can be avoided with simple acknowledgment. Naive and desperate, Phineas, a character from the novel A Separate Peace, consistently demonstrates the quality of denial through his actions pertaining to his friendship with Gene, his best friend. Finny suppresses his knowledge of his friend's jealousy in favor of believing that their fraying friendship provides a haven towards both boys. By portraying Phineas as one who avoids conspicuous issues, The author, John Knowles, teaches the importance of acknowledging core troubles,

as Finny's denial of the basic faults in his friendship only serves as a catalyst to Gene's envy and doubt, which in turn only reaps negative consequences.
By not addressing the faults in his friendship with Gene, Finny provides the opportunity for Gene's disillusioned enmity to grow. Of the many exceptional attributes Finny possesses, Gene covets his talent with sports, noting how “it had, in one word, glamour, absolute school-boy glamour” (38). Because Gene has to work to achieve his goals while Finny is naturally gifted, Gene creates an imaginary rivalry between the two of them, thus only spurring him on. Gene envies Finny's abilities, his school-boy glamour, and it deteriorates the friendship. However, neither set out to mend Gene's jealousy, instead they falsely convince themselves that the friendship is normal, and beyond even that, healthy. Due to his obsession with surpassing Finny, the urge to hurt him overcomes Gene, which he fulfills while in the tree as “[he] took a step towards [Finny], and then [Gene's] knees bent and [he] jounced the limb...with unthinking sureness [he] moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of [his] fear of [jumping out of the tree] forgotten” (52). Disillusioned and impulsive, Gene decides to end Finny's sports career as he believes it will bring equality to the friendship; Gene currently cannot compare to Finny's successes, he feels inferior to him, so he therefore must handicap Phineas to find equality. Gene then leaves fear behind, which sprouts from impressing Finny, as now Gene no longer wants to live up to his standards. Overall, by Phineas denying the faults in their friendship, the lack of clarity in the quality of the relationship leads Gene to believe that hid bond with Finny sprouts from mutual hatred.
Yet again, denial introduces toxicity into the connection as the suppression of negative feelings leads to doubt on both sides.

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

Finny talks of reaching out because of his fear of Finny retaliating. Gene's guilt blinds him and warps Finny into another person, a person that he feels menaces him, creating restlessness and unease in the relationship. Above all, doubt destroys relationships by poisoning deeply-rooted trust, as a building with no foundation crumbles to the ground.
Unfortunately yet inevitably, the suppression of the glaring issues in the friendship culminates to break Finny's spirit. While confessing about jouncing the tree limb, Gene realizes “that [he] was injuring [Finny] again” (62). Finny depends so deeply on his connection with Gene that admitting the hate that takes root injures him; Finny grips to a rope of fallacies that falls apart if he acknowledges the truth. By connecting so deeply to Gene, Finny puts pressure on him to hide his past faults, which never grants Gene forgiveness and closure for his actions. Furthermore, Gene confesses at the end of the book how “[n]othing as he was growing up at home, nothing at Devon, nothing even about the war had broken his harmonious and natural unity. So at last [Gene] had” (192). Due to its nature, the close bond that the boys share cannot last given the significant damage that it possesses, and as a result Gene breaks Finny's spirit. Finny's denial of Gene's mistrust prevents him from seeing Gene's true nature. Therefore, Gene obtains the ability to perviate Finny, which leads to his demise as the one he loves the most betrays him. The lack of recognition pertaining to the detestation that plagues the relationship leads to the repercussions of it, in this case, Gene's betrayal, and therefore Finny's heartbreak.
Overall, through the character of Finny, John Knowles pronounces the importance of accepting issues at hand as Phineas's denial of the resentment that Gene fosters for him only further encourages Gene, effectively deteriorating the friendship and in turn attacking Finny with the problems he tries so hard to bury. Finny's denial only leaves Gene to his speculations, which causes Gene to produce an imagined enmity, and soon after, plagues of doubt, into the relationship. Ironically and tragically, Finny suffers the greatest effects of Gene's negative attributes as Gene's uncertainty and rancor culminate to break Phineas's spirit; the effects that Finny labors to bury eventually rise stronger and defeat him as he depends so heavily on their association. Denial, although a defense mechanism, remains incredibly useless as far as defending, given that it only temporarily buries undesirable problems, yet provides the perfect blind eyes which allows them to grow. If Finny simply acknowledges the faults that exist within his friendship with Gene, as faults exist within any relationship, then he avoids the ultimate downfall of himself and of his friendship, yet by sweeping them under the rug he only only exposes himself to the negative results of his own demise.