On pages 52-54 in A Separate Peace by John Knowles Gene realizes something about Finny and their friendship. Gene realizes that his envy for Finny is equivalent to Finny's envy for Gene. Gene has always been jealous of Finny for winning achievements in the athletic department at school, so he thought that if he did better academically than Phineas both boys would be equal. "If I was head of class on Graduation Day and made a speech and won the Ne Plus Ultra Scholastic Achievement Citation, then we would both come out on top, we would both be even, that was all" (Knowles 52). Later in the chapter though, Gene starts to believe that Finny is jealous of him. Therefore Gene begins to think that they are even in enmity. Enmity is the state of being opposed to someone. Then he begins to think that Finny has created distractions in order to interfere with Gene, so he wouldn't achieve any academic excellence, and in doing so Finny would be superior to him. "Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitzball, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society…" (Knowles 53).
I have mixed feelings on whether I believe that Gene's accusations are true. My impression of Gene is that he is overly competitive and a bit insecure, so he over thinks things. I believe Finny is a boy who assumes he and Gene will be drafted for the war, and therefore wants to enjoy his life before he enters the cruel lifestyle of a soldier. "You never waste your time. That's why I have to do it for you" (Knowles 51). While some might interpret this quote as trying to distract Gene from his studies, I see this as a friendly gesture to try to relax Gene and tell him it is okay to have fun every once in a while. The night before Gene came up with these rivalry theories Finny had sincerely told Gene that he was his best friend. Would Finny lie about something so meaningful?
Carly Newell
I definitely agree with Carly. Gene has developed a strong sense of insecurity because of Finny’s “perfection,” and he feels as though he needs to be equal to him. After Gene begins to feel insecure about his own abilities, a jealousy of his former “best pal” grows from it. He is threatened by Finny’s every action, and Gene begins turning all situations involving Finny negative in his view. On page 57, when Finny sincerely asks Gene if everything is all right, Gene thinks to himself, “What a performance! His face was completely questioning and candid” (Knowles 57). Although it appears that Finny’s question is genuine, Gene warps the scenario in his mind, making himself believe that Finny is out to sabotage him in any way possible. Gene’s perception has been clouded by the many internal conflicts he faces, so he forms an alternate course of events in which Finny is always the bad guy. He does this to cope with the foreign, dark feelings he has buried from himself. It is clear that Gene is in denial of the real causes of his new perspective on his friendship with Finny, and by the end of the chapter, it is shown that what started out as a quiet jealousy has now turned dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Carly and Rachel. Gene is definitely jealous of Finny, and wants to be even. Gene is so jealous of Finny that in the back of his mind that he takes Finny's jokes seriously to excuse his behavior. After Finny jokes that he would kill himself out of jealousy if Gene became the top student, Gene says that " my misery was too deep to speak any more [...] I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone." (Knowles 53) Gene was jealous of Finny all along, and needed a way to admit it to himself. He decided to tell himself that Finny was too. If Finny was jealous of Gene, Gene would be able to lie to himself and say that it's okay to hate Finny. In the end, Gene just wanted to be 'as good as Finny,' so in order to justify his jealousy, he had to tell himself that Finny felt the same way.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth
Delete