At the end of chapter two in A Separate Peace Phineas and the Gene decide to jump off the tree to form the "Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session." Gene describes that when he went to make a remark to Finny he almost fell off the tree but Finny saves him. “Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me” (Knowles 33). The narrator explains how even though Finny had saved his life he also put him in the position to lose it. This describes the relationship between Finny and Gene. Finny is known to be the wild half of the friendship, always putting Gene in situations where he feels uncomfortable and can potentially risk his being. Gene on the other hand is a nervous kid that thinks that Finny is a little crazy, but is always pressured into uncomfortable situations. This can be a dangerous situation for Gene because Finny is more impulsive with his actions. I think that this could potentially foreshadow an upcoming event where Finny puts Gene in potential danger again, but maybe he won't be to save him the next time.
This quote really defines Finny and Gene's friendship. Finny is the outgoing one, always doing whatever it takes to be in the spotlight, whether its starting a club, inventing a new sport, or wearing an odd colored shirt. Whatever Finny does, Gene is right beside him, even if he doesn't want to be. From the start, Gene takes the place as Finny's quiet sidekick, his lackey. When Finny suggests they jump from the tree to start off the meeting of The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, Gene gets nervous each time they have to go higher, but he always goes through with it. His reasoning consisted of "Otherwise I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable," (Knowles 34). Gene is willing to put his life at stake just so he can remain Phineas's friend, and when Gene realizes this, (looking at the original quote in this question), it makes him a little angry that Finny has that much control over him.
ReplyDelete(Maggie)
DeleteI agree that Phineas is the crazy outgoing one in their relationship, and that Gene is being pressured into uncomfortable situations by Phineas. I also think that Gene said that "he had also practically lost it for me," (Knowles 33) because he was envious of Finny and didn't want to "feel any tremendous rush of gratitude toward Phineas. (Knowles 33) In the back of his mind, Gene knows that Finny is a good person, but he also wants to believe that Phineas is trying to compete with him, just as he is trying to compete with Phineas. He doesn't want to believe that Finny is both more kind, and more athletic than him, so he tells himself that Finny isn't kind. Gene is so jealous of Finny that he can't let himself feel thankful to Phineas, so he has to make excuses.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth