When Gene asked Finny if he would mind if Gene graduated at the top of the class. Finny told Gene "I'd kill myself out of jealous envy.(p.52)" Finny was joking as he often does but Gene thought the joking act was just a screen. Gene then let his thoughts go, never questioning anything that entered his mind. He thought that Finny only included him in activities like blitzball and the suicide club to make sure Gene wouldn't study. Gene thought Finny was envious of his grades. Gene also thought Finny tried to keep Gene from studying. Gene now thought Finny was no better then him, Finny was envious too.
Gene became obsessed with being better then Finny and everyone else at schoolwork. He worked twice as hard on his assignments so that he could be better then Finny. Gene thought, "While he was a very poor student I was a pretty good athlete, and when everything was thrown into the scales, they would in the end tilt definitely toward me.(p.55)" His whole life at Devon became being better then Finny and he thought it was the same way for Finny.
When Finny tried to get Gene to come to a suicide club meeting the night before one of Gene's exams, Gene thought Finny was trying to stop him from studying and he said so to Finny. Finny was confused and he then said that if Gene had to study then he should study. Finny explained how he didn't know Gene had to study, how he thought school just came to him.
Gene realized Finny wasn't jealous of him, Finny never had been. Gene couldn't stand it. He hated Finny for being such a good friend because Gene knew that he wasn't a good friend to Finny. He hated that he envied Finny because Finny didn’t envy him. He hated Finny for being so perfect, he could never live with it. Gene had to take it from Finny. So when he stood next to Finny high up in the tree where Finny had saved him, Gene bounced and watched as his friend lost his balance and fell.
Will Gene regret his decision to betray his best friend? Will Finny tell people what Gene did or will he stay loyal to Gene? Will Gene continue to try to become top of class? Why or why not?
I believe that the right thing for Gene to do would be to forget about Finnys accomplishments and to focus on his own improvement. However as this book progresses it is clear that Gene tries to base all of his actions and success off of Phineus and his will. If gene thought for himself then the problem would have been resolved. But then again who said there ever was a problem, there isnt! Gene is just making one up in his head! This proves the supports the inference that this book has mainly internal conflict.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I do believe the envy between Gene and Finny is the main reason Gene jounced the limb, because of how much denial Gene was in. To answer your first and third question, I think Gene will regret what he did to Finny, because guilt overpowers everything, but that won't stop Gene from trying to be on the top. Throughout the summer, Gene was trying to figure out whether Finny envied him in return, which caused (as Daniel said) an internal conflict. Daniel, even though Gene may continue to focus on his improving in school, don't you think the guilt will soon take over?
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Deletefinny dies at the end
ReplyDeleteJUST A JOKE FOR ANYONE OFFENDED
Deletefinny dies at the end
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