1) Is Finny's fall, and ultimately his death, something you can blame on Gene? Why or why not? If he is not to blame, then who is?

I do not believe that Finny's death can be blamed on Gene. His fall off of the tree was Gene's fault, but his fall down the stairs was not. It is hard to to blame anyone for his death because it is not an obvious answer. Unlike with the tree nobody pushed Finny down the stairs. This death was foreshadowed at the beginning of the book though. When you read this chapter you kind of expect someone to push Finny down the stairs. When Gene visits them in the beginning you end up expecting it to be him that pushes Finny down the stairs. It was surprising that no one was specifically to blame for this incident though. Gene cannot be blamed because although Gene was involved in the truth that made Finny upset, that was not Gene's fault. Gene tried to tell Finny the truth and he did what he could to mend their friendship and when the truth finally struck it drove Finny crazy, but it was not Gene's fault.
I believe that Brinker could be blamed for Finny's fall. It was Brinker's idea to have that ceremony and he knew it would have a negative affect on at least one of them (Finny or Gene). The ceremony was ultimately what made Finny upset. If the ceremony had not happened then Finny would have never have had to find out the truth. And the truth is was made Finny sad, confused, and slightly crazy for a brief minute or two. So either Brinker could be blamed or just the plain truth could be to blame. Sometimes the truth can be the most painful thing in life to deal with.
Questions:
Have you ever had an incidence where you were afraid to tell a friend the truth because you knew it would hurt them? Did they ever find out? And if so how did this effect your friendship? How do you think Finny was feeling when he found out the truth? And what kinds of thoughts do you believe were running through his mind? How do you think Gene felt?