(Pages 195-204) On page 201 Gene says that wars were made by something ignorant in the human heart. Do you agree with this statement?

At this point in the book Gene has lost his best friend and has had to grow up a lot. Instead of worrying about minor things, Gene now has huge issues to consider and worry about. He begins to think more of the meaning of things and the big picture. On page 201 Gene explores his feelings about war. He thinks to himself that "it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart." After carefully exploring his feelings on the war Gene comes to the conclusion that war isn't to be blamed on generations; they happen because of the way people are and human nature. He comes to the conclusion that war is something that just happens and will always happen.

I think Gene could not have put it any better. After all, everyone is human and we are all programmed the same way. We all do things based off of emotions, and we are all similar. I don't think that certain groups or time periods are more likely to be involved in a war than others. It's just when things happen people react a certain way, and that is to be expected.

Do you think that war is something necessary and unavoidable, or do you think that it's something that we as a world can end for good?

1) At this point in the novel, the main action has wrapped up now that Finny is dead and the boys are graduating, but now the war has quite literally

"The Far Common could be seen from the window of my room, and early in June I stood at the window and watched the war moving in to occupy it. The advance guard which came down the street from the railroad station consisted of a number of Jeeps..." The war now is literally creeping into Devon high school. This is showing the falling actions of the book after Finny died. This was a good way to wrap up the story because the war has been looming in the background of the story and now after the climax and the end of the problems of Gene and Finny's friendship the war comes into the story as the main ending. This war sends off all of the friends into different directions in life.

"From my locker I collected my sneakers, jock strap, and gym pants and then turned away, leaving the door ajar for the first time, forlornly open and abandoned, the locker unlocked. This was more final than the moment the headmaster handed me my diploma. My schooling was now over." This sentence is describing Gene leaving Devon once and for all to start possibly a new life and forgetting his past. He is going to the war now, becoming a man. The troubles that Devon put Gene through were now over and he had no obstacles to overcome. He was gladly leaving Devon to the war.

What obstacles do you think would come up upon Gene in the future?

If there were to be a sequel what would it mainly be about?

Chapter 12: Explain what Gene means when he says, "Phineas, you wouldn't be any good in the war, even if nothing had happened to your leg."

Throughout the book, all Finny ever wanted was fun. He wasn't all for teams, but wanted every individual person to have fun and enjoy. In chapter 3, Gene told us that one of Finny's main beliefs was that "everyone always won at sports (p.35)". In Finny's opinion, the fun was found in playing, not winning and losing. A war is based off of winning or losing. Gene just learned that Finny wanted to be in the war, and he almost seems at a loss for words here. Gene knew that even in a simple snowball fight, Finny was not the type of person who could keep a side. Gene attempts to explain this to him by saying: "you'd make a mess, a terrible mess, Finny, out of the war(p.191)". This was because Finny would not know who to fight for, and according to Gene, fight on several sides.

I find Gene’s statement very true. Finny doesn’t dislike anybody. How could you even imagine Finny picking up a gun and shooting people. There isn’t a person in this book that Finny hasn’t liked. Finny simply is too pure to kill. I also doubt that a person like Finny could find reason for the war. He is full of forgiveness and understanding. He was even able to understand why Gene could push him off a tree. Most of the people in this world couldn’t forgive someone after they had ruined their life. Do you think Finny has always been interested in the war or did it start after his accident? At this point in the chapter do you think Gene was trying to be nice to Finny after seeing his anger? Do you think that after learning this from Finny, Gene’s war views have changed?

Explore the dynamics and undertones of Finny and Gene’s first conversations upon his return. Does it feel “realistic” to you? Why or why not?

Finny is back after the absence due to his 'shattered' leg, and suddenly everything changes- as written on page 102, "Everything that had happened throughout the day faded like that first false snowfall of the winter. Phineas was back." The minute after they share very brief greetings, the first thing that Finny tells Gene is how he should never have left him there to advertise how badly dressed he is.

I find that the first conversation between Finny and Gene rather ironic and unrealistic; instead of Gene asking Finny whether he is feeling all right or Finny asking Gene how he was doing, the first thing they discussed was how dreadful Gene's choice of clothing was. It's as if the two of them both are avoiding the topic of asking of each other's welfare. Finny's got a shattered leg and it's obviously not fine. Not only that, they both know that Gene purposely jounced the branch, which made Finny fall off the tree in the first place. It seems that neither of them want to face that guilt and unavoidable fact yet. They both know, however, that they must do that in the end, but they want to hold it off as soon as possible.

Soon after Phineas' return, Gene becomes a follower of Finny again, no matter how much pain, both physically and emotionally, Finny must be feeling with all of this. I think this shows how much influence Finny still has over Gene. Or, rather, how used to obeying Finny's words Gene is. He might realize later on that his popular best friend does not have as much power over him as he used to, but that Gene is so accustomed to listening to Finny that he just goes along with it.

Brinker intercepts the two friends' talk with the already-stated accusation that Gene got rid of Finny on purpose, which was partly true but put onto a very exaggerated scale. Instead of outright saying it, Brinker says as quoted from page 106, "'So,' Brinker curled his lip at me, 'your little plot didn't work so well after all.'" Gene, of course, goes into a right state of panic and passes it off as Brinker persuading him to enlist, which perhaps surprisingly, Finny reacts negatively to.

Eventually Gene realizes that Finny doesn't want him to enlist, and quickly reassures him that he wasn't even considering it (indirectly), which was most definitely not the truth. In doing so, he insults Brinker, effectively convincing Finny and humiliating Brinker at the same time. Later on, during one of their idle chats, Gene finds out that Finny doesn't believe that the war is really going on at all, and is really just a false idea that the high-class "fat old men" are putting into their minds while stuffing themselves with the best steaks.

This really shows how much Finny's view on the war has changed- first, he is encouraging it, relating his many games to the war and even wearing the pink shirt as an emblem for it. Now, it seems, he is in denial about it, and is trying to convince himself and everyone around him that it does not, and has never, exist(ed).

Why do you think that Finny has had such a sudden change of view? What's Gene's reaction to this? And, more importantly, what has the training that is triggered by the sudden disbelief symbolize in the plot?