Prior to this event Gene had reached the conclusion that Phineas was sabotaging his success in academics by distracting him with athletics. While they were both on top of the "tree" Gene displayed a side to him that we have never seen: he fought back. He shook the limb which caused Phineas to lose his balance and fall down. This act showed Gene that he was also capable of sabotage thus destroying his fear of Phineas's power against him. This deed foreshadows the upcoming events because his action made him become a stronger individual. Gene is now able to stand up for himself therefore Phineas can't have power over him any longer. What conflicts between Gene and Phineas do you think were destroyed and/or will come after this event?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Why does Gene's fear disappear at the end of the chapter- Chapter 4
Throughout the story Gene would constantly look up to Phineas because of his incredible athletic ability. He always assumed that Phineas was the one that continued to impress and amaze people until Gene discovered that he possessed talent in academics. In the passage , Gene and Phineas both climbed the "tree," and Phineas fell down preforming an awkward landing. This action destroyed Gene's fear because he learned that Phineas was capable of doing poorly in his strengths as well. "With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten."(p. 60)
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Lucia, you made very thoughtful observations about the relationship between Phineas and Gene. You made a very analytical reference to the "tree," inferring it symbolizes a point where both people in a relationship are vulnerable. There weren't any conflicts that were really destroyed by what Gene did; they only were added to. Recently, Phineas has been a partial bully. He has poked at people by bothering them (only in pure competitiveness). When a bully pokes at someone and they respond, they poke harder to gain a reaction. Gene displayed an extreme reaction that will cause Phineas to poke Gene as hard as he can. Gene made a mistake by responding so harshly to Gene. He will suffer the social consequences in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that Gene's fear disappeared, not because Finny was aggravating Gene, but because Finny has stressed Gene out so much. When Finny fell from the tree, Gene knew that Finny wasn't 100% better than him. He knew that FInny still had imperfections, and when FInny fell, Gene felt relief and was happy that he really didn't have so much to live up to. In class there was a question on the chalk talk about how competition can be healthy, do you think this is a healthy competition?
ReplyDeleteLucia, i agree that Finny falling out of the tree destroys Gene's fear of him because he sees that Finny is doing something poorly, but i also feel that it was more destroyed it in the sense that Gene literally "destroyed" Finny by hurting him. By "destroying" Finny, Gene also destroyed his fear of him. The fact that Finny failed at something definitely added to the destruction of Gene's fear toward him, but what finished it off was the sight of Finny falling out of a tree, getting hurt and being weak. I 100 percent agree on your point though, of how Gene's capability of sabotaging Finny ended his fear of Finny's power. Do you think that Finny deserved to fall out of a tree for everything he did to Gene, or do you feel that what Gene did was too severe?
ReplyDeleteI think both of Gene's fears disappeared. The fear of Finny being better than him, he realized that Finny wasn't like superman and could make a mistake at his ability. Also the fear of Finny having all the power. I do think it was extreme to push Finny out of the tree, and Gene should have tried something less dangerous and bone breaking, like balancing on a log in the river or maybe tackling Finny in football.
ReplyDeleteI believe that not only did Gene feel triumphant to find out that Finny wasn't as perfect as everyone saw him, and that he could make a fall. In the book, Gene comments, "It was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make." He realizes that he can actually trump Finny. However, I think that it was a bit too overboard to jounce the branch- obviously, Gene wasn't thinking straight. He obviously doesn't do that often, as we can plainly see how much he over-thinks, so it must have been some sort of impulse, some sort of involuntary action.
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