How Does Finny Affect Gene's Envy

Gene was jealous of Finny throughout the whole book because Finny was more athletically inclined then him, and Finny was able to do basically whatever he wanted to.¨ I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little¨(8). This lead Gene to want to be better than Finny, by being first in the class. One night while Gene was studying Finny interrupted him, as he wanted to go jump out of the tree. After a little argument Gene eventually went with Finny to the tree, but he was still kind of angry. This lead Finny to jounce the tree limb. ¨Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud¨(28). Because of this fall, Finny completely shattered his leg. He may have been able to walk again, but he would never play sports again. Because of Gene's jealousy toward Finny he decided to make a rash move, which cost his friend their

As you can see, Gene had much reason to push Finny out of the tree. It was from jealousy from Finny's athleticism, his popularity, and his ability to talk his way out of almost anything. Only Gene knew that Finny was the only person at the school that could accomplish so many things, and Gene did not want to deal with Phineas

Finny's death causes the greatest maturity growth in Gene's character. After Finny dies, he realized how his own hatred caused the death of his best friend. "He came to understand Finny's innocence and purity which causes Gene to see flaws within himself and forces him to grow up" (Alton 1). Being able to admit your own flaws is critical in maturing. When Gene finally sees his impact of immature behavior, he realizes how much he needs to mature. Even though Finny is physically gone, his spirit remains with Gene and essentially makes him the adult that he grows up to be. Finny's death is a crucial part of Gene's coming of age. When Finny dies, Gene's immature behaviors also die. Because Gene's hatred was gone, he entered war as a man.

In the beginning of the novel, Gene, is a clueless individual. He sees the worst in people and lets his evil side take over not only his mind but also his body. During the tree scene, Gene convinces himself that Finny isn’t his friend, tricking himself into thinking that Finny is a conniving foil that wants to sabotage his academic merit. Gene is furthermore deluded that every time Finny invites Gene somewhere it’s to keep him from studying and

“I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (Knowles 122). The novel “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles takes place at Devon High School, 1942. Knowles describes a friendship based off of ignorance, jealousy, and envy. Gene Forrester a sixteen year old who’s characterized as being intellectual, completive, and conformative. John Knowles depicts how Gene’s envy towards Finny affects their friendship and gain peace within himself.

He no longer cared about his grades, and his personality went from introvert to very outspoken. His negative trait carries on throughout the whole book, but the underlying competition between him and Phineas lived on. When Phineas died, Gene’s negativity and hostile actions almost dissipated on the spot. “I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.” If Gene did in some way become a part of Phineas, then part of Finny lives on in Gene. The narrator alludes to this when he says that he still lives his life in Finny’s created “atmosphere.”

At the start, Gene is instantly jealousy of Finny, creating a fake friendship that is fueled by competition. This is shown when he wants to do something so he is good at, so he “was becoming the best student in the school: Phineas was without question the best athlete, so in that way we were even” (Knowles 55). This proves that their friendship is fueled by competition because it shows that Gene always wants to be even. This

Gene’s trust towards Finny first subtly comes through after returning from Leper’s house. “I wanted to see Phineas, and only Phineas. With him there was no conflict except between athletes… This was the only conflict he had ever believed in.” (Knowles, 152)When Gene returns from Leper’s house, all he wants to do is see

Gene was attempting to be top of his class academically, but he was continuously being distracted by Finny. Oneday Gene decided to ask Finny if he would be upset if Gene was top of their class. Finny responded by saying, “‘I’d kill myself out of jealous envy’” (Knowles 52). Although Phineas said that in a joking manner, it is clearly that he really would be jealous if Gene was top of their class. Finny loved to be first, and he didn’t like when people threatened his position. After pondering on Finny’s comment, Gene realized, that he may have, “deliberately set out to wreck [his] studies” (Knowles 53). Finny clearly had extreme envy of Gene for better academically. It is unhealthy for friends to be jealous of each other, especially when taken to that extreme. Finny was being unsupportive and selfish, just so that he could be better than Gene.

Envy is ignorance, does Gene achieve the peace for which he longs? John Knowles writes about Gene and Finnys experiences during WWII. Gene is an intelligent character however he is jealous of Finny and can be a follower. A separate Peace involves Gene and Finnys relationship as friends, Gene then goes back to the school fifteen years later and finds his peace.

“A Separate Peace” written by John Knowles focuses on envy and rivalry between two best friends and the consequences of it. Through the insight into Genes thoughts it is clear that he envies Finny and wants to be better than him. Gene states, “I couldn’t help envying him that a little. Which was perfectly normal.

He lets Finny have a life through him, effectively conforming himself to become a part of him by agreeing to have Finny train him and help him become an athlete, something that Finny cannot be anymore because of his injury. “‘Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me,’ and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas (85).” This quote, capturing Gene’s new perspective on the post-incident relationship he has with his friend, indicates that inversely, and somewhat as a result, Gene also lives through Finny now; he feels that living life through him was what was meant to be and who he was meant to be. Gene essentially acquires a previously nonexistent sense of self and identity through Finny as Finny attempts to fulfill his own dreams of being a star athlete through Gene, and it is this codependency that provides a deluding sense of protection from the real situations for both of them. Furthermore, as fate may have it, Finny breaks his leg again, this time dying due to the operation going wrong; Gene “did not cry then or ever about Finny. [He] could not escape the feeling that [it was his] own funeral, and you do not cry in that case (194).” This once and for all solidifies the motif of Gene living his life as Finny

A Separate Peace, which was written by John Knowles, has many themes. They are interconnected throughout the book. The most clearly portrayed theme is fear. It seems to be connected with the themes of friendship, jealousy, and war. As World War II was occurring, fear had taken over Gene's life through these various themes. When he visited Devon fifteen years after leaving the school, Gene claimed, "I had lived in fear while attending the school and I can now feel fear's echo" (Knowles 10). He felt like he had gained a separate peace after escaping from this fear.

Human nature is notorious for its trait of jealousy. One may grow hostile when he desperately seeks another’s possession or talent. This statement is evident in the character of Gene from John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. Throughout the story, he is jealous because his friend, Finny, has exceptional athletic ability. After one regretful action from Gene, Finny starts facing tough circumstances, eventually separating them. A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene demonstrates how envy can tear friendships apart.

At the start Gene only envys Finny. In page 25 he saying “ I couldn’t help envying him that, which was perfectly normal.”. And Gene is correct, it is perfectly normal to envy people, even your best friend. But even something as innocent as envy can turn into something more sinister, hate. There are sing of Gene hating Finny, as seen in page 53 “You did hate him for that swimming record, but so what?”. Another sign of Gene hating Finny is when he becomes paranoid and angry when he believes Finny was trying to sabotage his grades. But none of that compares to when he purposely jounces the limb causing Finny to fall off. However, this theory is not set in stone. Later on in the story Gene begins to feel guilty for what he did and sincerely apologizes. But this is only my view on it.