The Creation of Inner Enemies (Ian, Eileen, Michael, Jacqueline, Bryan)
In A Separate Peace, John Knowles explores the inner enemies and divisions we create inside our minds. As you read the novel, try to identify these enemies and divisions, and discuss their impact on specific characters.
On page 27, the first sentence of the last paragraph, John Knowles wrote, "This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that."
Obviously Gene, in his mind at least, has a rivalry building up with Finny that could possibly foreshadow something that happens between the two later in the story. As of right now though, Gene is denying it.
"He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." (Page 28, 2nd to last paragraph)
Clearly, as of now, Gene has mixed emotions going on in his head. He wants Finny to get in trouble so badly, but on the other hand he realizes that he is thinking that and backs off a little bit.
You might say that Gene sees Finny as both a best friend and an enemy? Is this realistic? If this is a fracture in their relationship, look for it to worsen as the story progresses.
Gene does see phineas as a friend and an enemy which I feel isn't realistic because you can't be best friends with your enemey without causing complications within the relationship. This is part of the inner conflict in the story that could get worse as the story progresses.
I think that Gene views Phineas as an enemy more than a friend the more he realizes how Phineas has been distracting him from school on purpose. Eventually, their relationship will be more of a rivalry than a friendship.
I think Gene's jealousy and envy towards Finny can absoutley break their friendship. Gene doesn't seem like the kind of person that talks about his feelings so if he doesn't talk to Finny about it then how can tension decrease? Also shouldn't a friend be someone you can rely on and if you can't rely on them than are they really a friend? If Gene was dissapointed because I didn't get in trouble and he was my friend I would be upset.
On page 25, the first and second line of the fourth paragraph “ 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.”
In this quote it tells you that Gene is envious of the qualities that Phineas possess and he finds that completely normal. In my opinion I feel like its okay to be a little envious of a friend because it shows that you like the qualities they have and wish you had them yourself, but it can only go so far until that envious feeling will become a problem and hurt the friendship that you and your friend share. This is what I feel will happen between Gene and Phineas later in the novel.
On page 28, the fourth paragraph on the first line it says “He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment.”
Gene is obviously upset that Phineas is able to get away with everything, this is where I feel like Gene sees Phineas as a friend and a potential enemy because I real friend wouldn’t want you to get in trouble. The quote shows us that Gene has inner enemies and doesn’t realize it yet or chooses to deny it.
I agree. I think that jealousy will get the best of Gene and eventually either ruin their friendship or do something to Finny that he will regret. It is good and healthy to be envious of somebody else but I think this is to a new level and will only get worse.
In Chapter 4, Page 53, in the first sentence of the third paragraph, Gene says "I found it. I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term. You would have had an A in that one except for him. Except for him." Gene has finally realized that he has been competing with Phineas even though he denied it in earlier chapters. He also realizes that Phineas has been sneakily sidetracking Gene from school on purpose. Gene comes to a conclusion that Finny set out to wreck his studies.
After reading Brian's and Jackie's comments, I felt that this quote picks up where theirs left off and shows how far the rivalry between Gene and Phineas has progressed throughout the story. After reading Brian's comment, it is clear that Gene uses excuses to hide that he really wanted Phineas to get in trouble. I agree with what Jackie said about the envying going too far, and I think that will happen between Gene and Phineas later in the story.
"The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all." Gene says this on page 54 in the fourth chapter. I feel that this quote tells the reader what one of the conflicts will be during the story. Gene finally realizes what mind games Finny has been playing, and he is now calling their competitive relationship a "rivalry."
Pg 17 paragraph 4 states,"Why did I let Finny talk me into doing stupid things liek this? Was he geting some ind of hold over me?" In this page of the novel Gene is remembering about how he felt before jumping off the tree and into the river. I think he is creating an enemy within his inner self because Finny didn't force him to actually jump out, he just ased him and his friends if they would do it with him. Gene's fear led him to blaming the situation on Finny, therefore the enemy within him is his fear.
on pg 25 paragraph 5 "I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal." Gene states he is envious of Finny. This is a problem within himself because it can lead into a destruction of his friendship with Finny.
Throughout the first two chapters John Knowles has done a great job explaining Jean and Finnys relationship as best friends. On page 27, the first sentence of the last paragraph, John Knowles writes "This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that."
Although Finny and Jean are looked at as best friends, you can tell there is a small fued building up in between the two. The quote above demonstrates how even though Finny and Jean are thought to be best friends Jean secretly wants Finny to get into trouble, not exactly an example of a friendly relationship. This could be due to the fact Jean is slightly jelous of Finny in some ways, he wants him to learn he cant get away with everything the hard way. I believe we will learn more about there relationsip as the books goes on.
Gene's inner enemy that has been building throughout the first 3 chapters is jealousy. In chapter 3 Gene only talks about Finny and how much better he is than himself. Finny is great because he can make up a game! Finny is great because he can break school sports records, but he's too cool to tell anyone! This jealousy builds up to the last line of the chapter where he says,"Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth." The inner enemy in Gene is causing him to dislike Finny!
During chapter three Gene is very expressive about his feelings towards Finny, for instance at the beginning of the chapter instead of being thankful towards Finny for catching him as he falls out the tree, he thinks to himself that scenario would have never happened if it wasn't for Finny in the first place. On page 34 end of the first paragraph, Gene talks more about his friendship with Finny, "Otherwise I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable." This shows that Gene really does like Finny and he has no intention of making Finny an enemy of any sort. Genes emotions towards Finny are unpredictable and change due to the slightest action. My question is, will one action break there friendship forever?
On page 37 the dialogue between the boys "We'll call it blitzkrieg ball." "Or just blitzball," reflected Finny. I think Finny has an enemy within himself. I think Finny feels like he everything has to be his way, or else he's not satisfied. This can be a major conflict in the novel because as we all know, when we have a friend like that it can be really difficult keeping that person close to us because we don't want to be around them. Although Finny seems to be such a nice guy can this be a problem with him? No one's perfect. What do you guys think?
At the beginning of chapter 3, Gene says, “Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me…I didn’t need to feel any tremendous rush of gratitude toward Phineas.” I feel like the beginning of chapter 3 is reinforcing Genes’ inner feelings toward Phineas. He is thankful that Phineas saved his life but also blames Phineas for putting his life in danger in the first place. I also feel like Gene contradicts himself a lot and doesn’t know whether to like or dislike Phineas. By the end of Chapter 3, Phineas tells Gene that he’s his best friend and Gene would have said it back but something inside him stops Gene from saying it, I think that the feeling Gene had stop him from telling Phineas he’s his best friend because it wasn’t the truth.
Gene's rivalry with Finny is only inside his own head and in chapter 4 it just grows more and more. Finny clearly doesn't try to compete with Gene. This is shown on page 59, the end of the first big paragraph. "He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now i knew that there never was and never could have been a rivalry between us." All Finny knows is that he is trying to be a good friend, but Gene doesn't realize that he only means well in what he does and isn't out to get him. This inner enemy in Gene leads him to hurt Gene in the scene with the tree!
Do Gene and Finny have the same viewable their friendship? On page 63, paragraph 4, gene thinks to himself "Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies." Does Gene understand what friendship is? Is his jealousy getting to his mind again and creating an enemy? If gene can't control his jealousy than there will most likely be an outbreak in their friendship where he can't take the jealousy anymore and he might hurt Finny. For example, Finny falling off the tree might foreshadow a dangerous event between the two boys.
In chapter 4, Gene comes to a realization that Phinny has set out to wreck his studies. On page 51, Phinny is giving Gene a hard time about Trigonometry. Phinny says "You never waste your time. That's why I have to do it for you." Although Phinny was most likely joking, he has distracted Gene from school in a major way, and as a result, Gene's grades are dropping. Shouldn't friends want each other to succeed instead of fail? I think so. A competitive friendship gets put in jeopardy when one or both of the friends root against each other or try to make them fail.
In chapter 4 on page 53 it says “you hated him for breaking the school swimming record, so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course...Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies.” Gene begins to think that Finny his out to get him and ruin his studies which is the only thing that he is good at, this realization is completely false. Gene later uses this false realization as an excuse for him to secretly hate Phineas because he thinks that Finny is only looking out for himself and secretly hates him back making it okay for Gene to feel this kind of hatred toward his best friend.
The inner enemy is shown again in chapter 5. Gene, for some reason thinks of Finny as a bad person when we as readers see the opposite. On page 65 in the conversation with Finny it says, "I flinched violently away from him. "'To drag me down too!"' The inner enemy in Gene thinks of Finny as a bad person. He thinks Finny would take him with him on the fall from the tree when he actually blames himself for the fall.
Gene sure is an unreliable source! I agree with you Bryan, Gene does view everything differently than we the readers do, and differently than Finny does.
On page 71 paragraph 1, we get into Gene's thoughts "There was only one way to do it; I would have to make every move false." In chapter 5 we discover another conflict between Gene and himself. Gene can't ever decide whether to tell the truth and face consequences or to lie and make everyone happy. Gene attempts to tell the truth but Finny is in denial about everything, he says what really happened that day of the accident is all a lie, this causes Gene to tell him another lie. He explains that he is tired and has never had to to get that much rest on trains. Gene makes Finny understand that he was not in the right set of mind.
In chapter 5 on page 63 Gene and the Doctor are talking, the Doctor says it was a messy break, but we'll have him out of it eventually. He'll be walking again." Gene responds in shock "walking again!" In this chapter I think that Gene feels guilty for what he has done to Finny because Finny can no longer play sports which is something that he excels at. Gene tries to confess to Finny what he has done but gets interrupted but I feel like he is trying hard to be a good person. But by the end of chapter 5 Gene returns to his old ways because he says "..I had to make every move false." meaning he would have to continue to lie to Finny
In chapter 5, following Gene's outburst, the aftermath sets in. On page 70, Gene says "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." I think Gene says this because he feels guilty about what he did. Also, he wants to clear everything up with Finny and get the truth out. Right after he says this, they have a big arguement. The type of aarguement they had is one that ends a relationship. I think that Finny's and Gene's realtionship is at its worst point.
In chapter 6, the inner enemy in Gene is the guilt he feels for causing the incident with Finny. This guilt makes him feel very sensitive and emotional when someone mentions anything that has to do with Finny. In this chapter, the fight with Quakenbush is the guilt inside Gene that is talking. This event shows that guilt is making Gene more violent. That incident with the tree is getting to Gene's head.
Chapter 6 shows that Gene has changed a lot since the summer session. I got the impression that Gene seemed happier before the fall session, but everyone is happy during summer and of course this was before the incident with Finny. When Gene takes the oppurtunity to become manager, I felt like he was trying to find a distraction from everything he has felt since Finny fell. If Gene can't control his feelings and isn't able to become stable than this is an inner conflict that will only get worse over time.
In chapter 4, Gene and Finny get back from their day at the beach just in time for Gene to fail his trigonometry test. As the day continues Gene isn't in the best mood and like most of his problems he finds a way to blame Finny in his head. Finny later tells Gene to come jump off the tree with him, with nothing else to do Gene follows along. When they get to the tree Finny climbs out on the limb of the branch and losses his balance crashing to the bank of the river. Gene causes this to happen although they are best friends you can really see Genes inner enemy sense build up against Finny.
In chapter five, days after the incident of Finnys fall, Gene goes to Finny's house to go check on him. While hes there Gene says to Finny "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." The reason Gene confesses to Finny like this was to get the weight of his chest of jouncing the limb. Gene wants to clear up his relationship with Finny as well. Finny sees his effort but refuses to believe him due to one of his commandments.
In chapter 7 the inner enemy, although less evident from previous chapters, still exists. Gene has come to believe Finny in that he didn't push him off the tree on purpose. In the scene in the butt room, the lie has gotten to his head and he is now trying to make everyone believe that Finny just fell!
In chapter 7 when the boys seem to go to the "Butt Room" for a smoke, Gene seems different. The guys are going on about a joke and Gene can't help himself to go along with it. The boys seemed childish and immature joking about Finny's incident considering the fact he is severely hurt. I feel like Gene is changing. I think everything after the incident has caused him to change his personality. I feel like he is trying harder to fit in and is kind of isolated now that Finny is gone. If Gene can't maintain a stable personality this can be a major conflict for himself. Do you agree?
In the beginning of chapter 7, Brinker say "I'll bet you knew all the time Finny wouldn't be back this fall...you fixed it...you knew all this time. I'll bet it was all your doing ...ahhh the truth hurts eh?" I feel like people are eventually going to suspect that Gene had something to do with Finny's accident if they don't already, right now the boys are talking about it sarcastically and don't treat it as anything serious but like Brinker said the truth hurts so when the boys do find out I feel like Gene will be rejected completely which is something he might not be able to handle and will break down emotionally
For some reason Gene can't seem to see that Finny is a really nice person and friend. On page 113, paragraph 2, it states, "I was sure that this was his goal, to mull over these lost glories." Gene says this as he and Finny enter the gym. This is the inner enemy telling himself that Finny is selfish and all full of himself.
In chapter 8 we all notice how Finny influences Gene's actions. For example, Gene does not want to skip class but because Finny does than he does. If it wasn't for Finny would Gene have acted differently? I think so. Gene needs to start making decisions on his own and becoming a strong individual. This can be a problem within himself because if he doesn't learn to be independent than he will never get anywhere. He needs to go with what he thinks is right or else he will always be living in the shadow of others, and this includes Finny.
In chapter 8, on page 111, second paragraph, Finny says "I love winter, and when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love." When Finny says this I feel like he is using Winter as a symbol that represents Gene. So what I think Finny is saying is that he loves Gene and Gene loves him back in whatever way Gene expresses love, which is being envious, but Finny excepts this about him.
In chapter 6, Finny says to Gene “Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me.” This quote is very significant because Finny is finally expressing his feelings about the aciddent. Finny wants someone to continue his legacy, and he wold prefer if it was his best friend, Gene. He feels that all of his work needs to be finished.
In chapter six, Finnny is no longer around Devon so Gene has no one to directly blame his mistakes on. Without Finny here Gene starts to do what he wants, but the guilt is killing him Gene figures out a new way to let out his anger by fighting the crew captian Quakenbush. Thus creating another enemy, the last thing he needs.
In chapter 7, Brinker and some other friends are teasing Gene about the accident. They are pretending that Finny was responsible for the fall. Even though they are joking, it is not humorous to Finny because he knows it is true. Brinker says "Here's your prisoner, gentlemen." This is significant because from this point on, Brinker and several other boys joke around with Gene about the accident, and it makes Gene extremly uncomfortable. Gene eventually tells Brinker to shut up, and that he runs jokes for too long.
In chapter 8, page 112, Finny and Gene are talking about skipping class. Finny says "Do you have class?" Gene says yes, and Finny answers his own question with a yes also. Finny recommends they skip class, and Gene brainstorms an excuse. Finny wants to go to the gym instead of being in class. He says that he doesn't want to be in a class room yet. This paragraph is significant because it shows that Gene will not argue with Finny and for the most part he will go along with Finny. For the rest of the book, look for Gene to feel sympathetic for the accident.
In chapter 9 you can sense Gene's hostility towards Finny. On page 127, the second paragraph, Gene says," Everyone contributed to this legend except Phineas," when they are joking about Leper. This is his inner rivalry directed towards Finny.
Does Leper have an inner enemy? Leper enlist because of the video of the ski troops. He is drawn to the war because of the way skiing is fascinating to him. I think the problem here is that his innocence can draw him to something dangerous. Getting involved in way is not safe. He can be seriously injured or even killed all because of a little sport he is a fan of.
In chapter 9, page 127 Finny says "If someone gave Leper a loaded gun and put it at Hitler's temple, he'd miss." In chapter 9 you start to see that Phineas develops some negative feelings toward Leper after he enlisted in the war. I feel like after his accident Phineas has changed and doesn't show the same kind of characteristics as he did in the beginning and is starting to act more like Gene in some ways. Then on page 129 Finny says " Someone that is good with plants and shrubbery. I know Leper." Gene responds back "Leper is gone." I don't know whether Finny really did forget that Leper had gone off to war or if he was saying it in a sarcastic way but I felt like there is some minor tension there that hasn't yet been realized
In chapter 10 Gene again shows his inner enemy. On page 145 he kicks the chair out from under Leper. The inner enemy is inner rage after being accused of purposefully hurting Finny. I think Gene just has anger problems and when he is told the truth about himself he becomes violent.
Around page 144 we start to see that Leper has changed. It seems that war has negatively gotten to his head. We can tell this is true by all the hallucinations he experiences. It is not normal for a person to start seeing humans change heads. A conflict within Leper is the fact that he has lost his innocence due to the war. Not only do we see an inner conflict with Leper but also with Gene. Gene does not seem to be a good friend again. Instead of being there for Leper he runs away screaming he doesn't want anything to do with him. Why does he do this when he can help his friend with his issues?
In chapter seven Brinker and Gene go to the butt room, or basement, for a smoke. When they get to the butt room Brinker jokingly tells the boys hes brought back the prison Gene for hurting Finny. The boys keep joking and Gene can't take it anymore and leaves. Gene not only is mad at Brinker but mad at himself for not having Finny around.
In chapter eight Finny returns to Genes surprise after he had enlisted for the army. Finny is happy to see him as is Gene. Finny even is able to have Gene take back his name since Finny says he couldn't imagine being without Gene. This was significant because Gene is always going to be feeling like he owes something to Finny due to there incident.
In chapter nine the boys all joke about Leper after he has enlisted and headed off to the war, everyone except Gene. Gene was always friends with Leper when the rest of the boys weren't and now when all the boys are talking him up Gene isn't. This was significant because Gene doesn't fallow along with the other boys jokes and goes against them.
In Chapter nine, the boys realize that the war has had a significant effect on Leper and his mental stability. On page 137, Leper's letter is read by Gene. Leper states that he has escaped from war and that he needs someone to pick him up. He tells Gene that he must come at once, to a disclosed location called "Christmas Location." (Meaning his home in Vermont) This letter tells us as readers that the war has had a major impact on Leper's mind and body.
As Gene receives Leper's call for help, he immediately sets out for the Christmas Location. The whole way there, Gene is convincing himself that Leper has escaped from spies, and has not dropped out of the war. On page 143, When Gene arrives, he says "You don't escape from the Army." Leper takes this personally and goes on a rant about the word "normal" and Gene realizes that this is not the same Leper from the beaver dam. Something has changed within Leper, and it was obviously caused by the war. Gene suddenly is concerned about himself now and not Leper. He realizes that if the war did this to Leper it could do the same to him.
On page 155 in chapter 11, Gene asks Finny "Do you think you ought to get into fights like that?" Gene is of course talking about the snowball fight Finny participated in with a bed leg. Finny cuts off Gene and tells him that Dr. Stanpole said something about not falling again, but Finny reassured him that he is being very careful. This conversation could be an example of foreshadowing used by John Knowles.
On page 169 in Chapter 11, Brinker and many others are trying to get to the bottom of Finny's accident. To do so, they must wake them both up and bring them to a meeting. Someone referred to as "The Voice" asks Finny "Did you lose your balance?" He answers with a no, and the voice says "You had better balance than anyone in the school." This makes Finny think that someone or something else made him fall out of the tree. Gene realizes that Finny has been denying the truth for quite some time now. Finny then goes on to talk about how the tree shook him out by itself. This scene foreshadows what is to come later in the chapter, which is yet another incident.
In Chapter 11 when Gene returns back from Vermont, he announces that Leper has gone home. He tells Brinker and Finny about Leper and how he has changed, how he is not the same boy he used to be before he got interested in enrolling and when he was a student at Devon. Brinker and Finny seem shocked and admit that Leper has finally cracked. In this chapter we see that Finny is still struggling with the concept of war. He has told Gene that he believes the lie is a lot of non sense and that people are fighting for no reason. But, when he hears Gene's story about Leper he changes his mind and decided to accept to Gene that there might really be a war. This was a marker event in the novel because ever since Finny broke his leg he has thought of the war as a joke, something made of old fat men. If Finny can't tell reality from unreality than he has a problem. Maybe he struggles to accept things?
In chapter 12, Finny comes to a realization that the accident that caused his broken leg occurred because of an instinct Gene had. Gene should have been a good friend instead of a really bad one and gone to speak to Finny about he's feelings concerning their friendship. Gene is not a very honest, or fair, or good friend and this created an enemy, a beast in Gene. Would a good friend push you off a tree and negatively change the rest of your life? Sure there is jealousy within friendships, and every relationship, but there is a difference between healthy jealousy and unhealthy. In this case, Gene's jealousy towards Finny is clearly unhealthy.
In chapter 13, Brinker tells Gene how he feels the war was created by old men like his father and then it was up to young boys like them two to fight the war and clean up their mess. This shows us that ignorance that most boys have at Devon. With Finny and Brinker thinking false reasons about the war, they express how innocent they are. How much they don't know. Gene seems to some how understand more than everyone else. Whether it's because he is telling the story from an older point of view, or he was always less ignorant, it's hard to know. But Gene doesn't comment on Brinker's statement at the end of the novel. He seems to ignore it, as if he didn't believe it. The boys are too innocent. They are going to fight this war, hoping to stay away from danger. This is shown when Brinker and Gene explain to Brinker's father what they are going to enlist in. Their innocence and ignorance can be an obstacle they have to deal with.
On page 193 in chapter 12, Gene hears the news about Finny's death. Dr. Stanpole is extremely straightforward about it. He says "This is something I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of, and I'm going to have to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead." Gene is surprised by Dr. Stanpoles incomprehensibility. Dr. Stanpole says he can't explain the death, then he immediately explains it. He doesn't seem to know what is going on. On the next page, Finny jumps forward and talks about the funeral. He says that he didn't ever cry about Finny, even then. He refers to Finny's funeral as his own, meaning he feels that he was a part of Finny. This ties up the relationship between Finny and Gene and gives the reader an idea on how close they really were.
On page 27, the first sentence of the last paragraph, John Knowles wrote, "This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that."
ReplyDeleteObviously Gene, in his mind at least, has a rivalry building up with Finny that could possibly foreshadow something that happens between the two later in the story. As of right now though, Gene is denying it.
"He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." (Page 28, 2nd to last paragraph)
Clearly, as of now, Gene has mixed emotions going on in his head. He wants Finny to get in trouble so badly, but on the other hand he realizes that he is thinking that and backs off a little bit.
You might say that Gene sees Finny as both a best friend and an enemy? Is this realistic? If this is a fracture in their relationship, look for it to worsen as the story progresses.
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DeleteGene does see phineas as a friend and an enemy which I feel isn't realistic because you can't be best friends with your enemey without causing complications within the relationship. This is part of the inner conflict in the story that could get worse as the story progresses.
DeleteI think that Gene views Phineas as an enemy more than a friend the more he realizes how Phineas has been distracting him from school on purpose. Eventually, their relationship will be more of a rivalry than a friendship.
DeleteI think Gene's jealousy and envy towards Finny can absoutley break their friendship. Gene doesn't seem like the kind of person that talks about his feelings so if he doesn't talk to Finny about it then how can tension decrease? Also shouldn't a friend be someone you can rely on and if you can't rely on them than are they really a friend? If Gene was dissapointed because I didn't get in trouble and he was my friend I would be upset.
DeleteOn page 25, the first and second line of the fourth paragraph “ 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.”
ReplyDeleteIn this quote it tells you that Gene is envious of the qualities that Phineas possess and he finds that completely normal. In my opinion I feel like its okay to be a little envious of a friend because it shows that you like the qualities they have and wish you had them yourself, but it can only go so far until that envious feeling will become a problem and hurt the friendship that you and your friend share. This is what I feel will happen between Gene and Phineas later in the novel.
On page 28, the fourth paragraph on the first line it says “He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment.”
Gene is obviously upset that Phineas is able to get away with everything, this is where I feel like Gene sees Phineas as a friend and a potential enemy because I real friend wouldn’t want you to get in trouble. The quote shows us that Gene has inner enemies and doesn’t realize it yet or chooses to deny it.
I agree. I think that jealousy will get the best of Gene and eventually either ruin their friendship or do something to Finny that he will regret. It is good and healthy to be envious of somebody else but I think this is to a new level and will only get worse.
DeleteIn Chapter 4, Page 53, in the first sentence of the third paragraph, Gene says "I found it. I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term. You would have had an A in that one except for him. Except for him." Gene has finally realized that he has been competing with Phineas even though he denied it in earlier chapters. He also realizes that Phineas has been sneakily sidetracking Gene from school on purpose. Gene comes to a conclusion that Finny set out to wreck his studies.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Brian's and Jackie's comments, I felt that this quote picks up where theirs left off and shows how far the rivalry between Gene and Phineas has progressed throughout the story. After reading Brian's comment, it is clear that Gene uses excuses to hide that he really wanted Phineas to get in trouble. I agree with what Jackie said about the envying going too far, and I think that will happen between Gene and Phineas later in the story.
"The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all." Gene says this on page 54 in the fourth chapter. I feel that this quote tells the reader what one of the conflicts will be during the story. Gene finally realizes what mind games Finny has been playing, and he is now calling their competitive relationship a "rivalry."
Pg 17 paragraph 4 states,"Why did I let Finny talk me into doing stupid things liek this? Was he geting some ind of hold over me?" In this page of the novel Gene is remembering about how he felt before jumping off the tree and into the river. I think he is creating an enemy within his inner self because Finny didn't force him to actually jump out, he just ased him and his friends if they would do it with him. Gene's fear led him to blaming the situation on Finny, therefore the enemy within him is his fear.
ReplyDeleteon pg 25 paragraph 5 "I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal." Gene states he is envious of Finny. This is a problem within himself because it can lead into a destruction of his friendship with Finny.
I completely agree with what you said on the first quote. Gene fear was his problem he just found a reason to blame it on Finny.
DeleteThroughout the first two chapters John Knowles has done a great job explaining Jean and Finnys relationship as best friends. On page 27, the first sentence of the last paragraph, John Knowles writes "This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that."
ReplyDeleteAlthough Finny and Jean are looked at as best friends, you can tell there is a small fued building up in between the two. The quote above demonstrates how even though Finny and Jean are thought to be best friends Jean secretly wants Finny to get into trouble, not exactly an example of a friendly relationship. This could be due to the fact Jean is slightly jelous of Finny in some ways, he wants him to learn he cant get away with everything the hard way. I believe we will learn more about there relationsip as the books goes on.
Gene's inner enemy that has been building throughout the first 3 chapters is jealousy. In chapter 3 Gene only talks about Finny and how much better he is than himself. Finny is great because he can make up a game! Finny is great because he can break school sports records, but he's too cool to tell anyone! This jealousy builds up to the last line of the chapter where he says,"Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth." The inner enemy in Gene is causing him to dislike Finny!
ReplyDeleteIs the problem that Gene is causing him to dislike Finny? Or is it the fact that Finny seems to be Mr.Perfect and Gene is jealous of that?
DeleteI think it is both. The jealousy building up makes himself think of all the bad in Finny so he ends up not liking him!
DeleteDuring chapter three Gene is very expressive about his feelings towards Finny, for instance at the beginning of the chapter instead of being thankful towards Finny for catching him as he falls out the tree, he thinks to himself that scenario would have never happened if it wasn't for Finny in the first place. On page 34 end of the first paragraph, Gene talks more about his friendship with Finny, "Otherwise I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable." This shows that Gene really does like Finny and he has no intention of making Finny an enemy of any sort. Genes emotions towards Finny are unpredictable and change due to the slightest action. My question is, will one action break there friendship forever?
ReplyDeleteOn page 37 the dialogue between the boys "We'll call it blitzkrieg ball." "Or just blitzball," reflected Finny. I think Finny has an enemy within himself. I think Finny feels like he everything has to be his way, or else he's not satisfied. This can be a major conflict in the novel because as we all know, when we have a friend like that it can be really difficult keeping that person close to us because we don't want to be around them. Although Finny seems to be such a nice guy can this be a problem with him? No one's perfect. What do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of chapter 3, Gene says, “Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me…I didn’t need to feel any tremendous rush of gratitude toward Phineas.” I feel like the beginning of chapter 3 is reinforcing Genes’ inner feelings toward Phineas. He is thankful that Phineas saved his life but also blames Phineas for putting his life in danger in the first place. I also feel like Gene contradicts himself a lot and doesn’t know whether to like or dislike Phineas. By the end of Chapter 3, Phineas tells Gene that he’s his best friend and Gene would have said it back but something inside him stops Gene from saying it, I think that the feeling Gene had stop him from telling Phineas he’s his best friend because it wasn’t the truth.
ReplyDeleteGene's rivalry with Finny is only inside his own head and in chapter 4 it just grows more and more. Finny clearly doesn't try to compete with Gene. This is shown on page 59, the end of the first big paragraph. "He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now i knew that there never was and never could have been a rivalry between us." All Finny knows is that he is trying to be a good friend, but Gene doesn't realize that he only means well in what he does and isn't out to get him. This inner enemy in Gene leads him to hurt Gene in the scene with the tree!
ReplyDeleteDo Gene and Finny have the same viewable their friendship? On page 63, paragraph 4, gene thinks to himself "Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies." Does Gene understand what friendship is? Is his jealousy getting to his mind again and creating an enemy? If gene can't control his jealousy than there will most likely be an outbreak in their friendship where he can't take the jealousy anymore and he might hurt Finny. For example, Finny falling off the tree might foreshadow a dangerous event between the two boys.
ReplyDeleteI meant view on their friendship
DeleteIn chapter 4, Gene comes to a realization that Phinny has set out to wreck his studies. On page 51, Phinny is giving Gene a hard time about Trigonometry. Phinny says "You never waste your time. That's why I have to do it for you." Although Phinny was most likely joking, he has distracted Gene from school in a major way, and as a result, Gene's grades are dropping. Shouldn't friends want each other to succeed instead of fail? I think so. A competitive friendship gets put in jeopardy when one or both of the friends root against each other or try to make them fail.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 on page 53 it says “you hated him for breaking the school swimming record, so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course...Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies.” Gene begins to think that Finny his out to get him and ruin his studies which is the only thing that he is good at, this realization is completely false. Gene later uses this false realization as an excuse for him to secretly hate Phineas because he thinks that Finny is only looking out for himself and secretly hates him back making it okay for Gene to feel this kind of hatred toward his best friend.
ReplyDeleteThe inner enemy is shown again in chapter 5. Gene, for some reason thinks of Finny as a bad person when we as readers see the opposite. On page 65 in the conversation with Finny it says, "I flinched violently away from him. "'To drag me down too!"' The inner enemy in Gene thinks of Finny as a bad person. He thinks Finny would take him with him on the fall from the tree when he actually blames himself for the fall.
ReplyDeleteGene sure is an unreliable source! I agree with you Bryan, Gene does view everything differently than we the readers do, and differently than Finny does.
DeleteOn page 71 paragraph 1, we get into Gene's thoughts "There was only one way to do it; I would have to make every move false." In chapter 5 we discover another conflict between Gene and himself. Gene can't ever decide whether to tell the truth and face consequences or to lie and make everyone happy. Gene attempts to tell the truth but Finny is in denial about everything, he says what really happened that day of the accident is all a lie, this causes Gene to tell him another lie. He explains that he is tired and has never had to to get that much rest on trains. Gene makes Finny understand that he was not in the right set of mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree Eileen. I think this was a good thing to point out because it shows a different enemy in Gene's head other than jealousy.
DeleteIn chapter 5 on page 63 Gene and the Doctor are talking, the Doctor says it was a messy break, but we'll have him out of it eventually. He'll be walking again." Gene responds in shock "walking again!" In this chapter I think that Gene feels guilty for what he has done to Finny because Finny can no longer play sports which is something that he excels at. Gene tries to confess to Finny what he has done but gets interrupted but I feel like he is trying hard to be a good person. But by the end of chapter 5 Gene returns to his old ways because he says "..I had to make every move false." meaning he would have to continue to lie to Finny
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5, following Gene's outburst, the aftermath sets in. On page 70, Gene says "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." I think Gene says this because he feels guilty about what he did. Also, he wants to clear everything up with Finny and get the truth out. Right after he says this, they have a big arguement. The type of aarguement they had is one that ends a relationship. I think that Finny's and Gene's realtionship is at its worst point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about guilt. I feel it carries on more in chapter 6 too!
DeleteIn chapter 6, the inner enemy in Gene is the guilt he feels for causing the incident with Finny. This guilt makes him feel very sensitive and emotional when someone mentions anything that has to do with Finny. In this chapter, the fight with Quakenbush is the guilt inside Gene that is talking. This event shows that guilt is making Gene more violent. That incident with the tree is getting to Gene's head.
ReplyDeleteI like how you believe he translated his guilt into the fight with Quakenbush I never thought about it that way.
DeleteChapter 6 shows that Gene has changed a lot since the summer session. I got the impression that Gene seemed happier before the fall session, but everyone is happy during summer and of course this was before the incident with Finny. When Gene takes the oppurtunity to become manager, I felt like he was trying to find a distraction from everything he has felt since Finny fell. If Gene can't control his feelings and isn't able to become stable than this is an inner conflict that will only get worse over time.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4, Gene and Finny get back from their day at the beach just in time for Gene to fail his trigonometry test. As the day continues Gene isn't in the best mood and like most of his problems he finds a way to blame Finny in his head. Finny later tells Gene to come jump off the tree with him, with nothing else to do Gene follows along. When they get to the tree Finny climbs out on the limb of the branch and losses his balance crashing to the bank of the river. Gene causes this to happen although they are best friends you can really see Genes inner enemy sense build up against Finny.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter five, days after the incident of Finnys fall, Gene goes to Finny's house to go check on him. While hes there Gene says to Finny "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." The reason Gene confesses to Finny like this was to get the weight of his chest of jouncing the limb. Gene wants to clear up his relationship with Finny as well. Finny sees his effort but refuses to believe him due to one of his commandments.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7 the inner enemy, although less evident from previous chapters, still exists. Gene has come to believe Finny in that he didn't push him off the tree on purpose. In the scene in the butt room, the lie has gotten to his head and he is now trying to make everyone believe that Finny just fell!
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7 when the boys seem to go to the "Butt Room" for a smoke, Gene seems different. The guys are going on about a joke and Gene can't help himself to go along with it. The boys seemed childish and immature joking about Finny's incident considering the fact he is severely hurt. I feel like Gene is changing. I think everything after the incident has caused him to change his personality. I feel like he is trying harder to fit in and is kind of isolated now that Finny is gone. If Gene can't maintain a stable personality this can be a major conflict for himself. Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of chapter 7, Brinker say "I'll bet you knew all the time Finny wouldn't be back this fall...you fixed it...you knew all this time. I'll bet it was all your doing ...ahhh the truth hurts eh?" I feel like people are eventually going to suspect that Gene had something to do with Finny's accident if they don't already, right now the boys are talking about it sarcastically and don't treat it as anything serious but like Brinker said the truth hurts so when the boys do find out I feel like Gene will be rejected completely which is something he might not be able to handle and will break down emotionally
ReplyDeleteFor some reason Gene can't seem to see that Finny is a really nice person and friend. On page 113, paragraph 2, it states, "I was sure that this was his goal, to mull over these lost glories." Gene says this as he and Finny enter the gym. This is the inner enemy telling himself that Finny is selfish and all full of himself.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8 we all notice how Finny influences Gene's actions. For example, Gene does not want to skip class but because Finny does than he does. If it wasn't for Finny would Gene have acted differently? I think so. Gene needs to start making decisions on his own and becoming a strong individual. This can be a problem within himself because if he doesn't learn to be independent than he will never get anywhere. He needs to go with what he thinks is right or else he will always be living in the shadow of others, and this includes Finny.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8, on page 111, second paragraph, Finny says "I love winter, and when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love." When Finny says this I feel like he is using Winter as a symbol that represents Gene. So what I think Finny is saying is that he loves Gene and Gene loves him back in whatever way Gene expresses love, which is being envious, but Finny excepts this about him.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 6, Finny says to Gene “Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me.” This quote is very significant because Finny is finally expressing his feelings about the aciddent. Finny wants someone to continue his legacy, and he wold prefer if it was his best friend, Gene. He feels that all of his work needs to be finished.
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DeleteIn chapter six, Finnny is no longer around Devon so Gene has no one to directly blame his mistakes on. Without Finny here Gene starts to do what he wants, but the guilt is killing him Gene figures out a new way to let out his anger by fighting the crew captian Quakenbush. Thus creating another enemy, the last thing he needs.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7, Brinker and some other friends are teasing Gene about the accident. They are pretending that Finny was responsible for the fall. Even though they are joking, it is not humorous to Finny because he knows it is true. Brinker says "Here's your prisoner, gentlemen." This is significant because from this point on, Brinker and several other boys joke around with Gene about the accident, and it makes Gene extremly uncomfortable. Gene eventually tells Brinker to shut up, and that he runs jokes for too long.
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ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8, page 112, Finny and Gene are talking about skipping class. Finny says "Do you have class?" Gene says yes, and Finny answers his own question with a yes also. Finny recommends they skip class, and Gene brainstorms an excuse. Finny wants to go to the gym instead of being in class. He says that he doesn't want to be in a class room yet. This paragraph is significant because it shows that Gene will not argue with Finny and for the most part he will go along with Finny. For the rest of the book, look for Gene to feel sympathetic for the accident.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9 you can sense Gene's hostility towards Finny. On page 127, the second paragraph, Gene says," Everyone contributed to this legend except Phineas," when they are joking about Leper. This is his inner rivalry directed towards Finny.
ReplyDeleteDoes Leper have an inner enemy? Leper enlist because of the video of the ski troops. He is drawn to the war because of the way skiing is fascinating to him. I think the problem here is that his innocence can draw him to something dangerous. Getting involved in way is not safe. He can be seriously injured or even killed all because of a little sport he is a fan of.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9, page 127 Finny says "If someone gave Leper a loaded gun and put it at Hitler's temple, he'd miss." In chapter 9 you start to see that Phineas develops some negative feelings toward Leper after he enlisted in the war. I feel like after his accident Phineas has changed and doesn't show the same kind of characteristics as he did in the beginning and is starting to act more like Gene in some ways. Then on page 129 Finny says " Someone that is good with plants and shrubbery. I know Leper." Gene responds back "Leper is gone." I don't know whether Finny really did forget that Leper had gone off to war or if he was saying it in a sarcastic way but I felt like there is some minor tension there that hasn't yet been realized
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 10 Gene again shows his inner enemy. On page 145 he kicks the chair out from under Leper. The inner enemy is inner rage after being accused of purposefully hurting Finny. I think Gene just has anger problems and when he is told the truth about himself he becomes violent.
ReplyDeleteAround page 144 we start to see that Leper has changed. It seems that war has negatively gotten to his head. We can tell this is true by all the hallucinations he experiences. It is not normal for a person to start seeing humans change heads. A conflict within Leper is the fact that he has lost his innocence due to the war. Not only do we see an inner conflict with Leper but also with Gene. Gene does not seem to be a good friend again. Instead of being there for Leper he runs away screaming he doesn't want anything to do with him. Why does he do this when he can help his friend with his issues?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter seven Brinker and Gene go to the butt room, or basement, for a smoke. When they get to the butt room Brinker jokingly tells the boys hes brought back the prison Gene for hurting Finny. The boys keep joking and Gene can't take it anymore and leaves. Gene not only is mad at Brinker but mad at himself for not having Finny around.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter eight Finny returns to Genes surprise after he had enlisted for the army. Finny is happy to see him as is Gene. Finny even is able to have Gene take back his name since Finny says he couldn't imagine being without Gene. This was significant because Gene is always going to be feeling like he owes something to Finny due to there incident.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter nine the boys all joke about Leper after he has enlisted and headed off to the war, everyone except Gene. Gene was always friends with Leper when the rest of the boys weren't and now when all the boys are talking him up Gene isn't. This was significant because Gene doesn't fallow along with the other boys jokes and goes against them.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter nine, the boys realize that the war has had a significant effect on Leper and his mental stability. On page 137, Leper's letter is read by Gene. Leper states that he has escaped from war and that he needs someone to pick him up. He tells Gene that he must come at once, to a disclosed location called "Christmas Location." (Meaning his home in Vermont) This letter tells us as readers that the war has had a major impact on Leper's mind and body.
ReplyDeleteAs Gene receives Leper's call for help, he immediately sets out for the Christmas Location. The whole way there, Gene is convincing himself that Leper has escaped from spies, and has not dropped out of the war. On page 143, When Gene arrives, he says "You don't escape from the Army." Leper takes this personally and goes on a rant about the word "normal" and Gene realizes that this is not the same Leper from the beaver dam. Something has changed within Leper, and it was obviously caused by the war. Gene suddenly is concerned about himself now and not Leper. He realizes that if the war did this to Leper it could do the same to him.
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DeleteOn page 155 in chapter 11, Gene asks Finny "Do you think you ought to get into fights like that?" Gene is of course talking about the snowball fight Finny participated in with a bed leg. Finny cuts off Gene and tells him that Dr. Stanpole said something about not falling again, but Finny reassured him that he is being very careful. This conversation could be an example of foreshadowing used by John Knowles.
ReplyDeleteOn page 169 in Chapter 11, Brinker and many others are trying to get to the bottom of Finny's accident. To do so, they must wake them both up and bring them to a meeting. Someone referred to as "The Voice" asks Finny "Did you lose your balance?" He answers with a no, and the voice says "You had better balance than anyone in the school." This makes Finny think that someone or something else made him fall out of the tree. Gene realizes that Finny has been denying the truth for quite some time now. Finny then goes on to talk about how the tree shook him out by itself. This scene foreshadows what is to come later in the chapter, which is yet another incident.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 11 when Gene returns back from Vermont, he announces that Leper has gone home. He tells Brinker and Finny about Leper and how he has changed, how he is not the same boy he used to be before he got interested in enrolling and when he was a student at Devon. Brinker and Finny seem shocked and admit that Leper has finally cracked. In this chapter we see that Finny is still struggling with the concept of war. He has told Gene that he believes the lie is a lot of non sense and that people are fighting for no reason. But, when he hears Gene's story about Leper he changes his mind and decided to accept to Gene that there might really be a war. This was a marker event in the novel because ever since Finny broke his leg he has thought of the war as a joke, something made of old fat men. If Finny can't tell reality from unreality than he has a problem. Maybe he struggles to accept things?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 12, Finny comes to a realization that the accident that caused his broken leg occurred because of an instinct Gene had. Gene should have been a good friend instead of a really bad one and gone to speak to Finny about he's feelings concerning their friendship. Gene is not a very honest, or fair, or good friend and this created an enemy, a beast in Gene. Would a good friend push you off a tree and negatively change the rest of your life? Sure there is jealousy within friendships, and every relationship, but there is a difference between healthy jealousy and unhealthy. In this case, Gene's jealousy towards Finny is clearly unhealthy.
In chapter 13, Brinker tells Gene how he feels the war was created by old men like his father and then it was up to young boys like them two to fight the war and clean up their mess. This shows us that ignorance that most boys have at Devon. With Finny and Brinker thinking false reasons about the war, they express how innocent they are. How much they don't know. Gene seems to some how understand more than everyone else. Whether it's because he is telling the story from an older point of view, or he was always less ignorant, it's hard to know. But Gene doesn't comment on Brinker's statement at the end of the novel. He seems to ignore it, as if he didn't believe it. The boys are too innocent. They are going to fight this war, hoping to stay away from danger. This is shown when Brinker and Gene explain to Brinker's father what they are going to enlist in. Their innocence and ignorance can be an obstacle they have to deal with.
On page 193 in chapter 12, Gene hears the news about Finny's death. Dr. Stanpole is extremely straightforward about it. He says "This is something I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of, and I'm going to have to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead." Gene is surprised by Dr. Stanpoles incomprehensibility. Dr. Stanpole says he can't explain the death, then he immediately explains it. He doesn't seem to know what is going on. On the next page, Finny jumps forward and talks about the funeral. He says that he didn't ever cry about Finny, even then. He refers to Finny's funeral as his own, meaning he feels that he was a part of Finny. This ties up the relationship between Finny and Gene and gives the reader an idea on how close they really were.
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