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Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1 Summary:
The narrator, Gene, returns to the Devon School in New Hampshire, where he was a
student with his rebellious friend Phineas almost 15 years ago, just as World War II was
breaking out. He notices how much like a museum the school looks, how lifeless and
polished; but the place brings back even keener memories for this preserved quality of
appearance. It is a rainy, cold November day as he inspects the school grounds, and
revisits the cold, hard marble stairs in the First Academy Building, which seem to hold
some kind of memory for Gene; he also trudges over the muddy playing fields, to the
river, and a tree that he and Phineas used to jump off of, bravely. He notices, when he
sees the tree, how vast the difference is between youthful memory and adult perception.

The narrative shifts back 15 years, to Gene's days with Phineas. It is their first attempt to
jump off the huge tree into the river‹a daunting and somewhat dangerous feat that is
usually reserved for senior boys. Phineas, being the daredevil, goes first‹and Gene is
the only one from the small party that he is able to persuade to follow him. They head
back toward school, late for dinner; Phineas, the rebel of the two, exasperates Gene by
making him really late, and then Gene gives in and decides to skip dinner altogether with
his friend. Gene is normally a conservative, conformist type person, but under Phineas'
potent influence, he becomes more devil-may-care and consents to break the rules with
his friend.
Analysis:
The point of view and perspective of a work are always very important, and they are
especially important in A Separate Peace, a novel that is highly colored by these two
factors. The story is a first-person narrative, and the narrator is telling of events that took
place fifteen years before the time he is recording the story; because of this, the tone is
colored with nostalgia, and tempered with the narrator's feelings about his past. Even the
narrator's recollections are filtered through his present experience and interest; at times,
he speaks of the events of his past as if they were just happening, but then he breaks the
spell with some adult commentary, reminding the reader that the story was written after
the events took place, and therefore is influenced by his present state, and dependent
upon his memory. The theme of reflection is also central to the novel; the novel is
spawned by a visit back to his old school, and the work hinges upon a dialogue between
the past and the present, and the relation of a man to his much younger self.
The images that the narrator uses to describe his former home paint the school as a place
of conservatism and traditionalism‹two qualities against which Finny fights. The
Devon School is "more perpendicular and strait-laced, with narrower windows and
shinier woodwork" than Gene remembers; it is as if the school has lost all of its rebellious
air, and has reverted to its true, very conservative self without Finny and Gene's presence
(p.1). He takes notice of "those most Republican and bankerish of trees, New England
elms," that seem to both match the school's qualities and reinforce its staunch, old
character.
The image of how Devon appears to have changed also presents the contrast between
reality and what exists in the memory, and shows how memory can be tinged by feelings
that change how reality is perceived and recalled. This is especially evident when he
looks for a tree by the river, that also appears to have a special meaning to him. "It had
loomed in my memory as a huge lone spike dominating the riverbank, forbidding as an
artillery piece, high as a beanstalk," he says, his similes characterizing the tree as a great,
forbidding mass (5). Yet, when he sees it, he finds it "absolutely smaller, shrunken with
age," and nothing like the great giant he had remembered. Perhaps the tree had actually
shrunk since Gene's time; but this is a more apt example how things can be obscured or
emphasized in the memory via emotional factors, and a good introduction of the theme of
memory versus reality.
The Devon School, fifteen years later, seems almost unreal to Gene; it occurs to him that
he's always believed Devon "was vibrantly real while I was a student there, and then
blinked out like a candle the day I left" (p. 1). The simile emphasizes how unrealistic this
view of Gene's is, but also what time and place the school inhabits in his memory, and
how much his experience at Devon was colored by Finny, who is not with him on his
return visit.
Upon his visit, Devon takes its place in Gene's mind as a symbol of innocence, and of the
youth that he is lost; he realizes when he is there how much he has changed since being a
student there. Devon is also a symbol of the fear he felt when he was younger; when he
revisits the place, he can still sense the fear he felt while he was there. Though he
associates some of his happiest days with the school, the school is also a symbol of fear,
and of shelter from the harsh realities, especially of war, that the boys were oblivious to.
When Gene revisits the school, he dwells on the sight of the old marble steps in the First
Academy Building, and seeks them out especially, as if they have some great significance
in his life. He realizes how hard the marble is, and notes how "surprising [it is] that [he]
had overlooked that, that crucial fact" (p. 3). At this point in the novel, he does not say
what meaning these steps have; but that he remarks on their qualities, especially the
hardness, foreshadows their significance in future events.
Note the difference between the weather Gene encounters when he comes back to Devon,
and the summer weather of the session he recalls; the juxtaposition accentuates the
difference in station and age between Gene as a youth and Gene as a man. The June/
November symbolism is a subtle way to set the two Genes apart, and gives a certain
appropriate and divisive tint to the two linked time periods.
In mid-chapter, the prose reverts to the period of Gene's school days, with his narrative
voice speaking as if he were back in those days with Finny, though he is not. He leaves
off his present narrative with remarks about how things have changed, and how
something like the riverbank tree that loomed so huge in memory can be so small; he
begins this past section with a statement about how forbidding the tree is, therefore
addressing the issue of memory vs. reality once again.
In these first chapters, Gene is sure to set up a good, thorough characterization of Finny
from the minimal events described. From the tree-jumping incident alone, we learn that
Finny is a daredevil, able to wrangle others into doing things, and a bit of a devil-may-
care kind of guy. Gene shows his weakness for Finny on page nine, with the tree incident
illustrating perfectly how great Finny's hold on Gene is and what kinds of things Finny
can persuade him to do. Finny and Gene are kindred spirits, but are also foils to each
other; Finny's daredevil, rule-breaking attitude contrasts nicely with Gene's rule-abiding
conservatism, and though the two are good friends, they are very different kinds of
people. Gene breaks into his "West Point stride" when he is late for dinner, while Finny
horses around and goes even slower; Finny is the one who gets himself into and out of
trouble so easily, while Gene sits and watches it happen. The push-pull between them is
already a major issue in the book in Chapter 1; and the differences, and compatibilities,
between Gene and Finny, will continue to be a crucial theme within the rest of the work
as well.
Chapter 2 Summary:
One of the school masters, Mr. Prud'homme, noticed the boys' absence from dinner the
previous evening, and pays them a visit to discuss the offense. Finny (aka Phineas)
concocts some long-winded but amusing excuse about going swimming, watching the
sunset, etc., and how the activities were absolutely necessary in light of their almost
being of age for the draft; Mr. Prud'homme is won over by Finny's charm in trying to
weasel his way out of trouble, and the master forgets any charges. Gene says that Finny
doesn't care about getting away with things, so much as wheedling a friendly and warm
reaction out of his teachers and superiors after his transgressions of school rules.
Finny is an anomaly among Devon students; he is a good student and athlete, but also a
rule breaker with the ability to charm his way out of trouble. Gene is jealous that Finny
has the school in the palm of his hand, and can get away with nearly everything as well.
Also, the school masters tend to be lax with Gene because, as Gene recalls, they were
completely innocent and ignorant of the war; they are young and carefree and having
plenty of fun, though they are perilously close to being drafted in a year or two.
Finny, ever the rebel, decides to wear a pink button-up shirt as an emblem of victory for
the forces abroad; then, the substitute headmaster, Mr. Patch-Withers, gives a tea for their
class, which Finny and Gene of course attend. The subject of the day is the bombing of
Central Europe, which the American forces had just begun; Finny does most of the
talking but, completely clueless about the war as he is, his views on the situation aren't
exactly realistic. Mrs. Patch-Withers notices that Finny has used the school tie as his belt,
something which is considered a capital offense. Finny again concocts some nonsense
excuse, how it's another show of his patriotism, and means no disrespect to the school. Of
course, Mr. Patch-Withers is taken by surprise at the explanation, and does not punish
Finny‹letting him off the hook yet again. Gene is amazed that Patch-Withers is actually
amused by the whole affair; he is usually stern and sour, but Finny has gotten the better
side of him to come out. To Gene and Finny, the war is remote and hard to accept; they
have seen newsreels from the front and films of bombs dropping, but cannot accept that
such a thing could be happening while they are having a great time at their comfortable,
sunny little school.
Finny decides they should jump out of the tree again, while they are swimming at the
river. They come up with the idea for a "Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session," a
group for exciting and dangerous things, and make a leap from the tree the entry
requirement. Gene goes onto the diving limb with Finny, and loses his balance; Finny
stops Gene from what could have been a very dangerous fall, and Gene soon realizes that
his friend saved his life.
Analysis:
The extent of Finny's ability to charm and persuade is explored in Chapter 2, with his
encounters with and triumphs over authority coming to the fore. Twice he is able to
escape punishment by inventing ridiculous excuses, and using their ridiculousness to
please and cheer those who are in charge. Gene furthers Finny's characterization by
devoting a chapter to his misadventures and successes in winning his sour masters over;
Finny, more and more, becomes the "model boy who was most comfortable in the truant's
corner," and not just through Gene's recollective statements, but also through the events
and ways in which Gene chooses to present Finny. Perhaps Finny was not completely the
rebellious good-boy that Gene presents; after all, he is writing this from fifteen years
afterward, and the narrative is tinged with memories that are a combination of emotion
and fact. But, Gene decides to show Finny only at his most wily and interesting, meaning
that the Finny we get to know might not be the one that Gene really knew.
In the contrast between rebellion and conformity at Devon, conformity was definitely
favored; but Finny, according to Gene's account, baffled judgment and expectations by
mixing elements of both. We see that Finny is able to do well in his studies and sports
and be a great member of his school overall, like Gene is; he has some discipline and a
definite ability to achieve, and also to fit in, as Gene does as well. Finny is Gene's foil
only to the extent that he is a rebel; again, the issue of rebelliousness vs. conformity
surfaces, to explain Finny and Gene's main similarity, but also their main difference.
Gene's narrative voice slips here, on page 16, back into recollections from his present
state of life; when he does so, his tone becomes more sentimental, more measured, and
more reflective of his present state than of his past. These passages in which Gene
descends from his story to add a bit of his older perspective ground the story in its initial
frame, of being a recollection and a work about memory. He also takes the chance to
again mention the theme of innocence vs. age, as he tells of how they were children of
"careless peace," set apart from adults by their lack of knowledge of the war, and their
utter abandon to their own small, happy worlds.
Phineas means his pink shirt as a symbol of patriotism, and heartening victory; what the
shirt really symbolizes, at least from Gene's perspective, is Finny's willingness to be
different, and how little he cared about what people thought about this. The incident of
the shirt shows Finny to have little self-consciousness about him, and a great deal of
confidence in himself; when he wears the pink shirt, he exemplifies this, not so much as
blinking when the headmaster approaches him to ask about the oddly colored shirt. The
shirt is merely a symbol, an object in one of Finny's little rebellions, of which the tie is
one as well.
Although Finny's knowledge of world affairs is scant, he discusses the subject of the
bombing of central Europe with youthful abandon, and is not corrected or challenged on
the subject, even with his lack of knowledge. In his innocence, he strikes a pose of
worldliness, which, combined with his charisma, manages to win over adults who long
for the days of their youth. Finny manages to get Mr. and Mrs. Patch-Withers on the
same wavelength that he is on; they join in the discussion with him, even showing a bit of
youthful trifling in the process. This is one of Finny's greatest skills on display; he is able
to bridge the gap between youth and age with ease, which is a magical, special quality,
especially as Gene sees it. Finny is shown to be one of a very rare breed, a person in
whom contradictions exist, like the abilities to be both orderly and wild; but these
contradictions do not cause any conflict in Finny, like they do in Gene. Finny is so
special because he is able to have such contradictory elements in his nature, and make the
best of them; Finny is the figure in which many of the themes of contrast in the novel,
like innocence vs. experience and order vs. rebellion reside in a perfect balance. Gene,
however much he tries, cannot duplicate this balance that is inherent in Finny's nature,
and his story is an attempt to explore and revisit this interesting person who was nearly
immune to many of the issues that still trouble Gene.
The world around Gene and Finny seems permanent and endless, in retrospect; Gene's
choice of images conveys this permanence which they believe their surroundings to have,
which is belied by Gene's return to the school. Devon is full of "permanent hanging
gardens" of ivy, with the leaves on the trees also seeming "permanent and never-
changing" (22). These images convey Gene and Finny's confidence in the lasting peace of
their world; they know of a war overseas, but are idealistic enough to believe that such
happenings will not affect them in their present lives. In retrospect, Gene is not sad at the
sheltered state he and Finny lived in back at school; "the people in the world who could
be selfish in the summer of 1942 were a small band," he says, "and I'm glad we took
advantage of it" (23). Though they wanted to be or to seem older and more
knowledgeable when they were young, in retrospect, their freshness was a rare thing, and
too soon spoilt. This is the dilemma that faced Gene and Finny during their New England
summer, and it is their exuberant ignorance that Gene laments when he realizes he has
aged.
Chapter 3 Summary:
Finny begins to tell friends about his and Gene's new club; quite a few of them join, and
Finny makes up the rules himself as he goes along. The first rule is that Finny and Gene
must jump from the tree at the beginning of every meeting; Gene cannot get used to this
daredevil stunt, though he has done it many times before. The club meets every night,
because Finny deems it so; Gene doesn't want to go every night, or do everything Finny
wants to, but follows Finny anyway because of their friendship. Gene realizes that Finny,
despite being very free-thinking, abides by his own set of rules and regulations; he also
abhors badminton, despite his love for almost all other kinds of sports. Finny dismantles
and throws away the shuttlecock; he picks up a ball, and refuses to go join the rest of the
class at badminton. Gradually, some of the boys leave their games and come to Finny;
Finny makes up a game called "blitzball," sort of a variation on rugby and football, and
also adds new rules as they go. The game, though rather haphazard, is a hit that summer,
and the nature of the game showcases Finny's incredible natural athleticism.
Gene reverts to commentary from the present, telling of the great hold that the war still
has on him, and how he hasn't been able to loosen the hold that the time period has on
him. Gene builds Finny's legend by telling of how Finny casually and easily broke a
school swimming record, but did it unofficially and just to see if he could do it. Finny
refuses to do it again and have it count, and so Gene builds him up into even more of a
hero/athlete. Finny proposes that they go to the beach, which is far away and means they
will be in big trouble if they are caught; Gene, against his better judgment, says he will.
They ride their bikes to the beach, and then spend the whole hot afternoon there. In the
evening, they visit the boardwalk of the coastal town; Finny has picked up a nice tan that
makes him look especially handsome, according to Gene. They sleep on the beach that
night, and Finny admits that he considers Gene his best friend, which touches Gene
deeply; but something keeps Gene from admitting the same thing.
Analysis:
The beginning of Chapter 3 is a great contrast with the ending of Chapter 2 in terms of
both tone and sentiment. At the end of Chapter 2, Gene says that he was grateful to Finny
for keeping him from falling out of the tree; but, at the start of the next chapter, he
accuses Finny of being responsible for the whole thing, and owes his friend no thanks,
since Finny is the one who goaded him to go up there in the first place. Gene is
rationalizing away his feelings on the near accident; unlike Finny, Gene shows difficulty
in expressing or even admitting emotions to himself, as displayed by this change of heart.
The statement also demonstrates how Gene's nature is tainted by his jealousy and
negative feelings for Finny, which corrupt his behavior and his good nature.
Although Finny is a great rebel, as seen in Chapters 1 and 2, Finny is also a walking
contradiction in that he does believe in rules to the spontaneity and chaos that take him.
There are certain things that Finny religiously does or refrains from doing, like saying
prayers though he is not terribly religious, or stating his height as 5'8 _". Above all,
"Finny never permitted himself to realize that when you won they lost" in terms of sports
and other activities (27); he thinks that, as a rule, participating is victory, and doesn't
believe in any other view on the subject. Again, Gene portrays Finny as a person who is a
harmonious conglomeration of many contradictory elements, which Gene seems to
question, though Finny certainly does not.
Already, Gene admits that he follows his friend around and participates in their club out
of obligation, rather than free will; he believes he is in a "strait jacket" in his dealings
with Finny, betraying some ill-will toward Finny that foreshadows a necessary
confrontation. This is an issue that becomes more and more important in the work; the
jealousy in Gene's nature causes him to think badly of Finny, and cast himself as Finny's
opponent, which is very important when examining the ways in which Gene portrays
Finny in the work.
In spite of Gene's reservations about his friend, he is able to tell of his friend's thoughts
and intentions merely from the tone of Finny's voice. When "humor infiltrated the
outrage in [Finny's] voice," Gene can tell that Finny is trying to find a way to weasel
himself out of the unpalatable prospect of badminton practice (27). Gene knows exactly
how Finny is regarded by his classmates, and is able to predict how the other boys will
react to Finny's refusal to play badminton; but although Gene is so knowledgeable about
Finny's thoughts and his appearance to others, he still cannot correctly recognize all
aspects of Finny's behavior.
Again, the theme of the divide between innocence and experience surfaces, as
lackadaisical activities of the happy, peace-enveloped juniors are juxtaposed with the
semi-military drills that the seniors have to endure. Associated with the seniors are
obstacle courses and "insidious exercise," while the juniors get to enjoy the
"optimistically green" playing fields at their disposal (27).
Finny's invention of "blitzball" shows many aspects of his character at work, especially
his inventive spirit and his ability to balance chaos with rules. It also shows off Finny's
incredible athletic ability, making him even more of a wonder in Gene's estimation. Gene
is so impressed by Finny's skill at this difficult, invented game that he describes Finny as
being capable of "acts of sheer mass hypnotism," a phrase which suggests some kind of
player's charisma at the game. Gene's language becomes somewhat exaggerated, and
heavy in praise, when he describes Finny's triumphs at blitzball; he is awe of Finny at this
point, and channels this feeling into his characterization, which becomes almost
impossibly impressive.
This brings up a very pertinent question; is Finny really the superman athlete that Gene
makes him out to be, or is his characterization of Finny altered by his feelings toward
Finny? And what are Gene's motives in pumping up Finny's triumphs for the reader in a
manner that makes him seem like an impossible human being? Up until this point, Gene
focuses upon events that make Finny seem larger than life, omitting any details that
would expose his flaws. However, when Gene gets angry with Finny in the next chapter,
Gene's treatment of Finny changes dramatically; Gene projects his feelings about Finny
into Finny's character, and also reveals Finny's academic challenges, which Gene had
glossed over by making Finny out to be the perfect, all-around "model boy" in previous
chapters.
Gene confesses in this chapter that he is still stuck in the time of World War II; his
memory still has a tremendous hold on him, as evidenced by his ability to recall the
goings on of fifteen years' past with such detail. The presence of memory, and its role
over time, is a major theme of this book; when Gene reiterates his thoughts on the past
and on the lasting impact of the events he is describing, he only increases the importance
of this theme within the novel.
The scene of Finny's swimming triumph is almost surreal; the "white tile and glass
brick," the "green, artificial-looking water," and the "general well of noise" that blurs the
atmosphere around the pool create an odd, almost dreamlike setting for this part of the
novel (34). The metaphor of Finny as a bullet also adds to the dreamlike qualities of the
scene; "his body uncoiled and shot forward with sudden metallic tension," as Finny
seems more like a machine, or a pellet from a gun, than a real person (35). These images
and metaphors contribute to Gene's disbelief of the whole scene; Finny breaking a long-
standing swimming record as only a casual swimmer is quite an impressive feat, and the
description of the situation reinforces Gene's shock as he tries to grasp what happened.
Finny's rebelliousness is again reinforced by the swimming incident; he does not see a
point in following the rules and making his record official, because others' recognition is
not nearly as important to him as his own. Gene is again shown as a foil to Finny, since
he espouses the more common and simply logical point of view, which is contrary to
Finny's beliefs. They are opposite in their natural instincts, and in several aspects of their
nature; still, they are able to get along, just as the opposite aspects of Finny's natures do
not cause him problems. The contrast between the two of them as they ride to the beach
also reasserts the differences between them; Gene is quiet and is working hard going up
and down hills, while Finny is floating along and joking with him, in a much lighter
mood.
Gene takes a very dramatic stance on Finny's record-breaking; he calls it "a mistake, a
lie," and says it is a secret that he has to force it down into the recesses of his mind. Gene
treats Finny's feat with a great sense of awe, but his diction reveals a darker aspect that
Gene believes to be inherent in the feat. Why Gene treats this event with such a tone of
doom is unclear at this point; Finny's purpose in this swimming event was just to see if he
could do it, while Gene treats it like some dark secret that he doesn't want to keep.
In Chapter 3, Finny's characterization through Gene reaches a praise-filled peak; up to
this point, Gene has painted a picture of a flawless super-athlete, a characterization soon
to be marred in Chapter 4. The "absolute schoolboy glamour" aspects of Finny are on
display, with any of Gene's negative feelings toward him still undiscussed (37). Finny
even seems to look perfect, according to Gene's description; he sports a "movie-star tan,"
and strangers on the street can hardly help but notice him and his good looks.
When Finny and Gene finally reach the ocean, it seems to resemble Finny in its
appearance and qualities. The "salty, adventurous, flirting wind" seems to symbolize
Finny especially, and mirrors his daring, omnipotent qualities (39). As Gene says, Finny
"was everywhere, he enjoyed himself hugely"; this description seems to cement his
association with the light, refreshing breeze, and reinforces Finny's connection with the
sea.
Gene's reluctance to answer Finny's comments that Gene is his best friend foreshadows
some kind of conflict within Gene; up until this point, Gene has had nothing but praise
for Finny, but the fact that he cannot acknowledge his best friend openly indicates
something wrong beneath the surface. Gene says that he was "stopped by that level of
feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth"; Gene finally acknowledges his
second thoughts openly, which foreshadows Gene's coming crisis about his true feelings
for Finny (40).
Summary and Analysis of Chapters 4-6
Chapter 4 Summary:
Gene wakes up at sunrise on the beach; he watches dawn break for the first time, while
Finny is still sleeping. Gene realizes that he has a math exam in three hours, exactly the
amount of time it will take to get back to Devon from the beach; he makes it back in time,
but fails the test‹it is, according to him, the first test he has ever failed.

Gene, an academic perfectionist, laments his poor performance on the test to Finny;
Finny mocks Gene's ambition to be first in their class, and Gene begins to believe that
Finny doesn't want him to do well in school, so that he will come out ahead. Finny excels
in athletics, and is definitely the best in the school; Gene knows that he can be the best in
the school in academics, but thinks that Finny's high-jinks and his attempts to take up
Gene's time are Finny's attempts to make sure that he comes out ahead in the relationship.
Gene's jealousy, whether merited or not, begins to take him over; he decides that he
cannot trust his "friend," and Finny's statement, that had been so touching the previous
evening, of Gene being his best friend, Gene now believes to be false.
Gene soon skips his merrimaking with Finny in favor of studying very hard; he begins to
overtake Chet Douglas, Gene's only academic equal, and is proud that he is doing so well
in his war against Finny. Finny also begins to study more, but Gene says that Finny is
weak academically because he is unable to relate to the kinds of tests they have to take.
But Gene finds it hard to keep on hating Finny, because everything is so beautiful and
relaxed that summer; he has to make himself feel resentment, which proves to be very
hard to do.
When Finny asks Gene to come see one of their club friends jump from their famous tree
the evening before their French exam, Gene vehemently objects, and asks Finny if this is
his way of trying to sabotage Gene's grades. Finny is not so bleakly competitive as Gene
imagined him to be; Finny naively thought that Gene was naturally good at school work,
like Finny is at sports, and never needed to study to get good grades. Finny insists that
Gene needs to study if he thinks he does; but Gene decides to defy Finny's advice, and,
against his better judgment, goes to the jumping tree with Finny.
To start off their meeting of the Super Summer Suicide Society, they decide to do jump
off the tree together. Once they are on the tree, Gene "jostles" the limb, and Finny loses
his balance and falls; Gene, unshaken, jumps into the river, seemingly without remorse or
concern for his friend.
Analysis:
Chapter 4 begins with Gene watching the sunrise on the beach; the sunrise is a symbol
denoting many things, including the impending change in Gene's feelings toward Finny
and in how he treats his friend, and Gene's coming change in his attitudes toward school
and competition. The sunrise is not what Gene expected it to be, just as it symbolizes
something different than expected; usually a sunrise means rebirth or enlightenment, but
in this case it is used to describe a more negative, though no less dramatic, change that
comes suddenly to Gene. Also, the sunrise describes Gene's progress through this
chapter, and how he realizes that his ideas about Finny's competitiveness and
backstabbing are completely incorrect, and that Finny's character is more beautiful than
he could have expected.
The appearance of the beach, as the sun rises, is more descriptive of Finny, and of his
way of being. Gradually, it becomes "totally white and stainless," as Finny's character
turns out to be (41); though Gene expects that there is a gray area in Finny's nature, as the
beach appears to be when the sun begins to come up, his incorrect ideas are soon
dispelled, and he sees clearly Finny's innocence and faith in Gene. The sunrise and the
beach metaphorically represent many of the changes and realizations that are so
important in this chapter, and they also describe the progress of these friends'
understanding of each other.
Gene's misunderstanding of Finny's intentions are laden with irony; Gene believes that
Finny is trying to keep him from excelling, and that Finny is engaged in some sort of
competition with him, are as far from the truth as they possibly can be. Gene's misgivings
about Finny taint his usually keen perceptions of what Finny means, and Gene's jealousy
of Finny helps him to create an utterly unflattering portrait of Finny to believe in. Gene
misconstrues Finny's remark about Gene wanting to be head boy at the school as meaning
that Finny does not want him to achieve; Finny is really just conveying his disregard for
school hierarchy and position.
Gene also abandons his usually right-on interpretations of Finny's tones of voice; when
Finny tells Gene, in a mocking tone, that Finny would be jealous if Gene was first in his
class, Gene disregards everything he knows about Finny's sarcasm and takes the
comment completely seriously. Gene's jealousy and ill-will lead him to see in Finny
whatever traits he wants to find; his characterization of Finny is strongly determined by
his own feelings, and can be incorrect because of this emotional influence.
Gene's "realization" of Finny's allegedly competitive behavior "broke as coldly and as
bleakly as dawn at the beach" (44); the simile repeats the imagery at the beginning of the
chapter, suggesting daybreak as a motif and metaphor suitable to describe many aspects
of the story. Gene's language and tone become increasingly more dramatic, perhaps even
melodramatic, as he describes the influence that this false realization had on him at the
time. He says he was "despairingly in search of something" to cling to, blowing his
mental separation from Finny up into something life-shattering, in a way (45). Yet, these
words definitely seem added in retrospect; Gene says he does not act differently than
normal in the face of this dramatic "deadly rivalry," gets on well with Finny, and devoted
himself to his studies (46). Gene's social life remains much the same, as does his outward
manner; he does not act as destroyed as he claims to be, but rather he is very much intact,
but vengeful. Gene finds the "truth" that he alluded to at the end of Chapter 3, but it is not
a truth at all‹it is a dangerous falsehood‹and in this confusion, he also misrepresents
his destructive anger as genuine despair.
In Chapter 4, a dark side to Gene's character is finally revealed, and allowed to work its
mischief. In this section of the book, especially with the revelation that Gene is
completely wrong about Finny's alleged sabotage of his grades, Gene and Finny become
even more diametrically opposed; Finny seems more pure and good-hearted than before,
while Gene moves into the gray area that he saw on the beach, and that he thought Finny
to inhabit. Gene, unlike Finny, has a nature that is corruptible through envy and
suspicion; and, once inflamed, the bad side of Gene's nature takes him over, and causes
him to harm his friend in a terrible way. The end of the chapter, with Gene causing Finny
to fall from the tree, casts them almost as good vs. evil; Finny is cleansed of blame and
shown to be pure of heart in this chapter, while Gene's character is revealed as being
more pernicious than previously imagined.
Just as Gene's characterization of Finny has been dependent upon and influenced by his
particular feelings about his friend, Gene's anger at Finny causes him to bring up Finny's
weaknesses and shortcomings, and also colors his characterization of Finny as a
competitive, jealous person. Gene projects his own feelings into Finny, which gives him
excuses to be swept away by his own negativity, and indulge his less-than-
complementary views about his friend as well. Gene states that Finny is full of "lonely,
selfish ambition"; it's not Finny who has any of these qualities, but Gene, as shown by his
determination to beat Finny, and not let his friend know of the competition (49).
Naturally, Gene has problems with holding a grudge against his friend; he finds himself
"slipping back into affection for him again," at least showing that Gene's vindictive
qualities don't exactly come naturally (47).
Even the summer works to dull Gene's feelings of betrayal; the "heady and sensual clarity
of these mornings" helps to calm him down, and contrasts sharply with Gene's stormy
mood (48). Just as Gene's jealousy and competitiveness peak, the surroundings of Devon
undergo a "second spring"; the landscape and beauty of the place grow as Gene's vitriol
increases.
Also inversely related are Gene's tone and Finny's in their confrontation at the end of this
chapter. As Gene becomes more and more bitter and sarcastic toward his friend, Finny's
tone gets more and more honest and sincere, shaming Gene for his ill-will. Gene's
judgment of Finny is finally exposed as being completely ironic, since he completely
misjudged his friend and only he was guilty of the things of which he accused his friend.
But, even more ironic is that this revelation doesn't really affect Gene's behavior or
attitude toward his friend; he still causes Finny to fall from the tree, after Finny reveals
that he is totally unaware of any competition.
Chapter 5 Summary:
Gene learns that one of Finny's legs had been "shattered" in the fall from the tree; the
accident becomes an issue of great concern, among Gene's classmates as well as among
the school's headmasters, who are very sorry about the accident as well. Gene grows very
guilty about the accident, though no one suspect that he was responsible for what
happened. In Finny's absence, Gene compensates by becoming very much like Finny; he
dons Finny's trademark pink shirt, and notes how his manner has become more and more
like Finny's since they have been apart.
Gene gets the news that Finny has finally gotten better, and can have Gene to visit him in
the infirmary. Gene also learns that Finny's leg suffered a nasty break, and that he will no
longer be able to play sports while at school; Gene cannot believe the news, and bursts
out crying. The doctor urges Gene not to be sad in front of Finny, and to help him face
the truth about his injury once he is out of the infirmary.
Gene goes into the infirmary to see Finny; Gene immediately reacts out of guilt for what
happened, asking how the fall could happen, and Finny notes how shocked Gene seems at
the whole thing, as if it were Gene that fell. Finny comes close to telling Gene that he had
an inkling that Gene was somehow responsible for his fall; but, unlike Gene, he does not
accuse his best friend, and immediately apologizes and closes the subject. Gene realizes
that if he were in Finny's place, and Finny was responsible for the accident, that Finny
would confess the truth; but Gene realizes he doesn't have the strength and nobility in his
nature that Finny has, and this upsets him very much. Gene gets ready to tell Finny the
truth, however much he doesn't want to. But, he doesn't get the chance to speak, as the
doctor comes back in; and, before he can see Finny again, Finny is sent home to
recuperate.
Summer Session ends, and Gene returns home for a month of vacation. Finally, he has to
go back to Devon; and on his way, he stops in Boston, and goes to Finny's house to see
how he is doing. This visit disturbs Gene, because Finny seems weak, and like an invalid;
he is not used to seeing his friend in such proper, manicured surroundings, and he feels
that he won't be able to talk to Finny about the accident in such a place.
Gene finally just brings up the subject of the accident to his friend; he tells Finny that he
did it, perhaps even on purpose, and Finny tells him not to talk of it, and that it can't be
true. Gene believes that he is causing another injury to Finny in telling him this, he tries
to reduce the blow by talking around it. Gene decides he'd better be getting back to the
station, since he's a day late, and lies to Finny, telling him that he won't be playing by the
rules any time soon.
Analysis:
Although Gene is of a jealous, competitive nature, he reveals in this chapter that he is not
truly bad at heart; he cannot believe the bad aspects in his nature, and remains in denial
about causing Finny's fall and about the fall itself. Gene becomes very guilty, and out of
this guilt he becomes suspicious that maybe his classmates know the truth about the
accident, and that he will be revealed for the wrong that he has done. He is amazed to
learn that no one thinks that he played any negative part in what happened, but he also
knows that Finny will be aware of what exactly happened up there on that limb.
Gene declares in this chapter, after dressing himself in Finny's clothes, that he "would
never stumble through the confusions of [his] own character again" (54). However,
confused is exactly what Gene is; at this point, he is still in denial about his responsibility
for the accident, and also in denial that he could have committed such a malicious act in
such a callous way. The statement is thoroughly ironic, because it trumpets a realization
that needs to take place, but has not yet; also, it is ironic because Gene claims to be
finding himself through making himself look like Finny, which would denote an even
bigger identity crisis at work. Gene already knows that he and Finny, though they get
along, are inherently different in nature; Finny is clean and pure and is neither
competitive nor jealous, while Gene is by nature insecure, and this major flaw causes him
to be suspicious and deceitful toward his friend.
When Gene dresses in Finny's clothes, he assumes Finny's look and manner of
confidence, thinking that it suits him and describes who he has become; this is also
ironic, since Gene's insecurity defines his differences from Finny, and since the clothes
and the look belie Gene's character and his true feelings. However, the growing
resemblance between Gene and Finny not only shows their differences, but also
foreshadows their becoming like one person. Finny asking Gene to continue Finny's
athletic pursuits and adopt that part of his history is the first step in their melding
together; Gene adopting Finny's clothes and looks in this chapter shows Gene's
willingness to surrender himself to Finny, and foreshadow the coming developments in
their relationship.
The issue of Gene's conscience becomes important from this chapter on; it determines
how he acts and reacts to his friend, and also determines his feelings toward the friend he
has wronged. Gene struggles to see himself as an essentially good person at heart; as
much as he condemns himself in retrospect for his flaws, at the time, he still cannot see
himself for everything that exists in his character. Gene's denial and naivete also come
into play when he is told that Finny will never be able to play sports. Gene never states
straight-out that he is responsible for the end of Finny's athletic days, and that perhaps he
wanted this to be so in order for Gene to come out on top in the relationship. It is clear to
the reader that this could well have been Gene's motive in making Finny fall from the
tree; but Gene, even as an adult writing of his past, is at this point in the novel unable to
examine his guilt and his unconscious motivations for Finny's tragedy. Denial and guilt
play off each other in Gene's personality, to alternately bring him to some realization of
his character, then shield him from self-exploration; in any case, the past is still painful
for Gene fifteen years later, showing that while he may be ill-natured in some respects in
comparison to Finny, that he is still not completely corrupt at heart.
In this chapter, Finny and Gene become divided by their differences; at the end of the
next chapter, they will begin to pull together again, and become more alike in terms of
character. Here, at the peak of their separation, Gene reveals a great number of
differences between himself and Finny, especially in the way both of them handle the
situation they are in. If Finny was in his place, Gene knows that Finny would be
completely honest about what happened; if Gene were in Finny's place, he might just
accuse his friend, which is something that Finny is much too loyal to do. When Finny
says that he reached out for Gene before he fell from the tree, Gene, who is still not
trusting of Finny, takes that to mean that Finny meant to drag Gene down too; Finny says
he just meant to steady himself.
This exchange again highlights the character differences between Finny and Gene,
especially as Gene tries to rationalize what happened and talk around the truth in a way
that obscures his guilt, and Finny addresses his thoughts in a careful way that conveys the
truth of the situation, without misleading or maligning his friend in the process. Finny
uses understatement in introducing his thoughts, that Gene might be responsible;
"awfully funny expression you hadŠlike you have right now," he tells Gene, getting his
point across without causing any disturbance. While Finny is very calm and speaks
quietly, cautiously, and with understatement, Gene is frantic, desperately trying to
rationalize things, and forced to speak out of a lingering guilt; the contrast between the
two is furthered by their opposing demeanors during the infirmary visit.
Like the characters of the book, who often seem too flat and too purely literary to be real,
some of the events of the book are also more symbolic and representative than they are
literal or realistic portrayals. The incident on the limb, during Gene and Finny's
conversation, becomes one of these symbolic events; the limb symbolizes the common
ground on which Gene and Finny's relationship rests, and Finny falling from the limb
symbolizes the growing personal divide Gene feels between them. There is an almost
metaphoric relation between Gene's sudden mistrust of his friend and his jouncing Finny
from the tree; both involve the interplay of the exact same themes and make the same
points about Gene's character, and the limb incident seems to be just a literal enactment
of Gene's jealousy and his competitiveness.
In Chapter 5, Gene finally repents of his competitiveness toward Finny. He realizes how
ironic it was that he pinned the fault on Finny for being competitive, when it was Gene's
fault all along for creating such false, one-sided competition. But even this realization
doesn't soothe Gene's guilt and sorrow; though it does allow Gene to put aside his
miguidedly ill feelings for Finny, and paves the way for their incredible closeness to
develop over the next few chapters. Still, by the end of the chapter, and the end of Gene's
confession of responsibility to Finny, some things remain fundamentally unchanged.
Though Gene asks himself whether he intentionally hurt his friend, he cannot bring
himself to consider the issue any longer than it takes him to ask the terrible question.
Gene's guilt remains, and still weighs upon him; and he is still unable to overcome his
naivete about the flaws in his nature, and his denial surrounding the accident.
Chapter 6 Summary:
Gene is finally back at school, without Finny who will come back later in the term; the
peace of the summer session has finally been shattered by the return of the rigorous
traditions of the Devon school, and the influence of the war on the students and faculty.
All seven hundred students are back, and the spirit of the summer session is swamped by
the excess of students; Gene was lucky enough to get the same room he had during the
summer, although all of his friends have been moved around. Gene doesn't want to come
to terms with the change of school sessions; Brinker, Gene's main academic rival, now
lives across the hall, and Gene isn't especially pleased with this.
Gene goes to crew practice, which is run by Quackenbush, the uniformly disliked crew
captain. Gene is assistant captain, and not on the team; Quackenbush immediately
challenges him, not trusting Gene because of his non-participation in school sports other
than to manage and help out. They have a fight, and both tumble into the water;
Quackenbush tells him to get lost, and he does.
The house masters aren't being lax like they were during the summer; Mr. Ludsbury,
Gene's house master, berates him for being irresponsible and taking advantage of the
summer house master, Mr. Prud'homme, which Gene didn't really do. Gene escapes from
the lecture by getting a long-distance call; Gene expects that it is bad new from home, but
Finny is on the phone, to wish him a happy first day of fall term.
Finny calls because he was worried that Gene would replace him by getting a new
roommate; however, Gene is in their old room alone, and won't have another roommate
before Finny comes back. Finny is very relieved to hear this, and also dismisses Gene's
confession of responsibility for the accident by saying Gene must have been crazy during
his visit to Finny's house. When Gene tells Finny that he isn't participating in sports, as a
sort of show of sympathy with Finny, Finny gets upset; he tells Gene that Gene has to
participate for him since he no longer can, and Gene decides to grant Finny this request.
Analysis:
According to Gene, the new session "scattered the easygoing summer spirit like so many
leaves"; the simile reinforces the shock of the rigorous, crowded fall session, after the
ideal languor of the long summer. In the hustle and the renewed conservatism and law-
enforcing of the fall session, Finny and Gene's glorious summer already seems like a
thing of the past. The contrast between the summer and the fall, like the contrast between
the winter when Gene revisits the school and the summer he describes, reinforces the
rarity of the days they had, and reiterates another theme, of how fleeting the past, and the
best days, can be. The change of seasons also foreshadows a change in Gene's life, and in
his and Finny's relationship; with the passing of time, they will not be able to regain what
they had in their ideal summer together, and their relationship when Finny comes back
will most definitely be changed.
The theme of change and of time passing is also present in the scene in the chapel, with
the gathering of students and teachers that begins the fall session. Gene knows that
"traditions had been broken, the standards let down, all rules forgotten" because of the
summer; change has finally come to Devon, and the place will never be the same to him
or to any of the boys. The place has finally been touched by time, so many of the
traditions been rendered meaningless, at least for Gene. He continues to have affection
for the place; but as he has changed and grown up, the school has changed entirely for
him, and cannot regain the old glory it had for him. He mentions Finny falling from the
tree as being the event that marked old Devon's death; Finny's accident now becomes a
symbol of the changing of the guard, representative of the beginning of Gene's adulthood
and disillusionment.
Another theme in the book is formality vs. freedom; this theme is represented in the
struggles between Finny's rebelliousness and Gene's rule-abiding sensibilities, but is also
in the contrasts in conditions between the summer and the fall sessions at the school. "We
had been an eccentric, leaderless band," Gene says of the boys of the summer session;
"now the official class leaders and politicians could be seen taking charge," as the
hierarchy of Devon returns for another school year. This change is also a foreshadowing
of the change between childhood and adulthood; Gene's summer was the last time of free,
unchecked childhood, and starting the school year with all its traditions is a change
similar to the one he will undergo in changing from school to the adult world. The
overwhelming of their carefree summer by the tradition-bound school year signifies the
defeat of freedom by formality for Gene; Gene himself admits that he is very much
bound by rules, and outside of Finny's chaotic influence, his own tendencies toward
rebellion fall to the wayside.
Finny is more a perfect image and a representation than a reality-based character, and the
imagery used to describe Finny in the novel tends to portray him as more of a golden god
than a human being. Gene remembers Finny "balancing on one foot on the prow of the
canoe," a difficult task, and all the while looking "like a river god," according to the
simile Gene employs (67). In addition, Gene describes "his whole body hanging between
earth and sky as if he had transcended gravity," yet another god-like feat (67). Finny
usually appears as some kind of Apollo-like figure, standing in the sunshine, with radiant
bronzed skin and sun-kissed locks; he represents, among other things, "all the glory of the
summer," and is a figure constructed in looks and in traits to fulfill that purpose
successfully.
Again, Gene is seen as identifying with Finny to the point of taking on Finny's struggles
and sympathizing with him by sharing Finny's physical limitations. Gene feels that in his
argument with Quackenbush, he is somehow defending Finny, though Finny is in no way
involved; Gene feels that he has become "Finny's defender," and seems to take the role
very seriously. Perhaps out of guilt for hurting Finny, Gene sympathizes with him by not
participating in sports, as if he had a shattered leg as well. Perhaps Gene wants to take on
Finny's burdens, out of guilt for wronging his friend; and perhaps it is part of Gene's
denial of his wrongdoing, another theme of the book. After the accident, Gene's jealousy
and suspicion disappear almost completely, as he begins to bond himself to Finny; and,
also out of a sense of guilt-born obligation, Gene agrees to serve as Finny's surrogate in
the realm of sports, and participate as best he can in place of his friend. Gene confesses
that his purpose in hurting Finny might well have been "to become a part of Phineas";
however, this may be another distraction from Gene's real issue of his malicious actions,
as Gene has continued to ignore such a serious question in his denial after the accident.
Summary and Analysis of Chapters 7-9
Chapter 7 Summary:
Brinker Hadley decides to pay Gene a visit, and immediately starts accusing Gene of
arranging Finny's accident in order to get a room to himself. Gene is naturally defensive,
since the point hits close to the truth, and decides to distract Brinker by proposing they go
down to the Butt Room in the basement to smoke. Once they are down there, Brinker
proclaims Gene's guilt before everyone in the room, setting up a mock-trial kind of
situation for Gene. The others in the room immediately start playing along, asking Gene
questions about the "crime"; Gene jokingly participates, disguising his real guilt with a
kind of far-fetched, sarcastic humor. He believes that none of them are actually
suspicious of him after the incident, but the incident and Brinker's accusation still trouble
Gene a great deal.

Fall passes, with the boys pitching in for the "war effort" by harvesting apples since all
the workers have been drafted; still, the war remains distant and has little effect on their
everyday lives. The first snow falls, much earlier than usual; it is a sign that war is
creeping into their lives, and will become far more real to all the boys.
The school has adopted a policy of "Emergency Usefulness," meaning that the boys are
sent around the region to do necessary tasks, like shoveling out the railroads after a harsh
snowstorm. Before he leaves on this mission, Gene comes across Leper, who has decided
to spend his day cross-country skiing rather than help work. Then, Gene and the boys
catch a train to Boston, and spend a dreary, cold day at the railroad yard, shoveling; the
work is hard and no one is in a particularly good mood, and takes up the whole day.
That day, the boys change their attitudes about the war; it is no longer some remote,
meaningless thing, it is something that they want to get involved in as soon as they are
able. When they return, they run across Leper, still on his skis; Leper says he has found
the beaver dam he was looking for, which Brinker starts to tease Leper mercilessly about.
Brinker says he is fed up with Devon life; he says he wants to enlist as soon as possible,
which makes Gene think about doing the same thing. Gene wants a sense of purpose to
his life, and feels that enlisting will give this to him; he thinks hard about it over the
night.
Gene realizes that he doesn't owe anything to either Devon or to his parents anymore; the
choice of whether or not to go to war depends on his own inclinations, and he wants to go
through with it. But, then he goes back to his room, and finds Finny there; suddenly, what
he resolved to do no longer matters, as he has a purpose to stay at Devon again.
Analysis:
Brinker Hadley makes his first real appearance in this chapter, and proves to be
something other than our first glimpse of him suggests. "His face was all straight lines, "
Gene says, "and he carriedŠhis height straight as well" (78). However, Brinker proves to
be more pernicious, sarcastic, and temperamental than his straight image might suggest,
and his characterization is also quite difficult to describe. Although his tone remains
casual and friendly, the words coming from Brinker are not quite those of a polite
conversation; immediately, Brinker starts using clearly accusatory words that contrast
sharply with the light tone of voice he is trying to maintain. Brinker also slips into a
condescending, superior tone; he calls Gene "my son," and spouts grandiloquent words
about "our free democracy." It's hard to peg Brinker's personality down after this
encounter, when he combines sinister words with a friendly tone, while infusing their
interaction with a sense of Brinker's own arrogance.
Gene's guilt colors his responses, as he too is trying to maintain his innocence and not
respond too seriously to Brinker's very unexpected accusations. It is not in Gene's nature
to really lie, and as he tries to dodge Brinker's repeated questions, his voice becomes
strained, he has to distract himself by moving books around, and his heart begins to
pound. Gene even says, almost unconsciously, that "the truth will out," another remark
prompted by the guilt that he is trying to hide. Gene's best defense in this situation is
trying to distract Brinker with an offer to go downstairs and smoke; Gene proves himself
to be very sensitive and still remorseful about what he did.
Once they get down to the Butt Room, Brinker's words intensify, and become even more
accusing in his tone and choice of words. The scene Gene sets is of a dark, dilapidated
room that seems like a prison; the image of the room is an oppressive one, adding to the
discomfort and darkness of the scene. Brinker tosses about words like "prisoner" and
calls the boys "proper authorities," and declares that Gene has committed "rankest
treachery, practically fratricide" (81). The words are ironic since the whole affair is
treated like a joke by most of the boys, but that Gene is actually guilty of the charges and
should perhaps be facing this kind of tribunal for real. All of the boys except for one treat
the little inquisition as an extended jest, and Gene has to play along, or else explode in a
display of guilt, which is continuing to bother him.
Gene's defense tactics are much the same as they were against Brinker at the first; he
talks around the point, tries to adopt a carefree tone, and when all of that fails, he diverts
attention from the issue at hand. He decides that it is better to humiliate the one boy who
takes the whole thing seriously, than draw any more attention to the debate at hand; Gene
is a bit more hurtful than usual, betraying his ability to hurt people when he deems it
necessary, and rationalize his actions after the fact.
The whole "inquisition" is ironic, since the boys take such interest in the mock-
questioning of Gene, yet they think nothing of the truth of these accusations after Gene
leaves them. No one, according to Gene, takes the logical leap of thinking that maybe
Brinker is accusing Gene for a reason, and that the events being discussed actually took
place, and the inquisition ends, with only Gene's own guilt to betray the fact that a
"crime" actually took place.
In the ongoing struggle between war and the peace of Devon, war finally starts to intrude
on the boys' daily life. "The war was at worst only a bore," as Brinker declares before the
boys; but the boldness and presumption of Brinker's declaration foreshadows the change
that is about to come upon them all. An early snow falls on the school, ironically seeming
beautiful and peaceful, but described by Gene in a simile as "like noiseless invaders
conquering" (84). Gene is right, as the coming of the snow becomes almost analogous to
the coming of war to Devon; the snow becomes a symbol representing unrest and reality
coming for the boys, and proves to be the "advance guard" of the war for Devon (84).
The foremost among the few who are not affected by the war is Leper, the odd, peace-
loving acquaintance of Gene. Gene, upon meeting him in the woods on a snowy day,
mistakes Leper for a "scarecrow," and the metaphor is actually a rather fitting one for
Leper. Leper is not a person of action, nor is he particularly vital or lively like the rest of
the boys; Leper prefers to remain on the periphery of things, in nature, like the scarecrow
does. He seems ridiculous because he isn't the sporting, outgoing youth that is typical of
Devon; he acts a bit like an old man, and seems ridiculous to his classmates. Leper is
maligned because most of the boys do not try to understand his quiet, nature-loving ways,
but Gene, as a more sensitive being, is able to better understand him.
The war finally intrudes with the boys' first experience with hard physical labor at the
railroad depot in Boston. The once-white snow is now "drab and sooted, wet and heavy,"
quite a dramatic contrast with the pure white snow that had covered Devon; the image
conveys how reality has become more pressing and more bleak for the boys. They
gradually drop their "fresh volunteer look" as the day's work goes on; the change from
boisterous young men to strained-looking laborers ushers in the influence of war, and
foreshadows the change that will come upon them when they finally go to war.
The deceptive, ironic symbol of the boys' coming transformation into young soldiers is
the "troop train" that passes them as they work in the railyard. The troops hanging out the
windows seem just a little older than the boys, according to Gene. "They gave the
impression of being elite," as Gene said, and "seemed to be having a wonderful
timeŠthey were going places" (89). This becomes the face of war for the boys; they
begin to think that it is some glorious, honorable thing, and get fired up to enlist and join
the battle. Suddenly they feel that they are "nothing but children playing among heroic
men," and this feeling shames them. That the boys appear downtrodden and the troops
jubilant is ironic, since the boys are still enjoying youthful days in school, and are not
about to face death like the troops are. Also, the boys' new view of war is ironic because
of how unrealistic it is; they take the fresh recruits to be a symbol of the entire war, when
the war is grim and bloody, and will change them into worn young men.
The boys are still very naïve about the war; they speak about "brothers in the service and
requirements for enlistment and the futility of Devon" during their train ride home, but no
war issues of real significance (89). Quackenbush, who is probably more realistic than
the rest of them about needing to get a high school diploma and not just rush into the war,
is attacked by the other boys in their jingoistic fit; Brinker and the others think that the
only right way is to enlist immediately and rush off to the glorious war, and are too young
and blind to consider that they might not be correct. Gene colors Brinker's declaration
that he will enlist tomorrow as the "logical climax of the whole misbegotten day"; but it
is a misguided decision, as the boys, in their sheltered environment, still do not
understand the realities of war that they think they have learned everything about from
seeing that train full of fresh, untried recruits.
Gene explains his feelings about enlisting with a metaphor relating his life to a woven
cloth and a group of jumbled threads that he wants to be free of; he wishes to take "giant
military shears" and just cut himself free from his history, so that he can start all over
again. It's not that Gene particularly wants to go to war, he just wants a fresh start, and to
escape from the stale, constrictive atmosphere of the school; the boys all want the same
thing as well, and their main motivation to enlist is this wish to escape, rather than a wish
to go into battle.
Gradually, Gene's motivation for making Finny fall from the tree become more and more
evident. Gene is unable to set down the reasons why he did what he did, but gradually, he
does add little pieces of information to the confession that he is unable to state all at once.
Here, he says that he is "used to finding something deadly in the things that attracted
[him]," which is why he caused Finny's accident. If this confession is actually true, then it
means that Gene, in hurting Finny, was aware that something worse might happen than
Finny breaking his leg; if so, then Gene's character is darker than even he would like to
admit.
Gene observes the "single, chilled points of light" in the sky, trying to find guidance in
them; what he sees is not beautiful or ideal, and he tries his best not to have an optimistic
view of war like the others. He takes the cold, remote looking stars as symbols for the
war, and ascribes their qualities to the war as well. Even with his thoughts becoming
more grounded and informed, he thinks of his duty for the war effort; but the image of the
"thin yellow slab of brightness" that heralds Finny's arrival drowns out the cold pinpricks
in the sky, and Gene chooses his friend over the war. The only thing holding him back
from enlistment is Finny, who turns up at a very convenient time, and gives Gene his
only reason to stay at Devon.
Chapter 8 Summary:
Gene is absolutely shocked at Finny's sudden, unannounced return; Finny proves to be
his old self again, despite his bum leg, by making wisecracks immediately and expressing
his distaste for Gene's work clothes. Finny looks very well and athletic again, completely
unlike his small, invalid-like appearance at his home in Boston just a few weeks earlier.
Gene helps Finny make up his bed, since there are no maids at the school that year, and
notes how Finny is completely dignified and doesn't seem helpless in any way, although
he does need Gene's assistance for some things.
Gene is happy that Finny is finally back; however, he can't simply ignore what he did to
his friend since Finny is there as a constant reminder, and Gene lets himself be eaten
away by his guilt and remorse, rather than try to face his feelings. Brinker busts into their
room in the morning, shocked to see Finny there; he uses the opportunity to reintroduce
insinuations about Gene causing Finny's accident, but Finny doesn't want to think about it
and deliberately doesn't take the hints. Gene brushes the uncomfortable situation aside by
talking about enlisting, which Brinker is absolutely gung-ho about. Finny is not pleased
at all with the idea that Gene could leave; he doesn't want Gene to do it, and makes this
clear to Gene.
Gene immediately brushes aside any talk of him enlisting by saying it would be nuts of
him to do it, and he wouldn't enlist with Brinker for anything. This makes Finny very
happy, though it's not the truth, and Gene still wants, though not as passionately as before
his friend came back, to join the military in order to get a fresh start. Gene is relieved to
find that Devon is suddenly a good, peaceful place again with his friend back and no
more pressure to enlist, but he knows in retrospect that it will not last.
Finny decides not to go to class on his first day back; Gene is a little dismayed by his
suggestion that neither go to class, but he goes with Finny anyway, to the gym. Finny
asks Gene what sports he's been doing, and Gene confesses that he hasn't held up his end
of the bargain, and is not doing any sports at the moment. This gets Finny upset, and then
Gene tries to make the war into some excuse for not trying out for anything. Finny goes
off on a rant about how the war is not real, it was just designed to keep people in their
place, and from having any real fun. Gene doesn't believe him at all, and asks him why
Finny thinks he knows all this stuff that nobody else does; Finny then says "because I've
suffered," opening another big, painful can of worms (109).
Gene takes this as a cue to start working out, doing more chin-ups than he's done in his
lifetime. Finny and Gene never talk about Finny's little streak of bitterness again, and it
never resurfaces in Finny. Finny, with his usual disregard for reality, says he wants to
coach Gene for the 1944 Olympics; Gene knows there won't be any because of the war,
but of course Finny wouldn't listen. Gene begins to see how unrealistic some people's
view of the war is, especially with the teachers and headmasters; he doesn't believe
Finny's desperate assertions that there isn't any war at all, but he also learns to be a little
more skeptical of the manipulative claims of the authority figures.
Gene and Finny keep training, doing long runs in the morning; Gene thinks he can't do
them, until one morning he just amazes himself and it comes naturally to him, just as it
did with Finny before. Mr. Ludsbury, one of the teachers, discovers them at their morning
exercise; he tells them to keep it up as some kind of preparation for the war, and Finny
just blows up at him, telling him it has nothing to do with that. Mr. Ludsbury turns red,
gets angry, and stomps off; Finny has no remorse for angering the man, though Gene
feels somewhat strange about what happened.
Analysis:
Finny's appearance when Gene first sees him is completely deceptive; although he
appears to be in the peak of health, no different from how he was before he left after the
summer. Gene's words reflect this athletic quality that he believes his friend still has;
Finny "vaulted" across the room, uses his crutches like "parallel bars," and his eyes are
sharp and alert (96). It is only later that Gene will figure out that Finny is changed, and
that this healthy disguise must have been put on in order to convince his parents and his
doctor to let him go back to Devon early.
Finny and Gene, though their relationship has become more close, have become different
personally, especially Gene. Gene has gone back to his old ways, as a law-abiding,
tradition-following student. Although he thinks of himself as a bit of a rebel while Finny
is away, one Finny is returned, Gene is completely conventional, with his talk of duty and
the war and self-sacrifice. Gene almost sounds like one of the teachers in his patriotic
reverie, and Finny gives him hell for it‹Finny knows that Gene slips in to this kind of
conventional thinking very easily, and he'll have to fight to get Gene to be a less
responsible, more interesting companion. Gene is very serious‹he thinks it's fine that
they have no maids, while Finny is stubborn, selfish, and quite humorous in insisting that
he have the convenience of maids, and that the war is just an excuse. Gene is already
becoming an adult, mirroring the sentiments of his teachers, while Finny is still a
rebellious adolescent, with views that are often contrary to Gene's.
Although Finny is injured and needs help, he manages to retain his dignity around Gene,
even when he needs assistance. Around others, like Brinker for example, he stubbornly
refuses to admit his limitations and will accept no help; but he and Gene seem to have
some kind of silent agreement, that Gene will watch Finny and help out where he can,
and that it will be a natural part of their relationship. A new kind of sensitivity marks
their relationship that wasn't there over the summer; Finny is sure to keep quiet while
Gene says his prayers, Gene makes up the bed for Finny, who doesn't ask for help but
definitely needs it. Still, not everything is smoothed over for Gene, who is still dogged by
guilt, and has a few identity issues to contend with.
Gene may be energized by Finny's return, but he enjoys himself less after Finny returns
because of the constant reminder of guilt that Finny is for Gene. "Each morning
reasserted the problems of the night before," says Gene; previous, it was easy for him to
deny what had happened, and now he does not have that luxury. This feeling is not
necessarily a negative one, as Gene believes it to be; it is a part of Gene coming to terms
with his darker nature, which he will try desperately not to do.
Brinker's nature certainly seems more questionable in this chapter than it was after his
introduction. Seeing Finny is back, he immediately brings up Gene's "little plot" to keep a
room to himself by hurting Finny; it is hardly a tactful thing to say, and is taking the joke
of the day before much too far. That Brinker is willing to bring the whole subject up
again, in front of both of them, means that he believes there is some truth in the matter.
But why Brinker would think that Gene was guilty of harming Finny, when he wasn't
present when the accident happened and no one else thinks badly of Gene, is quite a
mystery. Perhaps Brinker is meant to be some kind of conscience figure, with his goading
of Gene and determination to enlist.
Finny, for his part, does not even attempt to consider what Brinker means by his not-so-
subtle insinuations, and Gene wants nothing more than to silence the whole issue. It
seems that Finny decided to be finished with the whole issue after Gene confessed. Finny
didn't want to believe that his friend had done it when Gene's guilt was first confessed,
and he's well past the point of considering anything negative about his friend, especially
now that they need each other. Gene realizes for the first time that Finny needs him, and
him in particular; in the summer, it seemed that Finny only needed someone to follow his
whims and crazy ideas, but now their attachment to each other cannot be denied, and it
makes Gene nervous because he knows how much he callously took away from Finny.
"Peace had come back to Devon," Gene says, after Finny had returned. For a while, the
struggle between war and peace is temporarily won by peace; and for a short time, Gene
also forgets about his ideas of enlisting and enjoys his time at the school with his friend.
Gene is still fighting, however, with his feelings about the accident, and about himself;
perhaps he wanted to go to war so that he could be distracted by that external battle, and
not have to concentrate on his own. Gene is a reflective, very self-conscious, and
sensitive person; here there is really a glimpse of how sensitive Gene is, and how much
of a lasting effect that events really have on him, especially since his feelings are so keen
fifteen years after the fact.
Even Gene admits, however, that the peace he is feeling cannot last. In an extended
metaphor that he carries throughout a paragraph, he describes the war as a "wave at the
seashore," that looked intimidating as it grew larger and came closer to him. But, with
Finny by his side, he was able to kept from being swept away, while "throwing others
roughly up upon the beach" (101). But there is a great sense of foreboding inherent in the
metaphor; where there is one huge wave, there is usually another at least as big to follow
it. What that "wave" will be is not yet evident; but Gene is obviously setting the scene for
an even bigger shake-up to occur, and building toward the climax of the novel.
Of course, Gene is skeptical of Finny's more outlandish ideas, such as Finny's fervent
belief that the war is a gimmick meant to keep the masses in line while the fat cats enjoy
everything. But Finny's harebrained theories also open Gene's eyes to many realizations,
like how the war is exploited by the headmasters to make the boys disciplined and to get
them to work harder. As much as Gene tries to shake off Finny's little rebellious notions
and insist that he only just goes along with them silently, Gene is really and truly helped
by Finny and his perceptions of the world‹though he might not like to admit it.
Inevitably, Gene and Finny become closer to being almost the same person. As Gene
begins to improve himself physically, under Finny's tutelage, Gene helps Finny to
become a much better student. Since Finny has been robbed of his athletic gifts, Gene is
helping him to develop new ones. Finny's encouragement helps Gene to do things that
were never physically possible for him before‹like doing 30 chin-ups and a few miles
of running in the morning. Gene feels like he has achieved this mostly by himself, but
without Finny right there, none of that would have been possible. It is true that Gene has
become even more different from Finny since Finny has been away, but there is
definitely something to be said about how the two boys are beginning to resemble each
other more and more.
The outdoors, which usually reflect the course of their relationship, becomes more placid
and beautiful as the boys settle into their new routine with ease. Gene describes images of
the "northern sunshine" on the smooth stretches of white snow, that suggest something
like their idyllic summer; but, at the same time, these images reinforce how the
relationship cannot be the same as it was, though it can thrive for a while.
Chapter 9 Summary:
Gene becomes more and more oblivious to the outside world as he spends time with
Finny. The impossible happens with Leper, as he is convinced by a video of American
ski troops that he must enlist and become one of them. He changes his mind on the
uselessness of downhill skiing, and decides that fast skiing is fine if you are in a real
hurry, which a person is when they are fighting the war. The video shows a bunch of
placid, attractive young men skiing down slopes and passes it off as being part of the war
effort; the image reflects nothing like the real realities of war, but nevertheless, Leper is
completely hooked by it. Leper leaves a week later, before his 18th birthday, enlisted in
the ski troops and perfectly happy to go.
Leper becomes a rather unbelievable symbol of the events of the war for them; he is the
fantastic liason between them and the newspaper reports they read everyday, a kind of
window into the war that is no more realistic than the patriotic, glossed-over views they
previously held. Phineas, strangely, draws away from his friends because of their ongoing
fascination with Leper's alleged adventures in the war. Gene describes how Finny stops
visiting the Butt Room, where the group usually gets together to discuss "Leper's"
exploits, and he tries to draw Gene away with him, into Finny's little world where war
and enlistment do not exist.
Gene begins to loathe the long weekends at school, when the cold and the snow prevent
excursions, and sports are mostly out of the question. Finny decides to organize the first
winter carnival at Devon, so that there's something fun to do outside. Gene is persuaded,
then manages to get the newly-rebellious Brinker in on their plans.
The Saturday of the carnival comes, and the day is cold and very gray. Brinker has
obtained some hard cider, snow sculptures have been made, and a heavy table with prizes
on it are all set up; some boys have even beat a little ski ramp out of the snow. Finny or
Brinker are supposed to preside over the festivities, but the boys suddenly go mad,
rushing for the cider and becoming rather unruly for the first time that winter. Finny
declares the games open, with a torch made of a flaming copy of The Illiad. Finny is
definitely cheered up by the whole little festival, and the other boys are very pleased, full
of cider and happy for the break.
Then, a telegram comes for them from Leper; he says he has "escaped," and needs them
to meet him and help to bail him out of whatever trouble he is in. Finny and Gene are
absolutely shocked that their friend has deserted, and are determined to meet him and
help him out.
Analysis:
Leper's change of heart in this chapter shows how things can change, and people can
change, with the right kind of impetus behind them. When the boy least likely to go to
war is the first of the class to enlist in the service, it makes a big impression on Gene.
Leper makes the point that "everything has to evolve or else it perishes," and this point
makes Gene think of how this peace carried over from the summer could change, or how
he will be forced to change in order to get by (117). This one line from Leper is delivered
in such a decisive, dramatic way that it jumps out of the prose, and seems to be
introducing an important new thread in the book. Perhaps it foreshadows a change that
Gene will have to make great adjustments to get through, and taken with the metaphor of
the wave about to sweep over him, these two moments in the prose mean that something
is definitely about to happen.
Still, that Leper is persuaded by a glossy kind of video reinforces how "artificial," as
Gene has said, that any news of the war that has reached the boys had been. Leper joins,
thinking that he is going to be part of that ideal, happy picture of the men skiing
downhill; what he doesn't look for is what relation any of this has to war, and any
possibility that he may be called upon to perform some rather unpleasant tasks. Gene, at
this time, is so out of reality that he can hardly comment on the state of naivete that most
of the boys still exist in, and seems to believe in the idyllic picture he is being shown
rather than questioning it.
In a rather remarkable way, Leper becomes more important and is taken more seriously
by the boys once he has left and gone to war. He is a symbol of the heroism and
interesting deeds of war, a representation of all the brave and wonderful successes of the
American troops. Their support of "Leper" is another way to show patriotism and feel
involved in the war, without having to face the harsh realities involved in the real events.
Again, Gene is afraid of the parts of himself with which he is not familiar, but which he
suspects might exist. Gene is still slow to attempt any self-examination, for fear of what
he might find; he states that he is afraid he will expose himself to be "the Sad Sack, the
outcast, or the coward," with no mention of his more sinister aspects, which he knows to
exist. It is possible that these sides to Gene really do exist, and will come out under the
duress of war; but Gene's reluctance to face anything unpleasant in himself might mean
that he denies these things too, and continues on in his self-ignorance.
Finny is also undergoing his first major transformation in the book; he becomes more and
more dependent on Gene, and withdraws from his friends because of their insistence on
talking about the war and about "Leper," the war's unlikely symbol. Something is
happening inside Finny; perhaps the suffering he has admitted to feeling is dragging him
down, perhaps he is silently becoming bitter about his injury and pain.
Just as Finny becomes more and more withdrawn, his usual jovial theories and insistence
on living in his own world become more unhealthy, as Finny begins to live in a great
sense of denial. Finny refuses to hear anything related to the war, when before he merely
jokes such talk aside, and he stubbornly insists that Leper is still around, or that he's gone
off into nature to explore. Brinker also undergoes a change, losing all his determination to
march on to war because he cannot find anyone else who is willing to go. He resigns
every post he holds on campus, as one of the foremost figures of the school; both he and
Finny pretty much stop doing anything around campus, as the school loses more people
than just Leper, although the others are still on campus.
As usual, the weather, which is the main indicator and symbol of the general mood on
campus, reflects the change that has come over several of the boys. The images of the
outdoors become very bleak, depressed, and are conquered by the winter; with "every
sprig of vitality snapped" around them, the boys, like Brinker and Finny, become
similarly depressed and inactive. The weather seems either to be sympathetic to the boys'
moods, or to make a great impression on their feelings.
Summary and Analysis of Chapters 10-11
Chapter 10 Summary:
Gene talks about finally going into the service after he graduated, about how his time was
all training and he never actually had to go to war. He goes to see Leper at his home in
Vermont, and Leper is definitely changed; he is very unpleasant and bitter with Gene, and
seems to have been scarred in some way by his time in the service. Leper accuses Gene
of causing Finny to fall out of the tree, and reveals that he left the service because he was
about to be discharged for mental health reasons. Gene gets angry and attacks Leper for
his comments, then apologizes and is too embarrassed to leave immediately. After lunch,
Leper and Gene go for a walk, and Gene sees that Leper really has cracked up. Leper
talks nonsense, and somehow it affects Gene, who yells at Leper to stop talking, and then
runs away when Leper won't.

Analysis:
Leper becomes a symbol for what the war does to young men like himself, especially
since he has a breakdown before he even gets overseas. Leper's tale is supposed to stand
for what happens to innocence when it is suddenly overwhelmed by experience or reality,
and Leper is chosen to be the object of this lesson because of how untouched and
peaceable he was before he left. The whole thing is rather improbable, since Leper talks
and acts more like Brinker, and really bears no resemblance to his old self after the
incident. There is really no indication beforehand that he would be capable of reacting in
such a way, and afterward there is little sense of who he is, or at least of the character that
was established before he enlisted. Leper is yet another character, like Finny, who is
more symbolic than real, written to make a point than to be a believably real
characterization.
One thing that Leper is able to do after his army experience is peg Gene's personality, and
know what he did to Finny. Finally, naïve little Leper evaluates Gene in a more accurate
way than anyone else in the book; "You always were a savage underneath," Leper tells
Gene, "a swell guy, except when the chips were down" (136). The appraisal is absolutely
right on, though Gene of course doesn't want to hear it. So Gene breaks out into violence,
confirming Leper's statement. Gene says that he doesn't really care about Leper, and
shows off his angry temperament quite a bit in this chapter. We see that Gene, for all his
civility at school, still has a bit of a mean streak in him, and still has the capacity to lash
out at people for nothing, like he did with Finny. Gene is unstable and unpredictable
when faced with the truth, or with something that upsets him; he's not quite the nice rule-
abider he wants to portray himself as, as he displays once again. This introduces the
theme of appearance vs. reality, because as Gene refuses to understand his own nature, he
will be unable to represent himself the way he really is.
This chapter is somewhat awkwardly written in places, like with Leper's brand-new
personality on show, and with Gene's oddly motivated reaction at the end. Why Leper'sr
talk disturbs Gene so much is not made clear at all; Gene doesn't say why he is so
incredibly upset at it, though presumably it has something to do with him identifying with
the feelings that Leper is expressing. Still, the prose in this section is rather murky, with
the only reason that Gene gives for not wanting to hear it is that it has "nothing to do with
[him]" (143). Does this mean that Gene feels responsible for what happened to Leper? On
the other hand, how could he feel any responsibility, not having been there when Leper
started going crazy, and after being a better friend to him than most of the boys at the
school. Does Gene feel that he too is going crazy, which is why he doesn't want to hear
it? Or is Gene simply being callous, and doesn't want to help Leper out any more?
Because the motivation for Gene flipping out and running away is anything but clear, his
reaction doesn't have the same power that the prose clearly intends it to have. Gene says
that he "didn't want to hear any more of it. Not now or everŠI didn't want to hear any
more of it. Ever" (143); the repetition emphasizes his sentiments, but since it is hard to
figure out why he is acting like this, it is impossible to empathize. Gene's story gains
most of its emotional impact through the empathy he helps his reader to feel with him,
but when it is difficult to find a way to empathize with him, this emotional impact is lost.
Chapter 11 Summary:
Gene is finally back at school, and finds Finny involved in a snowball fight at the edge of
campus. Gene slinks away, afraid that someone will ask him how things went with Leper,
but he is caught by Finny, who pegs him with a snowball. Gene finds himself caught in
the snowball fight, which, at the end, has all of them pelting Finny.
Brinker again comes to visit the boys, usually not a good sign; he gets the truth about
Leper out of Gene, and is surprised at first, but then believes the news. Finny reveals
during the course of the conversation that he's finished with his little fake-war talk and
his attempts to keep himself in a fantasy world of his own making.
Devon again becomes swept up by the war, with a lot of recruitment and many boys
planning to go into military training or military school. None of them are in a real hurry,
however, as many of them are only planning on training to keep them out of combat for
as long as possible. Brinker gets people in the war spirit, but is spending plenty of time
making up schemes that will also keep him away from the front.
Brinker confronts Gene again, acting as a sort of youthful conscience figure. Brinker
again reasserts that he knows Gene caused Finny's accident, and since Finny has to
realize that he is crippled for life, they might as well make sure he understands that fact.
Gene doesn't agree, and lets Brinker make his point.
After Gene has dutifully translated Finny's Latin, Brinker and pals rush into their room
and drag them out to the First Building, which Brinker still has the keys to. Brinker, who
is far more obsessed with Finny's accident than either Gene or Finny are, is holding some
kind of inquiry into the accident, with a few other boys there to act as an examining jury.
Brinker brings Leper, who was at the scene of the accident, out to speak; when Leper
says that Gene did indeed push Finny, Finny freaks out and runs from the room. He falls
on the marble steps outside, and re-breaks his leg.
Analysis:
Gene is prone to underestimating Finny and Finny's experiences, especially because of
the accident. Gene would like to believe that his friend is his old jovial self, truly
believing that "with him there was no conflict except between athletes," which certainly
holds little truth (144). Gene doesn't even consider Finny's bitterness toward him,
displayed once before, for causing him to be crippled; this is another harsh truth that
Gene certainly doesn't want to face, since they are so close and so dependent on each
other. In this chapter, Gene finally finds out how much Finny has changed‹that he isn't
the same happy-go-lucky, in his own universe type of guy‹and that he has been through
a great deal, and been touched by his experience. This is part of the theme of change
under crisis, which also applies to Leper's case‹Finny is faced with his closest friend's
treachery, his physical limitations, and the reality of the war, and Leper is unable to deal
with the stresses of military training.
Finally, the depths of winter have been shrugged off, as Gene is enthralled by the
"vitality" that, to him, signals the coming of spring. But this feeling is just a short-lived
reprieve; Gene's "peace" that he felt before was shattered by seeing Leper, and knowing
from his experience that the war is definitely real. Gene himself acknowledges that they
don't have much time left to feel so young and carefree; "I kept wondering about next
spring, about [whether it] had this aura of promise in itŠI felt fairly sure it didn't" (146).
The bigger wave that Gene had mentioned is about to hit, and the war is becoming
something that the boys can no longer ignore.
When a set-off section appears discussing the state of Finny's leg, this is a rather plain
instance of foreshadowing. Chances are, the author wouldn't draw such attention to this
subject if it wasn't to become important later; and, by the end of the chapter, this issue
becomes very important, as the boys' confidence about Finny's strength proves false.
Finny's insistence that his leg is stronger, and Gene's agreement, is ironic taken with the
events at the end of the chapter.
Leper's transformation has an effect on more people than just Gene; both Brinker and
Finny are changed somehow by hearing about it, especially Finny, who finally
acknowledges that the war is real because of Gene's account of events. Brinker is the
most skeptical of Gene's story at first; "no one can change that much," he insists, an
ironic statement since that is exactly what has happened (148). But, Brinker is also the
one who is least surprised, in the end, by what happened; he guesses Leper's whole story,
somehow, from Gene's brief statements that Leper has changed and panicked after he
enlisted. Brinker seems genuinely saddened by what happened to Leper, yet he is able to
turn around and try to destroy Gene and Finny's friendship directly afterward. Brinker
doesn't seem to be emotionally affected by anything for long, nor does he seem to
understand other people quite as well as he pretends to.
As soon as Gene tells them about Leper, Finny seems to have automatically changed.
When Brinker makes a remark about Finny being crippled and sidelined, Finny just
accepts the remark, rather than giving Brinker heck for saying such a thing. When Gene
urges Finny to say that there isn't a war, Finny obliges him, but his completely ironic
statement betrays that he no longer believes in his own fantasy-world constructions.
The struggle between war and peace on campus appears to be almost won by war; though
Devon, as Gene insists, is "by tradition and choice the most civilian of schools," still the
boys there can't go on acting like they won't be in the military in a matter of months
(150). Gene notes the divide between the students at the school and the recruitment
officers who pay them frequent visits; he uses a metaphor that relates the school to
Athens and the military representatives to Sparta, emphasizing the "deep and sincere
difference" between the two, which is very hard to bridge (151). Enlistment fever has
died down, but still, something is lost on campus when the war is allowed to encroach;
the boys are forced to think of their adult lives, and the possibilities that their lives might
be lost‹heavy thoughts for young boys of 17.
Brinker's behavior turns vindictive and strange in this chapter; where his extended joke
about Gene's guilt was a bit odd, his obsession with Finny's accident and condition is
unexplainable. Brinker has absolutely no reason to suspect any foul play, since he wasn't
at school when it happened, and none of the boys present said anything of the sort to
anyone. It seems like a form of ESP for Brinker to just waltz in on he first day and
automatically know what happened outside of his presence; and why he would be
completely obsessed with events which had nothing to do with him, and for which he was
not present, is even more mysterious. Brinker is obviously meant to be a kind of
conscience figure, intended to dredge the ugly truth up in front of Gene and Finny; but
isn't this purpose rather redundant, since both Gene and Finny know the truth without
Brinker's unwanted interference?
To state it plainly, Brinker has no stake in the matter, and no motive in his actions that is
discernible from the text. He has no way of knowing what went on, and no sources to
draw on in order to create his "theories." The patchy motivations and the indistinct
characterization of Brinker make him seem like another symbolic figure. It is as if he
were a creation of both Gene and Finny's inner conscience, reluctantly spawned by both
of them as a way of forcing themselves to confront the realities of the accident, and their
state afterward. Brinker is another character who is anything but realistic, and operates on
a more allegorical and less realistic plane than a character like Gene. The novel itself
seems to be attempting some sort of realism, with its carefully drawn main characters, its
painstakingly constructed settings, and its extensive treatment of themes relating to
ordinary human nature. But, in places like this one, the story loses its realistic thread and
tries to vault itself to the level of a parable. The novel is uneven because of this divide
between two different genres and kinds of writing; it is an incomplete work of realism
colored with self-examination, combined with an incomplete parable.
The inquiry itself is rather odd, since neither Gene nor Finny consent to it or want to take
place in the proceedings. Brinker resides as the chief of the proceedings, hell-bent on
getting the "facts" into the open for everyone's own good; how ironic, since it is the
disclosure of the facts which causes Finny's second accident, and puts a great traumatic
strain on him and Gene. As Gene says in his apt metaphor, Brinker is "imagining himself
Justice incarnate"; but even Gene knows that Brinker is going at this from the wrong
angle, since "Justice incarnate isŠalso blindfolded," while Brinker is trying to get his
desired outcome out of the whole affair (161).
Just as Gene tries to deny responsibility for the accident, Finny tries his best to cover up
his friend's guilt. They work together to try and thwart the charges that Brinker puts
before them, and fully illustrate their very different natures. Gene is being more selfish in
his attempts to cover things up, with his lies meant to hide his involvement; Finny is
trying only to shield his friend from any implications, and tries to divert attention away
from Gene's guilt. But this is one time that they cannot deny what has happened, and the
truth comes out, despite their wishes that it be their secret. This is a unique occasion,
because Finny cries, for the first time that Gene has been witness to, and for the first time
in the book. He surrenders his will to fight, which may be partly to blame for his accident
at the end of this chapter.
Summary and Analysis of Chapters 12-13
Chapter 12 Summary:
The others rush out to help Finny; someone goes to fetch Mr. Stanpole, and someone else
gets Phil Latham, the wrestling coach, who helps Finny until the doctor can arrive. Dr.
Stanpole finally gets there, and Finny is carried to the infirmary in a chair. Finny is put
into Dr. Stanpole's car, and a crowd gathers around, with Gene well at the back. Gene is
told to go back to his dorm, but he wants to see how Finny is; he follows Dr. Stanpole's
car to the infirmary, and scouts out the room he believes Finny to be in. He waits until
everyone is gone from Finny's room, then opens Finny's window and pulls himself inside.
Finny is angry at Gene, and falls out of his bed while trying to get up and come at him;
Gene says he's sorry, and leaves, walking back depressed.

Rather than going home, Gene walks around the stadium and the gym; he is in a strange
sort of reverie, where he feels like a spirit, and everything around him is vibrant and full
of meaning. The next morning, he gets a note to take some of Finny's things to the
infirmary; he is worried because he doesn't know what to say to Finny, and is saddened
by having to live through this situation again.
Gene goes to the infirmary, and Finny is very different from the night before; he is crying
and his hands are unsteady, and he asks Gene if he had made him fall out of the tree
because Gene hated him. Gene reassures him that it was some blind unexplainable thing
that made him do it, and it had nothing to do with hate or any ill-will against Finny. Finny
says he believes Gene, and they finally reach closure with that issue.
When Gene returns to the Infirmary to see Finny after his operation, he meets Dr.
Stanpole. Dr. Stanpole sits him down and tells him that Finny died during the operation.
Gene is too shocked to even think about it, and cannot cry because he feels like he died
too, along with his friend.
Analysis:
The scene after Finny's accident is very odd; with no mention of him either speaking or
moving, it is like he is already dead. This is the final break between Finny and Gene;
Gene stays at the edge of the crowd while Finny is in the center, and there doesn't seem to
be any contact between them, or any recognition on Finny's part either. Gene notes a
difference in Finny's look too; he says the sight of Finny being carried off is like that of
"some tragic and exalted personage, a stricken pontiff." Finny's position is finally
reversed, as he truly becomes helpless, and his friend is too shocked to step in and help
him out. This comparison does not bode well for Finny's recovery; in Gene's language,
there is a sense that things are coming to an end that foreshadows Finny's fate.
Too late, Gene finally realizes that Finny believed him to be "an extension of himself"
(171). Gene never came close to extending the same kind of regard to Finny that Finny
had to him; Gene finally has to realize how he failed his friend, and how his jealousies
impeded a true friendship between them. Finny and Gene seem to be giving each other up
here; it is one of the few times since Finny's return that the two have allowed themselves
to be separated.
This is the first time that Gene has been seen in a real crisis situation, and his way of
dealing with it is to think of as many funny things as he can. He suddenly concocts jokes
to the things he believes that Dr. Stanpole and Phil Latham would say to Finny, then
creates some amusing scenario around all of them. It is hardly the time to be devoting his
thought-power to such trivial things, but it helps him to keep his mind off how serious
Finny's condition might be, and how Finny might regard him after this second accident.
Gene laughs himself to tears as a coping mechanism, because it is easier to fill himself
with fake happiness than to deal with the events that are going on around him.
Gene and Finny's separation is made complete by Finny's anger against Gene. Finny is
not one to get angry, but this anger serves as a final rejection of Gene, and a logical
reaction to a person who has hurt him so badly. Gene, also uncharacteristically, lets Finny
get himself up after he falls; in the Gene/ Finny relationship of old, Gene would have
automatically gone to help, and Finny would have let him.
From Gene's reaction after seeing Finny at the infirmary, it seems that Gene is already
mourning the passing of his friend. He goes around to all of their usual spots, recalling
their significance in their relationship; he seems like he is in shock, going past the gym
and declaring that it had " a significance much deeper and far more real than I had
noticed before" (177). Even the trees around him become "intensely meaningful," and
seem as if they would tell him something "very pressing and entirely undecipherable"
(177). Gene's language makes a familiar landscape entirely strange and luminescent; he
says that he is like a ghost, in a very interesting metaphor, in surroundings that are
"intensely real" (178). Gene has already said goodbye to Devon, and to the memories
included in his surroundings; he is mourning things before they are lost to him, and it is
almost like he knows that Finny will soon die. This walk makes sense when Finny's
demise is considered; it seems like a logical reaction to the death, but instead is an act of
foreknowledge, a bit of foreshadowing of significant events to come.
Finny's confession that he denied the war because he couldn't get involved is something
that Gene never even considered before. It is interesting that Finny blocked it out because
it was the one thing he couldn't be involved in if he tried; he is so used to being able to
get involved in anything that he chooses, that he cannot bear it when there is something
he definitely cannot do. But, it was providence that Finny did break his leg, as Gene
makes him see; as the kind of person who doesn't recognize teams or sides, who feels free
to change alliances for no reason and likes the kind of game where it is him against
everybody, he just couldn't grasp the philosophy behind war.
It is good that Finny and Gene come to some sort of reconciliation at that point. Finny
forgives Gene for the first time, since he only just stopped denying Gene's responsibility.
There is closure in Gene's statements about not hurting Finny out of anything conscious
or out of hate, and Finny saying that he believes Gene. When Gene said "this is it" about
meeting Finny this time, he knew that they would have to close the issue somehow; with
that statement, he foreshadowed his and Finny's reconciliation, and also that something
big and final, like Finny's death, was about to happen.
Gene's ability to recall all of the events of the day of Finny's death is very significant; it is
like that whole day is frozen in time, and his discussing it in such detail is almost like he
is reliving it. This is the only time in the whole book when Gene talks about a meal he
had at school, the conversation over the meal in the dining hall, and what he did, hour by
hour, on one school day. He talks about his class schedule, where he was when and what
he did during that time, and evokes, for the first time in the book, what an ordinary day
was like at Devon.
That he recalls everything in such detail before he finds out about Finny's death is
strange, because it is almost like he knows about it from the night before, when Gene
started to recall things in incredible detail. Otherwise, he would have had to go back in
his memory and tack down everything that had happened that day, if he could remember,
after he found out about Finny. Either way, it is quite different from how most people
remember significant moments; as Brinker says, when he saw a child he knew get hit by
a car, he can remember the surroundings, the feel, and the details surrounding that
moment. But it is not as if Brinker can recall what he had to eat before it happened, what
time he woke up that day, and everything that had happened up until that moment; for
most people, the moment in which they hear such news is very vivid, and sticks in their
memory. But for Gene, the vivid moments are concluded, when he actually hears the
news about Finny's death.
It seems that Gene only really appreciates what Finny was to him when Finny dies. Finny
had thought of Gene as an extension of himself, but it is only after Finny's death that
Gene feels it is his own death too. Finny was the sort of person who appreciated people,
like Gene, for what they were to him, and felt free to tell them their significance. Gene,
however, wasn't even able to acknowledge what Finny was to him until it was too late,
and Finny was already lost. This recalls Finny telling Gene that he was his best friend,
and Gene not being able to say the same thing; Gene is unable to search his feelings and
come up with the same conclusion as Finny.
Finny is a casualty of war, without ever having been involved in battle. Brinker says this,
and Dr. Stanpole reiterates it; but it is not the same kind of war that Finny is really a
victim of. He is a victim of a sort of internal war, against yourself, that lashes out against
others. Gene hurt Finny because his jealousy and carelessness and his "savage" nature
took control of him; Gene didn't hurt himself in trying to get his good nature to win out
over the bad, someone innocent was harmed in this struggle. Just as Finny is a victim of
Gene's war, so many people turned out to be victims of someone else's war too; perhaps
this is why Dr. Stanpole and Brinker see Finny as a war casualty, because his situation is
very similar to theirs.
Chapter 13 Summary:
It is June, and Devon gives use of the Far Common to the war effort. Brinker and Gene
watch the troops and jeeps and equipment being brought in, for a Parachute Rigger's
School being made there; Brinker brings up Leper, which Gene tells him not to talk
about. Gene says that no one blames him for what happened to Finny, although he blames
himself.
Gene is introduced to Brinker's dad, and says that he has joined the Navy. Brinker has
joined the Coast Guard, probably part of his scheme to stay out of battle. Brinker's dad is
very gung-ho about the military, and gives the boys a speech about having a good
military record, and how people will respect them based on what they did for the war.
Brinker obviously doesn't agree.
Gene then talks about Finny, and his experience in the war; how Finny was the only
person he knew whose character was safe from being corrupted by the war, and how his
friendship with Finny prepared him for his own experience. In lieu of Finny, he has
finally adopted Finny's way of looking at things, and some of Finny's personality and
rebelliousness. Finny means a lot to him and still influences him, and Gene is finally able
to appreciate his friend for all that he was, and make peace with him.
Analysis:
War finally, and literally, takes over Devon; it has arrived, and Gene is more than ready
to leave. The campus becomes unrecognizable to him, with all the military gear; since the
peace of the summer before is completely dead and definitely a thing of the past, it is
easy for him to say goodbye to it and continue on to his adult life. The other symbol of
his carefree youth was Finny, and he died just as his glorious summer was about to
disappear forever because of the war; Gene has nothing left to cling to of his childhood,
so it is time for him to go.
Would Gene have been able to go off to war, and would war have been able to encroach
upon Devon, if Finny was still there? The war would have necessarily divided Finny and
Gene, since Gene could serve and Finny could not; their old friendship would have ended
anyway, and Gene would finally be taken over by order and discipline, and severed from
his old friend's rebelliousness.
However, Finny doesn't really die in Gene; as Gene says, "Phineas created an atmosphere
in which I continued now to live," and he takes up Finny's way of looking at the world
and choosing what to accept and what to let go. Because Finny is gone, Gene does have
to let some of Finny's spirit reside in him.
The general explanation for Leper's change comes out in one of the book's closing
paragraphs. Gene speaks about how everyone "at some point found something in
themselves pitted violently against something in the world around them" (194). And, as a
result of this overwhelming conflict with some great force, "the simplicity and unity of
their characters broke and they were not the same again." Certainly, Leper is an example
of this theory in action, though his description of his struggle wasn't nearly as coherent or
simply put. But, does this same thing happen to Gene? It is not clear; though Gene has
been through a great deal, with his relationship with Finny and Finny's death as well, it
seems like he has adopted some of the coping mechanisms that Finny had, and is not as
touched by this kind of struggle. For a time, though, Finny's death is the force that floors
him; maybe he is not exactly the same after this happens, though Gene tries his best to
say that Finny lives in him, so he will get by okay.
But, at the same time, Gene admits that he had broken Finny's "harmonious and natural
unity"; if Finny too had lost this, can Gene ever hope to retain it? And what does this
mean about Gene? He has given various explanations in the book for hurting
Finny‹from it being a blind impulse in him, to it being an attempt to win out over his
friend, to the accident being the sole product of some dark side that he has. Are any of
these really the truth? Indeed, Gene seems reluctant to speak directly and honestly about
the accident, and say definitively what his motivation was and why. And maybe this isn't
something Gene will ever know; as he admits in the book, there are a great number of
things that he doesn't know about himself, that he would like to never find out. This could
be one of them, and could be the reason why Gene admits fault for the accident, but won't
really search within himself for why he did it. But, if Finny and Gene also let the incident
rest, then Gene might feel this is a good enough reason to let the past alone, and not
experience the pain all over again.
One of the final lessons, that Gene goes into on the last page, is how futile hate and fear
both are; he cites Mr. Ludsbury, Brinker, and Leper as being misguided and losing a great
deal in citing their own enemies and trying their best to defend against them. Gene says
he has already killed his own enemy, and therefore has gotten rid of his hate and his fear.
Gene's enemy must have been himself, or at least the part of himself that was so quick to
lash out and hurt other people. He believes that he has buried his darker side, and from
what the reader can tell, maybe he has. Hopefully Finny's influence is as strong with him
as he insists, and he will never again let himself slip into carelessly harming someone
who is almost part of himself.

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