A Separate Peace Gene And Finny Comparison

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the two main characters, Phineas and Gene, have many qualities that compliment each other, but both individuals also exhibit some large contrasts which become clear throughout the novel. To begin, Finny and Gene both posses individual strengths that influence the other boy. Both boys are very passionate about a certain subject. Finny is passionate in athletics, as demonstrated through his many sports and activities. Before Phineas jumps off the tree, Gene points out: “Even as a Lower Middler Phineas had been the best athlete in the school” (16). By saying this, Gene is implying that even as a lower middle school student, Finny had been a better athlete than most of the boys that had been ready to go off

Gene for example realizes that he has the savage force inside of himself. After he jounced the branch and Finny fell, Gene realizes that he was the cause of Finny's injury and comes up to him to tell him that: “Oh i was thinking about you and the accident because I caused it” (69). Gene changed because he used to believe that the limb had just jounced and it hadn't been his fault, but now he actually realizes that he had been the one who had ruined Finny's sports career, and has come to terms with it. Gene also changed in the fact that he goes from unjealous of Finny to very jealous of Finny. When Gene begins to realize that Finny could get away with anything, he couldn’t help envying him a little: “There was no harm in envying your best friend a little. At the beginning of the novel, Gene respects Finny and looks up to him, but now he envies him and thinks of him as evil. To ad on, Finny also changed over the course of the novel. Ultimately, he realizes that the savage force exists. During the mock trial held by Beaker, Finny is thinking about the incident when he realizes, “No,” said Finny spontaneously, “I don't think so.” He looked at the ceiling. “Or was there? maybe there was somebody climbing up the rungs of the trunk.” (169). During this scene, Finny starts to think about the instance and begins to piece together what had happened, to subconsciously figure out that Gene had done it the whole time.Finny just then figures that the savage force exists and is right next to him. Finny also changed in the point that he was not in fear of Gene before the incident, but then once he broke his leg, he reconciles that Gene was the cause of all his misfortune. Once Finny breaks his leg for the second time, Gene comes and visits him in the infirmary, when Finny says, “You want to break something else in me! Is that why you're here?” (184). Before this, Funny thought of Gene as his best friend and now he