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The book, “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles is a coming of age story of two best friends, Gene and Finny.
Even though the story can be told through Gene’s viewpoint, his understanding of Finny is most important as Finny develops psychologically through the entire book. A pivotal second in Finny’s psychological creation is Brinker’s investigation in Chapter 11, when Finny finally acknowledges it was Gene who pushed him which changes Finny’s innocent look at of the world. Finny sees everyone how he wants to find them, if, perhaps the world is a fundamentally friendly place. In life he usually thinks the very best of people and counts nobody as his enemy, in the same way he dislikes games with winners and losers.
Blitzball, the game this individual invents in which everyone competes furiously nevertheless no one is victorious, shows Finny’s attitude toward life. According to Gene, these attributes make Finny unique. But , Finny’s incapability to see others as aggressive is his weakness along with his strength; he refuses to believe any kind of dark purposes toward Gene. Finny’s naïve mindset makes him imagine everyone feels like he does.
This carefree, engage attitude is among the roots of Gene’s envy of Finny, although Finny, aware only of him self and finding the good in others, by no means seems to pick up on Gene’s interior turmoil. Gene’s resentment of his closest friend caused him to hold darker, unspoken feelings toward Finny which led him to enhance Finny off of the tree, making him not able to play sports, his most notable skill. However Finny, discovering the best in everyone, will not even think that his best friend could have induced the accident. When Gene tries to concede that it was his fault intended for the crash, Finny will not talk about what he doesn’t want to listen to.
Getting annoyed at Gene, Finnt explains to him, “If you don’t shut up, I’ll you do not. ” Yet , Brinker’s investigation in section 11 shows Finny’s mental transition when he is finally able to listen to what this individual doesn’t wish to hear. The 1st time Gene attempted to confess it turned out his problem; Finny quickly gets upset and simply won’t talk about this. On the other hand, Brinker/s trial forces Finny to simply accept the truth and illustrates Finny’s psychological advancement, considering Finny doesn’t behave like he did the 1st time Gene tried to talk about the fall. It takes Finny longer to get angry, and he’s more tolerant to talk about the accident.
Once Brinker asked Finny if he had at any time considered that he didn’t just drop out of the woods, implying that someone pushed him, Gene describes Finny’s reaction as it “touched a unique point Phineas had been turning over in his mind for years. I could tell that since his obstinate, competitive appearance left his face while his brain became interested for the first time. ” (Pg. 169) Finny can now be open to discussing the incident and it requires him much longer to get upset than it performed the first time.
When Leper told the truth about the fall, Finny became annoyed again since “The phrases shocked Phineas into recognition. ” (Pg. 177) Finny’s mindset alterations from finding a world with no wrong to the understanding, less naïve watch.
