By John Knowles

 The novel is set at Devon, a private boarding school in New Hampshire, during World War II. The novel begins with the main characters, Gene and Finny, at Devon for a summer session. The school hopes that this session will allow students to receive a diploma before they are drafted on their 18 th birthday. Gene and Finny are roommates and friends at the school. Finny is a natural athlete who also acts as a leader for the other boys. Gene, however, is more academically oriented and is jealous of Finny’s natural ability in sports, a quality he lacks in academics.

 First-person narrative  Tone: nostalgia; the narrator’s feelings about his past.  The details of this recollection are dependent upon memory.  Theme of reflection; relation of a man to his much younger self.  Setting creates images: conservatism and traditionalism.

 Devon has changed; contrast between reality and what exists in the memory.  Theme of memory vs. reality; note description of the tree.  Devon – symbol of innocence and lost youth; symbol of fear he felt.  Foreshadowing: hardness of the marble stairs.

 June/November weather symbolism: Gene as a youth and Gene as a man.  Gene & Finny as foils; Gene is rule-abiding & conservative; Finny is a daredevil with rule breaking attitude.

 Finny: charming; persuasive. He escapes punishment by inventing ridiculous excuses; succeeds in “winning over” the masters.  Rebellion vs. conformity: Finny mixes both – he does well in school and sports – he fits in; however, he is a rebel.  Innocence vs. age: they are children of a “careless peace” set apart from the adults by their lack of knowledge of the war.

 Finny – pink shirt – he says it’s a symbol of patriotism. It is really a symbol of Finny’s willingness to be different; he cared little about what people thought about this (one of his little acts of rebellion).

 Tone changes from end of Chapter 2. Ch. 2 – Gene grateful to Finny for saving him; Ch. 3 – Gene accuses Finny of being responsible for the whole thing; we see jealousy and negative feelings Gene has for Finny.  Gene – feels obligation to Finny; feels like he is in a “strait jacket”.  The jealousy in Gene’s nature causes him to think badly of Finny and cast himself as Finny’s opponent.

 Innocence vs. experience – seniors: completing obstacle courses and exercises; juniors: playing fields at their disposal.  Blitzball – Finny’s inventive spirit; athletic ability; “sheer acts of mass hypnotism”.  Gene – in his description of Finny, makes him seem larger than life.  Time switch – present – Gene reflects on World War II influence.

 Metaphor – Finny as a bullet – swimming incident; rebellion.  Ocean visit – Gene’s refusal to answer Finny – foreshadows conflict (something wrong beneath the surface of their friendship).

 Sunrise – usually symbolic of rebirth or enlightenment. In this chapter, in symbolizes a more negative change that comes suddenly to Gene.  Description of the beach – “totally white and stainless” – just as Finny’s character turns out to be; Gene, however, expects that there is a grey nature in Finny’s character.  Irony – Gene thinks Finny is trying to keep him from excelling and is engaged in some sort of

competition with him (as far from the truth as it can possibly be).  Gene’s jealousy of Finny helps to create an utterly unflattering portrait of Finny.  Gene – perhaps melodramatic – “deadly rivalry”.  Vengeful  Truth vs. dangerous falsehood; Gene misinterprets his destructive anger as genuine despair.

 We see the dark side to Gene’s character whereas Finny seems more pure and good- hearted than before.  Good vs. evil – Gene harms his friend.  Gene is actually projecting his own feelings into Finny (self-ambition).  By the end, Gene is more bitter and sarcastic towards Finny; Finny is more honest and sincere.

 Irony – Gene completely misjudged his friend and only he was guilty of the things of which he accused his friend.  More ironic – Gene still causes Finny to fall from the tree.

 Gene – guilty; confused; in denial about his responsibility – committing such a malicious act in such a callous way.  Gene – identity crisis; insecurity causes him to be suspicious and deceitful towards his friend.  Look for Gene and Finny becoming more like one person: Gene wearing Finny’s clothes; Gene continuing Finny’s athletic pursuits. This foreshadows coming developments in their relationship.

 Gene struggles to see himself as an essentially good person at heart; still painful 15 years later.  Symbol – limb represents common ground on which Gene and Finny’s relationship rests.  Finny’s fall – symbolizes the growing personal divide Gene feels between them – jealousy and competitiveness.  By the end of the chapter, Gene’s guilt remains and still weighs upon him. He is unable to overcome him naiveté about the flaws in his nature & his denial surrounding the accident.

 Comparison of easygoing summer session to rigorous, crowded fall session (rarity of the days they had).  Change of seasons: change in Gene’s life and his relationship with Finny (no longer able to regain what they had that summer).  Theme of change and of time passing (chapel scene) – school doesn’t have the “old glory” it once had for him.

 Finny’s falling from the tree – event that marked old Devon’s death.  Finny’s accident symbolizes the beginning of Gene’s adulthood.  Formality vs. freedom – Gene vs. Finny; fall vs. summer session; adulthood vs. childhood.  Gene – takes on Finny’s struggles; sympathizing with him in terms of Finny’s physical limitations.  Quackenbush – conflict – Gene somehow defending Finny – “maimed son of a b****”

 Gene – won’t participate in sports – guilt; sympathy; taking on Finny’s burdens.  Gene’s feelings of jealousy and suspicion disappear after the accident – he begins to bond himself to Finny.  Finny surrogate in sports (sense of guilt-born obligation).  Gene confesses his purpose in hurting Finny might have been “to become a part of Phineas”. Could be a distraction from Gene’s real issue – malicious actions…

 Introduced to Brinker Hadley – sarcastic; temperamental. His accusatory words contrast with his light tone.  Gene – guilty but tries not to respond too seriously to Brinker. “The truth will out…” prompted by guilt he is trying to hide. Butt room – distraction.  Butt room – Brinker’s words intensify; more accusing tone; images of this room as a prison add to the darkness and discomfort of the scene.

 Note diction: “prisoner”, “proper authorities”, “treachery”.  Gene has to play along or explode in a display of guilt; he left without having a smoke; wanted to get away quickly.  Irony – mock trial – a “crime” actually has taken place.  Coming of snow represents coming of war to Devon. Snow is used as a symbol of unrest and the reality coming for the boys.

 Leper – scarecrow metaphor – liked to remain on the periphery of things.  Change from boisterous young men to strained-looking laborers – influence of the war. Contrast appearance with troops – fresh vs. warn – ironic.  Motivation to enlist – wish to escape constrictive atmosphere of the school.  Finny’s return to Devon – Gene’s only reason to stay at Devon.

 Finny’s appearance – “vaulted” using crutches like “parallel bars”.  Gene – back to his old ways as a law-abiding student.  Finny – rebellious adolescent; views often contrary to Gene, who is becoming more of a adult.  Finny – accepts Gene’s help when nobody around (silent agreement).  Gene – dogged by guilt; identity issues to deal with.

 Finny’s return – Gene’s constant reminder of guilt; part of Gene coming to terms with his darker nature.  Gene realizes Finny needs him; contrast with summer session.  Gene – reflective; self-conscious; sensitive.  Enlisting could have been a distraction – he wouldn’t have to concentrate on his own internal battle.  Wave imagery for war; perhaps a bigger shake- up to occur.

 Finny – war a gimmick to keep the masses in line.  Boys closer to being almost the same person – athletics and academics.

 Leper – change of heart – “everything has to evolve or else it perishes.” FORESHADOWING – Gene will have to make great adjustments to get through; recall “wave” metaphor – something definitely about to happen.  Leper – sees war as a happy, ideal picture and is taken more serious by the boys once he goes to war; symbol of heroism.  Gene – slow to attempt any self-examination for fear of what he may find.

 Finny – transformation – more and more dependent on Gene; withdraws from his friends because of their talk about war and about Leper. Perhaps something different? (Silently becoming bitter about his injury and pain?)  Weather references – changes that come over the boys – depressed and inactive.  Winter Carnival  Telegram from Leper – “escaped” – SUSPENSE.

 Leper – symbol of what war does to young men; he has his breakdown even before he gets overseas. This demonstrates what happens to innocence when suddenly overwhelmed by experience or reality. Contrast with how “untouched” and “peaceable” he was.  After his army experience, Leper evaluates Gene more accurately than anyone: “You always were a savage underneath.”

 Gene breaks out into violence, confirming Leper’s statement. He shows his angry temperament quite a bit in this chapter; mean streak; capacity to lash out at people for nothing (like he did with Finny). He is unstable and unpredictable when faced with the truth (even though he portrays himself as the nice rule-abider). Theme of appearance vs. reality – Gene refuses to understand his own nature.

 Gene doesn’t consider Finny’s bitterness towards him.  Theme of change under crisis: Finny & Leper. Finny is faced with his closest friend’s treachery, his own physical limitations and the reality of war. Leper is unable to deal with the stresses of military training.  Coming of Spring – wave about to hit; war is something the boys can no longer ignore.

 Finny – insistence that his leg is stronger; ironic due to events at end of chapter.  Leper’s transformation – Finny finally acknowledges that the war is real.  Brinker – genuinely saddened by what happened to Leper but able to turn around and try to destroy Gene and Finny’s friendship.  Brinker’s behavior is strange and vindictive. What is hi motive for the inquiry?  Gene tries to cover things up; Finny tries to shield his friend from any implication.

 They can’t deny what happened and the truth comes out.  Finny cries; surrenders his will to fight.  Brinker’s inquiry causes Finny’s second fall.

 Finny doesn’t speak or mover after the accident – a “stricken pontiff” – sense that things are coming to an end that foreshadows Finny’s fate.  Gene finally realizes Finny believed him to be “an extension of himself” – realizes how his jealousy impeded a true friendship.  Gene doesn’t deal well with a crisis situation – thinks of as many funny things as he can – easier to deal with fake happiness.

 Finny’s anger – final rejection; logical reaction.  Gene – in shock – goes to all of their “spots” – mourning things before they are lost to him.  Finny’s confession about denying the war (p. 190)  Reconciliation; Finny forgives; closure (p. 191)  Gene remembers every detail concerning the day Finny died.  “I did not cry then or ever about Finny.”

 “I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.”  Gene only really appreciates what Finny was to him when Finny dies.  Finny as a casualty of war? He was an innocent victim in Gene’s internal war (jealousy, carelessness and savage nature taking control of him).

 No more “peace “ at Devon – war has arrived; Gene is ready to say goodbye and continue on to his adult life.  War probably would have divided Gene and Finny; friendship probably would have ended; Gene would have been severed from Finny’s rebelliousness.  Gene admits he broke Finny’s “harmonious and natural unity” but he seems reluctant to speak directly and honestly about the accident,

and say definitively what his motivation was and why: Blind impulse? Attempt to win out over his friend? Dark side?  Gene admits there are a great number of things that he does not know about himself and he would like to never find out.  Final pages – Gene has gotten rid of his own enemy and has gotten rid of his hate and fear. Gene’s enemy may have been the part of himself that was so quick to lash out and hurt

others. He believes he has buried his darker side. Hopefully he will never again let himself slip into carelessly harming someone who is almost part of himself.  Important quotes: p. 201 – “…wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.” p. 202 – “All others at some point found something in themselves pitted violently against something in the world around them.” (but not Finny).

p. 202 – “… the simplicity and unity of their characters broke and they were not the same again.” (can apply to Gene and Leper). p. 204 – “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.” (Enemy? Gene’s dark nature or Finny?)