A Separate Peace Group

Question:

nickd15
nickd15
Student
High School - 10th Grade

The adult Gene explains the rationale for his "rivalry" with Finny. Do you think Knowles means for the reader to question Gene's analysis? Explain.

Comment on this issue in terms of characterization...

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Posted by nickd15 on Sunday February 22, 2009 at 6:34 AM and tagged with characters, finny, gene, rivalry.

Answers:


  1. egraham17 Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    Absolutely! Gene is anything but a reliable narrator. He rationalizes his sense of competition by essentially saying "Finny started it." He feels that Finny tries to sabotage his studies, so that he can be the best at everything. Of course, Finny does not want to compete, has no interest in besting Gene, but Gene refuses to acknowledge that until right before he pushes Finny from the tree.

    One way we know that Gene's account is unreliable is how quickly his opinion changes. During their trip to the beach, Gene responds to Finny's declaration that he is his best friend with happiness and contentment. Soon after, he claims how lucky he is that Finny is his roommate. Yet just one page later, he says that he sees the truth about Finny, and that Finny has been plotting against him the entire time. Clearly, Gene does not know exactly what drives him to hate Finny.

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    Posted by egraham17 on Wednesday December 2, 2009 at 12:48 PM