Quackenbush Pesters: Gene Chapter Analysis

257 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Problem with peer pressure

Gene sits at the first chapel service of the school year and observes that the school atmosphere seems back to normal, with all its usual austerity and discipline. Gene has taken the thankless position of assistant senior crew manager and has to work for Cliff Quackenbush, an unhappy, bullying type. After practice is over, Quackenbush pesters Gene as to why he has taken the job: normally boys only tolerate the position of assistant in hopes of becoming manager the following year, but Gene is already a senior. Quackenbush begins to insult him, implying that Gene must be working as a manager because he cannot row; As Gene walks home, he meets Mr. Ludsbury, the master in charge of his dormitory, who berates him for taking advantage of the summer

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Allusions In A Separate Peace

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gene is much like Cain and because he is like Cain he has jealousy and hatred against Phineas who is Abel. When Gene wakes up at sunrise on the beach, while Finny is still sleeping. Gene realizes that he has an important exam and it will take him a long time to get back to Devon. He makes it back in time to Devon, but fails the

    Read More

  • Inner Conflict In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1942, a group of prep school boys take courses to allow them extra time to prepare for the armed forces. Gene, a conservative intellectual, befriends Finny, a free-spirited adventurer. The two form a club where they must dive from a high tree limb into the Devon River. He becomes anxious that his friend is taking time away from his studies. One evening, as Finny is about to jump from the tree limb, Gene bounces the branch and causes Finny to fall onto the bank, breaking his leg and leaving him unable to participate in athletic activities. Gene is riddled with guilt over what he has done and attempts to confess to Phineas the reasons for his accident; Finny refuses to believe Gene. Boys at the school conduct a mock investigation of Finny’s fall. He at last realizes Gene’s guilt, and in his anger and confusion he falls again, this time fatally.

    Read More

  • Gene’s Transformation throughout "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the novel, Gene, is a clueless individual. He sees the worst in people and lets his evil side take over not only his mind but also his body. During the tree scene, Gene convinces himself that Finny isn’t his friend, tricking himself into thinking that Finny is a conniving foil that wants to sabotage his academic merit. Gene is furthermore deluded that every time Finny invites Gene somewhere it’s to keep him from studying and doing well. Finny has a reputation for being the the best athlete in school, and Gene attempts to counterbalance Finny’s power by being the best student. After a while of joining Finny’s activities, Gene thinks that Finny is intentionally trying to make him fail out of school. He starts to dislike Finny and his activities, and Gene starts interrupt...

    Read More

  • Gene and Finny in A Separate Piece

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning to the middle of the book Gene lives through Finny. ‘"Come on,' drawled Finny from below, ‘stop standing there showing off.'…‘Jump!'"(Knowles 9). Finny thought of an extremely adventurous idea. He decided that he wanted to jump out of a tree into the river below. Finny also wanted the other boys that were with him to jump out of the tree. After Finny jumped he attempted to persuade Gene to follow his lead and jump out of the tree. Gene, a very conservative individual, did not even dream of ever jumping out of the tree but Finny got his way. Gene climbed the tree and jumped into the river because Finny manipulated him to. ‘"Studying! You know, books. Work. Examinations'" (Knowles 49). Finny has come to tell Gene that one of the boys named Leper has finally decided to jump out of the tree into the river. Gene finally explodes and starts screaming at Finny. Gene tells Finny that he needs to study for the French final and that he cannot be wasting his time with a silly game. At this moment in time, Finny finally realized that Gene actually has to study in order to get good grades. Finny always thought that school for Gene came just as easily as sports did for him. When Finny realizes this he tells Gene that he has to study. ‘"Don't move from that desk. It's straight A's for you'"(Knowles 50). All of a sudden Gene became perplexed. He could not understand that Finny was actually telling him to stay home and study.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Super Suicide Society

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the fall before Gene goes to start school be decided to go visit Phineas. He mentions the fall again. He and Phineas discuss how it happened once again and they get into a major argument. Phineas is upset and in denial about Gene blaming himself so he snaps at him.

    Read More

  • What Role Does Gene Play In A Separate Peace

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    On the other hand Finny was interrogating Gene with his non-academic outlook to get what he wanted Gene to do. Finny was never one to sit down and study he strived to be the leader of the school and his athletic teams. He was like the virtuoso of athletics at Devon. When Finny saw that he had finally broke Gene into coming with him, Finny took advantage of Gene. Finny stated “Why didn’t you say you had to study before? Don’t move from that desk. It’s going to be all A’s for you.” (Knowles 58) Gene sees grades as an opportunity to do something great and Finny sees grades as an option to the real world. When Gene and Finny have the conversation that broke Gene’s emotional state of control it also set of the mental side. After the conversation the mentality that Finny has about academics did not completely take over Gene but did affect him. Gene still strived for the grades but did not strive for the grande opportunity to become valedictorian because Finny had ruptured his mentality state of mind in academics and affected his

    Read More

  • Comparing A Separate Peace 'And A Poison Tree' By John Knowles

    458 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although Gene hurt Finny, he never questions Gene's loyalty and friendship. Showing how true friends will always believe and trust each other. During a school

    Read More

  • Phineas 'Denial In John Knowles' A Separate Peace

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    Insidiously and pervasively, Gene's original doubt creeps into his mind while at the beach, when Finny confesses that Gene is his best pal, yet Gene's hesitation holds him back, stating that “perhaps [he] was stopped by the level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth” (50). By pondering his motivations, Gene reveals that he truly does not believe that Finny considers him his best friend; Gene doubts Finny because he believes that hate forms the cornerstone of the relationship, which in turn leaves no room for love. Instead, Gene believes the confession of friendship serves the purpose of disillusioning him, that, as a conniver, Finny wants Gene to falsely trust him. Through a lack of communication, neither boy truly knows where they stand as a friendship based on trust and mutual affection fosters no home for envy, and yet Gene believes that Finny is his adversary. Finally, Gene ponders how he “might have asked, 'Who are you then?'” while realizing that Finny cares more about him than the fake rivalry; as Finny's personality seems to suddenly veer away from competitive, Gene feels he “was facing a total stranger” (50). Because Finny fears destroying the friendship by addressing its problems, he never empathizes with Gene and therefore does not see Gene's deluded misinterpretation of the association or the hatred that he fosters towards Phineas. Finny throws Gene off guard as he expressed his true feelings because, fed by doubt, Gene does not believe that Finny truly cares for him. Again, Gene's fears escape his mind as he exclaims “to drag me down too!” (57) when Finny talks of how he could have reached out to Gene in the moments before his fall. In his mind, Gene molds Phineas into a resentful person, so he automatically assumes the worst with Finny's intentions. Like an animal of prey, Gene retreats suddenly when

    Read More

  • The Power Of Power In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gene sets himself up to become the inferior in his relationship with Finny because of his distrusting nature, but his yielding to Finny’s power motivates him to no longer be the lackey but rather the leader. In Gene’s quest for dominance, his initial steps are passive; he seeks to portray Finny as an antagonist and look better in comparison. Gene’s plan escalates as he takes away power from Finny physically. This proceeds into an obsession with him, convincing Gene that the only way to gain power is to become Finny. Knowles uses Gene’s escalation of his plot for power to warn readers to be wary of those seeking power. Through Gene, he advises the reader that individuals who seek power will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

    Read More

  • Gene's Shadow In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    He becomes aware of Finny’s endurance, as “nothing as he was growing up at home, nothing at Devon, nothing even about the war had broken his harmonious and natural unity. So at last [Gene] had” (203). Following Finny’s death, Gene states how absolutely nothing could break Finny, not even a war. But the evilness of his shadow and unconscious self could, and cause Finny’s death. One’s shadow can be toxic when displayed to the outside world, especially when it is not in check by the individual. Gene has accepted his dark side when he admits he had been the cause of his friend’s death. In the very end of the novel, Gene finally takes responsibility for all of his shadow’s actions against his best friend, as he thinks to himself, “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of 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” (204). Gene’s transformation from the beginning of the novel to the end is clearly seen in this quotation, as he no longer denies his shadow’s existence and now claims responsibility of the darkness inside himself. He illustrates himself as being on active duty at all times at school, staying on guard for any of Finny’s tricks that may potentially cause him to fall behind in his studies. His war with Finny, whom he once

    Read More

  • The Consequences of Fear

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    the war. Boys who are around Gene's age group are constantly being drafted for the war. The thought of being drafted terrifies Gene after ...

    Read More

  • Gene's Coming of Age in A Separate Peace

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gene jounces a limb of the tree he and Finny were standing on, causing Finny to fall and break his leg. Gene's jealousy of Finny's perfection causes him to have childish feelings of resentment and hatred. After Finny's leg was broken, Gene realized "that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between" (Knowles 51) him and Finny. Gene looked at himself and became conscious of what a terrible, self-absorbed friend he had been. Understanding there was no competition caused him to discard the majority of his feelings of jealousy. Getting rid of these feelings made him grow-up because he was no longer spending countless hours believing a childish game was being played between Finny and him. Gene began to understand more of Finny's goodness and love towards all, making him strive to be more like Finny.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Separate Peace And Dead Poets Society

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gene is a well-educated, athletic individual. He takes his school work seriously and keeps to himself, meaning he doesn’t favor standing out or being in the spotlight. He is a follower, especially when it comes to his best friend, Phineas. Throughout the book, he often compares himself to Phineas and talks about how perfect Finny is.

    Read More

  • The Challenges Faced In Jane E

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    This feeling intensifies when Mr. Brocklehurst arrives to take Jane away to Lowood School. Her aunt is pleased to see her go, but manages to influence Jane's life even after Jane is settled in at the charity school, by informing Mr.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Resentment and Change in A Separate Peace Separate Peace Essays

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finny was a great person and one of his best qualities was his ability to forgive. Gene and Finny became friends again once Finny was able to return to school. All seemed well until the boy in the room across the hall started to get suspicious that Finny didn't accidentally fall out of the tree. He wound up tricking Gene and Phineas into going to a investigation to find out what really happened. The investigation included the testimony of a witness who was at the meeting when Finny fell. He said, "they moved like an engine... The one holding on to the trunk sank for a second, up and down like a piston, and then the other one sank and fell." Finny realized what had happened and took off out the door, but then slipped on the marble steps and rebroke his leg. Gene felt terrible remorse and he hid in some bushes just so he could talk with Finny. Finny was still upset the first time Gene was able to talk to him through the window at the infirmary, saying, "You want to break something else in me!" Gene was able to speak with Finny, face to face, when he was asked to bring some of Finny's clothes to the infirmary.

    Read More

More about Quackenbush Pesters: Gene Chapter Analysis

Open Document