The song Guardian by Alanis Morissette connects to the character Gene, from John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Piece , because the lyrics represent Gene, and his relationship with Finny after, the “accident”. Alanis Morissette sings “You, you who has smiled when you're in pain.” (Morissette, line 1). This lyrics refers to Gene, who is referencing to Finny’s attitude towards the whole situation. Finny is always looking into the positive in the situation, making jokes and trying to make the tension in the situation go away. In chapter 7, when Gene opens up the door to his dorm room, he sees Finny sitting at the desk. When Finny sees him he says “Hi, pal where’s the brass band” (Knowles's, 102). In this moment, Finny, as always is trying to make the best out of the situation that is occurring. As stated in the quote “you, you who has smiled when you're in pain” Finny continues to smile and joke the whole thing off throughout the majority of the book. …show more content…
Even though Gene has made Finny fall out of a tree and break his leg, which prevents him from ever participating in sports again, Finny still wants to be friends with him. It is almost like Finny is trying to deny the obvious, and in some ways he is tricking himself into believing the incorrect. In chapter 12, after Gene tells Finny what really happened the night Finny fell out of the tree and broke his leg, Finny states “I believe you. It’s okay because I understand and I believe you. You’ve already shown me and I believe you.” (Knowles's, 191). This shows how Finny is forgiving and understanding, whereas most would never want to talk to a person like Gene
Gene believes that Finny and he hate each other, until he realizes Finny’s pureness, which Gene can not stand. At first, Gene believes that Finny wants to exceed him, and that the two are rivals. Everyone at Devon likes Finny. The teachers adore him, the students look up to him, the athletes aspire to be like him. Finny has no enemies. Gene, however, sees through Finny’s “cover” and thinks they hate each other. He hates Finny for beating A. Hopkins swimming record, and for making him jump from the tree, and for being better than Gene. When Finny takes Gene to the beach, Finny tells Gene that they are “best pals.” Gene does not respond to Finny’s sincere gesture because he thinks Finny wants to sabotage him. Gene realizes that he and Finny are “even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (46). Gene has no proof of Finny’s hatred, but Gene needs to find a way to be even with Finny. Once he decides they are even, he must now surpass Finny, so he jounces the limb. Gene’s hatred takes over, only now he realizes that the hatred only comes from one side. Finny is pure. He never hates Gene; he loves Gene like he loves everyone else. Ge...
Gene was only a mediocre athlete and is always jealous of Finny. They form a Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session which includes jumping from a tree into a river as its initiation. Eventually, Finny falls from the tree fracturing his leg. This leads to Finny’s death and Gene struggle to find himself. The relationship between these two boys proves my thesis statement; a friend and an enemy can be one in the same.
First, I believe that Gene and Finny were not sincerely friends throughout the novel due to their relationship being driven by competitiveness. Along with the competitive atmosphere came jealously, envy and enmity. Gene created a rivalry between him and Finny. Since Finny was
The confusing thing for readers is that Finny knew, or seemed to know for the most part, who he was. So through logic, he would be the perfect pick. But, picking a stronger person between the boys, it has to be Gene. A strong person is someone who also shows and experiences the most change and how they handle it. Finny experienced change with the breaking of his leg due to Gene and, yes, this did change his personality slightly, but it wasn’t to the extent of what Gene went through. Gene was a very flawed character who destroyed the good, with Finny representing the goodness and peace in life. When Gene destroyed Finny by having, “jounced the limb. Finny, [with] his balance gone...tumbled sideways, broke through the branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud” (Knowles 60) and ultimately destroying Finny’s ability to do his favorite sports and his chance to enlist, which killed Finny’s spirit and who he was. But, being strong doesn’t necessarily mean the person has to be
Gene feels both love and hate for his best friend, Phineas, worshipping and resenting Phineas’s athletic and moral superiorities. Gene simply cannot handle the fact that Finny is so perfect. As he puts it, "Phineas could get away with anything” (Knowles 18). Gene then creates an internal rivalry with Finny, convincing himself that Finny is deliberately attempting to ruin his schoolwork. Internal conflict Gene deals with reaches its maximum when Finny proposes a “double jump”(19) from the tree.
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...
In conclusion Gene and Finny aren’t friends. True friends do not envy each other, or wage war with each other. True friends would stick with each other to the end, they do not envy, and most importantly they do not intentionally harm each other. Gene and Finny’s relationship is a perfect example of how envy and jealousy can corrupt the minds of everyday people. Just like what Oliver Stone said “ you should never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy” because in the end it is Genes envy that took Finny’s life, and it is Genes consequence to bear that burden of death he brought upon himself
In Guardian Alanis Morissette sings “You, you who has smiled when you're in pain.” (Morissette, line 1). This lyric refers to Finny, and his faculty to perceive the positive in situations, whereas others would regard what happened to Finny, as the worst possible thing that could transpire. Finny is always making jokes and endeavoring to ease all the tension in situations. In chapter 7, when
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
Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.
In the early pages of the novel, Finny confesses that Gene is his best friend. This is considered a courageous act as the students at Devon rarely show any emotion. And rather than coming back with similar affection, Gene holds back and says nothing. Gene simply cannot handle the fact that Finny is so compassionate, so athletic, so ingenuitive, so perfect. As he put it, "Phineas could get away with anything." (p. 18) In order to protect himself from accepting Finny's compassion and risking emotional suffering, Gene creates a silent rivalry with Finny, and convinced himself that Finny is deliberately attempting to ruin his schoolwork. Gene decides he and Finny are jealous of each other, and reduces their friendship to cold trickery and hostility. Gene becomes disgusted with himself after weeks of the silent rivalry. He finally discovers the truth, that Finny only wants the best for Gene, and had no hidden evil intentions. This creates a conflict for Gene as he is not able to deal with Finny's purity and his own dark emotions. On this very day Finny wants to jump off of the tree branch into the Devon river at the same time as Gene, a "double jump" (p. 51), he says, as a way of bonding. It was this decision, caused by Finny's affection for Gene and outgoing ways that resulted in drastic change for the rest of his life.
Gene dismisses his shadow during his first few encounters with it, quickly rejecting the darkness inside himself by conjuring up excuses for his undesirable desire. In a scene where Finny attempts to talk his way out of trouble, Gene’s shadow makes an appearance, as he believed, “this time [Finny] wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited” (Knowles 27). The excitement of Finny getting into trouble is caused by Gene’s shadow, as he describes its presence as unexpected. Gene has become introduced to his shadow, but does not yet know the full extent of the darkness existing within himself. Shadows contain darker emotions, such as envy, anger, or hatred, that we hide from the outside world as these emotions are perceived negatively. In Gene’s shadow, jealousy rises, as he compares himself
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.
Analysis of Leroi Jones' A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand There is an implied threat in "A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand" by Leroi Jones. Ostensibly, there is no intimidation. The poem is confessional, even reflective; the theme is one of mutability and change. However, there is something frightening and ominous in Jones1 vision, which he creates through attention to word choice and structure. Jones' warning is immediately evident in the title through his manipulation of words.
“It Couldn’t Be Done” by Edgar Guest discusses the importance of perseverance and self reliance in a world filled with negativity. The poem includes imagery, symbolism, connotation, form, and sound devices to contribute to the overall topic of motivation.