Analysis of Phineas and Gene´s Friendship

His envy of Phineas causes him to hurt both Finny and himself. Gene's jealousy takes over his life and changes how he acts throughout the novel. The accident transforms the root of Gene’s jealousy from destructive to obsessive because of Finny’s athleticism, his ease at being able to escape blame, and his overall superior personality. Before the accident, Gene always tries to compete with Finny, and his jealousy for Finny’s athletic ability leads to the destruction of their friendship. Gene resents how Finny is naturally talented.

He was supposed to be Finny’s best friend, and in a way Finny betrayed him. Brinker was just cruel. Brinker wanted to be friends with Gene, but Finny was in the way causing them to be jealous of each other. In the end, jealousy and rivalry killed

Human emotions incite complex reactions that are often difficult to control. Even feelings that seem conventional or puerile have the ability to transform an ordinary situation into a treacherous one. In The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, Brother struggles with humiliation towards his younger, crippled brother, Doodle. After teaching Doodle to walk, his pride impels him to help Doodle acquire other skills he needs to function in society. However, when his pride becomes blinding, Brother forces Doodle beyond his limits and is forced to accept the consequences.

Another principal factor that dissolves the bond between them is Gene’s jealousy. Gene is envious of Finny’s athletic and social power. Finny has the ability to talk his way out of any tough situation; if he attempts to manipulate someone, that person might show “a flow of simple unregulated friendliness.” Gene sees how everyone loves Phineas, and that makes him feel unworthy. As Gene’s envy and paranoia take over him, he is drawn farther from the truth that lies within his brotherhood with Phineas. When Gene realizes that his only advantage over Finny is his mind, he begins competing with Finny.

The absence or presence of invidiousness has the potency to strengthen or dismember friendships. In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, Gene Forrester and his daring roommate, Finny, discover the dangerous impact of enviousness on their friendship. Gene’s jealousy of Finny’s athletic capabilities, Finny’s unenviable thoughts and actions, and Brinker’s suspicions that Gene’s envy catalyzed Finny’s accident were all contributing factors to the ups and downs in Gene’s and Finny’s relationship. Detesting a friend for his/her successes can rupture even the strongest relationships. Gene’s invidiousness of Finny’s numerous sports achievements transforms into a resentful hatred.

He wants to hurt Gene because he can tell by taking the position of Assistant Crew Manager that Gene has low self-esteem. Quackenbush lets out his inner darkness at Gene because he wants to feel momentous; he wants to feel important and that is one way that someone in this novel lets out their inner depravity. The second character I have chosen is Brinker. Brinker, who is the popular politician at Devon School, is very jealous of the friendship that Gene and Finny share. He says many things about the fall and how it happened to hurt Gene.

So they shook hands and struck a bargain” (Irving 4). As previously shown when tempted man will always become corrupt. One can also see due to grades. Students are tempted to take “shortcuts”, just as Tom had done, in order to receive the desired grade. Students often believe an education is the only way to be successful.

In Alfie Kohn’s essay, “Competition Is Destructive”, he describes competition as having a “toxic effect on our relationships”(11). Although competition has many positive effects in this world, when talking specifically about relationships, whether it be between best friends, two strangers, or even entire nations, it fuels negative feelings and attitudes that transform people into monsters. Close relationships often have their ups and downs. When one spends enough time with a person it is inevitable that they will have an argument. Best friends, for example, share everything with each other.

The Arrogance of The Lie The Lie, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is a story that stands as a mirror to reflect the ugly image of a condescending faction obsessed with grades and numbers, not actual learning. Even though it took place years ago, the sickening mind frames still exist in some of today’s people. They are namely the “elite group” or middle to upper class families. In the story, Doctor Remenzel is obsessed with Eli having a high standard of excellence, Eli getting special treatment because he is part of the higher group, and for those reasons, Eli is ashamed of himself, and terrified of telling his father and mother that he failed the entrance examinations. All of these things are examples of what happens in the arrogant sub culture which exists today.

Willy’s tragedy is due to the fact that the truth for him is far fetched, since he is always seeing life in a flashback, which leads to his demise. Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero exemplify Willy Loman and Oedipus Rex very well in both their respected plays. They struggle to make the right judgment (hamartia), and with certain flaws throughout their plays, make it hard for these characters to realize the truth (anagnorisis). However, through certain evidence and different obstacles Oedipus and Willy’s demise is caused by their hamartia. Although these characters experience hope along the way, their pride and egotistical lifestyles outweigh the hope that they receive to get their life back on track.