Period 5
3-25-13
Chapters 5-6
Summary: Gene goes in to see Finny and finds out that he can never play sports again. Gene also tries to tell Finny that he jostled the tree branch to make him fall on purpose but then the doctor comes in. Gene goes off to summer break and right before arriving back at Devon on September 1, he stops by Finny's house and tells him the truth. Finny is very upset and Gene takes it back and pretends like he was tried because of the train ride and he didn't mean any of it. Gene becomes an assistant manager for Quackenbush and the boys get into a fist fight and both boys get drenched in the river. Later, Finny calls Gene and they talk about school and Gene reassures Finny that he is still his roommate.
Quotation: "...I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this might must have been my purpose from the first: to become part of Phineas"(77).
Quotation Significance: Gene is saying this when he is on the phone with Finny and he tells him about the assistant manager job. Finny is disappointed and insists that Gene play sports since he can't. Gene is now starting to realize that Finny and him are so different that they can't really be competitors. Gene also realizes that he is going to become a part of Phineas and Phineas will now have to live through him since everything that Finny was once good at was taken from him by Gene.
Reflection: For awhile, Gene was always trying to compete with Finny. Finny was popular, handsome, and athletic. While Gene is smart and shy. Gene already excels Finny at school and wants to become top of the class to beat Finny even more. But he is now starting to realize that him and Finny are so different that it is almost impossible for them to compete against one another fairly. Gene is also realizing that Finny was not trying to take advantage him and is just being a good friend and being himself. Gene wanted to beat Finny because he was jealous of Finny and his ability to stay out of trouble and being good at sports. This is what pushed Gene is jostle the branch to make Finny fall. Gene wanted to be the dominant one and be the one on top for once. But he didn't realize and didn't want Finny to lose his ability to play sports. Now that Gene realizes this he knows that what he did is wrong and he tries to come clean to Finny. But coming clean is hard, especially since Finny is going through so much already. But Gene now realizes that he has to make up to Finny by letting Finny live through him.
Discussion Question: Why did Gene jostle the branch to make Finny fall?
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