Character Analysis Of Finny In 'A Separate Peace'

Finny is an example of an imperfect perfection in the eyes of Gene. In the eyes of Gene, he uses to see Finny as his best friend but overtime saw him as a competition; but towards the end saw him as a friend that was better. Finny is a distinctive character because he is someone who sees beyond the barriers of what society at the time. During the time of the book, people’s mentality was based off what the war was going to be like and where they would end up. But Finny was the type of person who towards the end of the book didn’t believe that there really was a war. It wasn’t because he was delusional or that he was stupid. He saw that there was no enemy and that in society there was never an enemy to fight. But this was never clear to Gene
until Finny’s death; his death was a moment of clarity for Gene. Gene realized that Finny wasn’t just a spontaneous guy. He was a man who saw things beyond what was shown. Gene talks about after Finny’s death that he wishes he had called Finny his best friend before he died. Finny is a person of excellence in the eyes of Gene.