Phineas In John Knowles A Separate Peace
“If Phineas had been sitting here in this pool of guilt, how would he have felt, what would he have done? He would have told me the truth.”(Knowles 66). Gene made a horrible mistake, but his first response is to do what Finny would do. They are best friends, Gene and Finny, because they balance each other out. Gene is quite refrained and a follower, but Finny is more outgoing and a leader. The problem with Gene being so refrained is he never talks about his feelings, instead he bottles them up until they burst. One of the times Gene let his feelings burst is when he was so paranoid that Finny was trying to sabotage him he actually made Finny fall off a tree and shatter his leg, quite possibly ruining his life. After Finny is taken to the emergency
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room Gene has time to think about what he did to Finny, but doesn’t know how to deal with it so instead becomes Finny for a day to try to cope. The pivotal moment of Gene’s Devon career happens when he puts on Finny’s clothes, by doing so Gene is able to acknowledge his identity crisis and understand what he did to Finny.
Gene putting on Finny’s clothes leads him to acknowledging his identity crisis. As soon as he did he noticed a change, “I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again.” (Knowles 62). Gene had never put on Finny’s clothes before because he was always an organized person who never tried to defy society. By putting on Finny’s clothes and in turn his persona he finally understood what it felt like to be accepted. Throughout Finny’s time at Devon he had always been respected and a leader, but throughout Gene’s time at Devon he was always looking for a place he could be comfortable and hadn’t found it until he embodied Finny. When Gene comes out of his stupor of pretending to be Finny he realizes that he has never been accepted by himself or others because he has always been what other people want him to be and not who he truly is. The realization that he has never accepted his true self and only approved the him other people enjoyed leads to him realizing that he has an identity crisis. Gene putting on Finny’s clothes helps him understand what he did to Finny.
Gene puts on Finny’s clothes so he doesn’t have to deal with his own feelings, but he gets much than escape from impersonating Finny: “I was Phineas, Phineas to the life. I even had his humorous expression in my face, his sharp, optimistic awareness...That night I slept easily, and it was only on waking up that this illusion was gone, and I was confronted with myself, and what I had done to Finny.” (Knowles 62). Finny had to have been one of the most upbeat people at Devon always turning things around making jokes and Gene went along with the fun, but Gene never knew how good it felt to be Finny until he took on his persona. During the time Gene impersonated Finny he felt the ease of which Finny had carried himself and how nice it felt to be that carefree; although, when the illusion was past Gene was able to empathize with Finny how horrible the fall from that height in confidence to not barely being able to walk without a crutch. Once Gene felt that drop in confidence he realized the full intent of what he did to Finny and how that could only be worse than he knew because the one person Finny trusted was the one who caused his fall. After putting on Finny’s clothes Gene realizes what the full extent of what he did to Finny had
caused. Gene acknowledges his identity crisis and understands what he did to Finny after putting on Finny’s clothes making it apivotal moment for Gene. He neither knew what having acceptance for himself was nor had he approved of his true identity, yet after feeling how Finny accepted himself he recognized something was missing from his life, which is how ‘being Finny’ helped him acknowledge his identity crisis. Stepping into Finny’s shoes gave Gene a better perspective on what it meant for Finny when Gene made him fall off the tree. Through confirming his own identity and perceiving the extent of what he did to Finny Gene was able to grow as a person.
room Gene has time to think about what he did to Finny, but doesn’t know how to deal with it so instead becomes Finny for a day to try to cope. The pivotal moment of Gene’s Devon career happens when he puts on Finny’s clothes, by doing so Gene is able to acknowledge his identity crisis and understand what he did to Finny.
Gene putting on Finny’s clothes leads him to acknowledging his identity crisis. As soon as he did he noticed a change, “I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again.” (Knowles 62). Gene had never put on Finny’s clothes before because he was always an organized person who never tried to defy society. By putting on Finny’s clothes and in turn his persona he finally understood what it felt like to be accepted. Throughout Finny’s time at Devon he had always been respected and a leader, but throughout Gene’s time at Devon he was always looking for a place he could be comfortable and hadn’t found it until he embodied Finny. When Gene comes out of his stupor of pretending to be Finny he realizes that he has never been accepted by himself or others because he has always been what other people want him to be and not who he truly is. The realization that he has never accepted his true self and only approved the him other people enjoyed leads to him realizing that he has an identity crisis. Gene putting on Finny’s clothes helps him understand what he did to Finny.
Gene puts on Finny’s clothes so he doesn’t have to deal with his own feelings, but he gets much than escape from impersonating Finny: “I was Phineas, Phineas to the life. I even had his humorous expression in my face, his sharp, optimistic awareness...That night I slept easily, and it was only on waking up that this illusion was gone, and I was confronted with myself, and what I had done to Finny.” (Knowles 62). Finny had to have been one of the most upbeat people at Devon always turning things around making jokes and Gene went along with the fun, but Gene never knew how good it felt to be Finny until he took on his persona. During the time Gene impersonated Finny he felt the ease of which Finny had carried himself and how nice it felt to be that carefree; although, when the illusion was past Gene was able to empathize with Finny how horrible the fall from that height in confidence to not barely being able to walk without a crutch. Once Gene felt that drop in confidence he realized the full intent of what he did to Finny and how that could only be worse than he knew because the one person Finny trusted was the one who caused his fall. After putting on Finny’s clothes Gene realizes what the full extent of what he did to Finny had
caused. Gene acknowledges his identity crisis and understands what he did to Finny after putting on Finny’s clothes making it apivotal moment for Gene. He neither knew what having acceptance for himself was nor had he approved of his true identity, yet after feeling how Finny accepted himself he recognized something was missing from his life, which is how ‘being Finny’ helped him acknowledge his identity crisis. Stepping into Finny’s shoes gave Gene a better perspective on what it meant for Finny when Gene made him fall off the tree. Through confirming his own identity and perceiving the extent of what he did to Finny Gene was able to grow as a person.