By John Knowles
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The novel is set at Devon, a private boarding
school in New Hampshire, during World War II.
The novel begins with the main characters, Gene
and Finny, at Devon for a summer session. The
school hopes that this session will allow students
to receive a diploma before they are drafted on
their 18th birthday. Gene and Finny are roommates
and friends at the school. Finny is a natural athlete
who also acts as a leader for the other boys. Gene,
however, is more academically oriented and is
jealous of Finny’s natural ability in sports, a
quality he lacks in academics.
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First-person narrative
Tone: nostalgia; the narrator’s feelings about
his past.
The details of this recollection are dependent
upon memory.
Theme of reflection; relation of a man to his
much younger self.
Setting creates images: conservatism and
traditionalism.
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Devon has changed; contrast between reality
and what exists in the memory.
Theme of memory vs. reality; note description
of the tree.
Devon – symbol of innocence and lost youth;
symbol of fear he felt.
Foreshadowing: hardness of the marble stairs.
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June/November weather symbolism: Gene as a
youth and Gene as a man.
Gene & Finny as foils; Gene is rule-abiding &
conservative; Finny is a daredevil with rule
breaking attitude.
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Finny: charming; persuasive. He escapes
punishment by inventing ridiculous excuses;
succeeds in “winning over” the masters.
Rebellion vs. conformity: Finny mixes both – he
does well in school and sports – he fits in;
however, he is a rebel.
Innocence vs. age: they are children of a
“careless peace” set apart from the adults by
their lack of knowledge of the war.
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Finny – pink shirt – he says it’s a symbol of
patriotism. It is really a symbol of Finny’s
willingness to be different; he cared little about
what people thought about this (one of his little
acts of rebellion).
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Tone changes from end of Chapter 2. Ch. 2 –
Gene grateful to Finny for saving him; Ch. 3 –
Gene accuses Finny of being responsible for the
whole thing; we see jealousy and negative
feelings Gene has for Finny.
Gene – feels obligation to Finny; feels like he is
in a “strait jacket”.
The jealousy in Gene’s nature causes him to
think badly of Finny and cast himself as
Finny’s opponent.
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Innocence vs. experience – seniors: completing
obstacle courses and exercises; juniors: playing
fields at their disposal.
Blitzball – Finny’s inventive spirit; athletic
ability; “sheer acts of mass hypnotism”.
Gene – in his description of Finny, makes him
seem larger than life.
Time switch – present – Gene reflects on World
War II influence.
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Metaphor – Finny as a bullet – swimming
incident; rebellion.
Ocean visit – Gene’s refusal to answer Finny –
foreshadows conflict (something wrong
beneath the surface of their friendship).
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Sunrise – usually symbolic of rebirth or
enlightenment. In this chapter, in symbolizes a
more negative change that comes suddenly to
Gene.
Description of the beach – “totally white and
stainless” – just as Finny’s character turns out
to be; Gene, however, expects that there is a
grey nature in Finny’s character.
Irony – Gene thinks Finny is trying to keep him
from excelling and is engaged in some sort of
competition with him (as far from the truth as it
can possibly be).
 Gene’s jealousy of Finny helps to create an
utterly unflattering portrait of Finny.
 Gene – perhaps melodramatic – “deadly
rivalry”.
 Vengeful
 Truth vs. dangerous falsehood; Gene
misinterprets his destructive anger as genuine
despair.
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We see the dark side to Gene’s character
whereas Finny seems more pure and goodhearted than before.
Good vs. evil – Gene harms his friend.
Gene is actually projecting his own feelings
into Finny (self-ambition).
By the end, Gene is more bitter and sarcastic
towards Finny; Finny is more honest and
sincere.
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Irony – Gene completely misjudged his friend
and only he was guilty of the things of which
he accused his friend.
More ironic – Gene still causes Finny to fall
from the tree.
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Gene – guilty; confused; in denial about his
responsibility – committing such a malicious
act in such a callous way.
Gene – identity crisis; insecurity causes him to
be suspicious and deceitful towards his friend.
Look for Gene and Finny becoming more like
one person: Gene wearing Finny’s clothes;
Gene continuing Finny’s athletic pursuits. This
foreshadows coming developments in their
relationship.
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Gene struggles to see himself as an essentially
good person at heart; still painful 15 years later.
Symbol – limb represents common ground on
which Gene and Finny’s relationship rests.
Finny’s fall – symbolizes the growing personal
divide Gene feels between them – jealousy and
competitiveness.
By the end of the chapter, Gene’s guilt remains
and still weighs upon him. He is unable to
overcome him naiveté about the flaws in his
nature & his denial surrounding the accident.
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Comparison of easygoing summer session to
rigorous, crowded fall session (rarity of the
days they had).
Change of seasons: change in Gene’s life and
his relationship with Finny (no longer able to
regain what they had that summer).
Theme of change and of time passing (chapel
scene) – school doesn’t have the “old glory” it
once had for him.
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Finny’s falling from the tree – event that
marked old Devon’s death.
Finny’s accident symbolizes the beginning of
Gene’s adulthood.
Formality vs. freedom – Gene vs. Finny; fall vs.
summer session; adulthood vs. childhood.
Gene – takes on Finny’s struggles;
sympathizing with him in terms of Finny’s
physical limitations.
Quackenbush – conflict – Gene somehow
defending Finny – “maimed son of a b****”
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Gene – won’t participate in sports – guilt;
sympathy; taking on Finny’s burdens.
Gene’s feelings of jealousy and suspicion
disappear after the accident – he begins to
bond himself to Finny.
Finny surrogate in sports (sense of guilt-born
obligation).
Gene confesses his purpose in hurting Finny
might have been “to become a part of Phineas”.
Could be a distraction from Gene’s real issue –
malicious actions…
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Introduced to Brinker Hadley – sarcastic;
temperamental. His accusatory words contrast
with his light tone.
Gene – guilty but tries not to respond too
seriously to Brinker. “The truth will out…”
prompted by guilt he is trying to hide. Butt
room – distraction.
Butt room – Brinker’s words intensify; more
accusing tone; images of this room as a prison
add to the darkness and discomfort of the
scene.
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Note diction: “prisoner”, “proper authorities”,
“treachery”.
Gene has to play along or explode in a display
of guilt; he left without having a smoke;
wanted to get away quickly.
Irony – mock trial – a “crime” actually has
taken place.
Coming of snow represents coming of war to
Devon. Snow is used as a symbol of unrest and
the reality coming for the boys.
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Leper – scarecrow metaphor – liked to remain
on the periphery of things.
Change from boisterous young men to
strained-looking laborers – influence of the
war. Contrast appearance with troops – fresh
vs. warn – ironic.
Motivation to enlist – wish to escape
constrictive atmosphere of the school.
Finny’s return to Devon – Gene’s only reason
to stay at Devon.
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Finny’s appearance – “vaulted” using crutches
like “parallel bars”.
Gene – back to his old ways as a law-abiding
student.
Finny – rebellious adolescent; views often
contrary to Gene, who is becoming more of a
adult.
Finny – accepts Gene’s help when nobody
around (silent agreement).
Gene – dogged by guilt; identity issues to deal
with.
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Finny’s return – Gene’s constant reminder of
guilt; part of Gene coming to terms with his
darker nature.
Gene realizes Finny needs him; contrast with
summer session.
Gene – reflective; self-conscious; sensitive.
Enlisting could have been a distraction – he
wouldn’t have to concentrate on his own
internal battle.
Wave imagery for war; perhaps a bigger shakeup to occur.
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Finny – war a gimmick to keep the masses in
line.
Boys closer to being almost the same person –
athletics and academics.
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Leper – change of heart – “everything has to
evolve or else it perishes.”
FORESHADOWING – Gene will have to make
great adjustments to get through; recall “wave”
metaphor – something definitely about to
happen.
Leper – sees war as a happy, ideal picture and
is taken more serious by the boys once he goes
to war; symbol of heroism.
Gene – slow to attempt any self-examination
for fear of what he may find.
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Finny – transformation – more and more
dependent on Gene; withdraws from his
friends because of their talk about war and
about Leper. Perhaps something different?
(Silently becoming bitter about his injury and
pain?)
Weather references – changes that come over
the boys – depressed and inactive.
Winter Carnival
Telegram from Leper – “escaped” –
SUSPENSE.
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Leper – symbol of what war does to young
men; he has his breakdown even before he gets
overseas. This demonstrates what happens to
innocence when suddenly overwhelmed by
experience or reality. Contrast with how
“untouched” and “peaceable” he was.
After his army experience, Leper evaluates
Gene more accurately than anyone: “You
always were a savage underneath.”
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Gene breaks out into violence, confirming
Leper’s statement. He shows his angry
temperament quite a bit in this chapter; mean
streak; capacity to lash out at people for
nothing (like he did with Finny). He is
unstable and unpredictable when faced with
the truth (even though he portrays himself as
the nice rule-abider). Theme of appearance vs.
reality – Gene refuses to understand his own
nature.
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Gene doesn’t consider Finny’s bitterness
towards him.
Theme of change under crisis: Finny & Leper.
Finny is faced with his closest friend’s
treachery, his own physical limitations and the
reality of war. Leper is unable to deal with the
stresses of military training.
Coming of Spring – wave about to hit; war is
something the boys can no longer ignore.
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Finny – insistence that his leg is stronger; ironic
due to events at end of chapter.
Leper’s transformation – Finny finally
acknowledges that the war is real.
Brinker – genuinely saddened by what
happened to Leper but able to turn around and
try to destroy Gene and Finny’s friendship.
Brinker’s behavior is strange and vindictive.
What is hi motive for the inquiry?
Gene tries to cover things up; Finny tries to
shield his friend from any implication.
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They can’t deny what happened and the truth
comes out.
Finny cries; surrenders his will to fight.
Brinker’s inquiry causes Finny’s second fall.
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Finny doesn’t speak or mover after the accident
– a “stricken pontiff” – sense that things are
coming to an end that foreshadows Finny’s
fate.
Gene finally realizes Finny believed him to be
“an extension of himself” – realizes how his
jealousy impeded a true friendship.
Gene doesn’t deal well with a crisis situation –
thinks of as many funny things as he can –
easier to deal with fake happiness.
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Finny’s anger – final rejection; logical reaction.
Gene – in shock – goes to all of their “spots” –
mourning things before they are lost to him.
Finny’s confession about denying the war (p.
190)
Reconciliation; Finny forgives; closure (p. 191)
Gene remembers every detail concerning the
day Finny died.
“I did not cry then or ever about Finny.”
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“I could not escape a feeling that this was my
own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.”
Gene only really appreciates what Finny was to
him when Finny dies.
Finny as a casualty of war? He was an
innocent victim in Gene’s internal war
(jealousy, carelessness and savage nature
taking control of him).
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No more “peace “ at Devon – war has arrived;
Gene is ready to say goodbye and continue on
to his adult life.
War probably would have divided Gene and
Finny; friendship probably would have ended;
Gene would have been severed from Finny’s
rebelliousness.
Gene admits he broke Finny’s “harmonious
and natural unity” but he seems reluctant to
speak directly and honestly about the accident,
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and say definitively what his motivation was
and why: Blind impulse? Attempt to win out
over his friend? Dark side?
Gene admits there are a great number of things
that he does not know about himself and he
would like to never find out.
Final pages – Gene has gotten rid of his own
enemy and has gotten rid of his hate and fear.
Gene’s enemy may have been the part of
himself that was so quick to lash out and hurt
others. He believes he has buried his darker
side. Hopefully he will never again let himself
slip into carelessly harming someone who is
almost part of himself.
 Important quotes:
p. 201 – “…wars were made instead by something
ignorant in the human heart.”
p. 202 – “All others at some point found
something in themselves pitted violently
against something in the world around them.”
(but not Finny).
p. 202 – “… the simplicity and unity of their
characters broke and they were not the same
again.” (can apply to Gene and Leper).
p. 204 – “I never killed anybody and I never
developed an intense hatred for the enemy.
Because my war ended before I ever put on a
uniform; I was on active duty all my time at
school; I killed my enemy there.” (Enemy?
Gene’s dark nature or Finny?)