In the novel, “A separate Piece” by John Knowles, the main character Gene, begins to think about enlisting in the war at the time this story takes place (WWII). In this chapter we find out how much the main character’s friend, Finny, really cares about him.
When Gene reveals that he will be enlisting, Finny acts in a surprising way. “Enlist!” cried Finny,....”You're going to enlist!” ( Knowles 107). In the eyes of Gene and a reader of the novel Finny appears to be more shocked than expected.. The relevance of this quote in the novel shows that Finny, even after what Gene had done to him, still cares about Gene. Gene was also surprised and says to himself, “Phineas was shocked at the idea of me leaving, In some way he needed me.” (Knowles 108) This also makes Gene question FInny’s thought process behind the whole situation. Why would Finny come back to Gene? How could someone forgive someone for ruining their “whole life”? The answer: Finny really cares about Gene, and he will not let what Gene has done to him get in the way of him loving his best friend the way he does.
Question: Do you think Finny will have a big enough influence on Gene to make him not enlist into the war?
I agree with Mitch, and that the reader sees a side of Finny that we haven't seen thus far. In this chapter Finny not only shows how much he really cares about Gene staying, but he also shows how strong their relationship is. When Gene wants to help Gene a little it's ok, but Finny goes back to his stubborn old self when Brinker trys to help him. "'How can you manage all right?' Brinker persisted aggressively. ......'I can manage all right'" (Knowles, 108). This shows that Finny is open, and very trusting of Gene.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mitch and Geoffrey. I also think that Finny really doesn't want Gene to go away to war, so he tries to give Gene reasons why he shouldn't enlist. When Finny announces that he wants to train Gene for the Olympics, Gene responds, "'But there isn't going to be any Olympics in '44. That's only a couple of years away. The war--' [Finny responds,] 'Leave your fantasy life out of this. W're grooming you for the Olympics, pal, in 1944'" (Knowles 117). In this quote, Finny is trying to take Gene's mind off of enlisting by training him for the 1944 Olympics. While visiting the locker room, Finny and Gene begin to talk about the war. Finny says, "'There isn't any war.' [Gene]: 'Now I understand, You're still under the influence of some medicinal drug. [Finny]: 'No, you are. Everybody is...That's what this whole war story is. A medicinal drug'" (Knowles 115). By telling Gene that the war isn't actually happening, Finny is trying to make enlisting in the war irrelevant and unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Finny is building up his own separate world to convince Gene not to enlist. Finny wants a peaceful world without a war. Gene wants to enlist to have a new start so Finny has this separate world to give Gene a different and peaceful place to be. After Gene tells Finny that there wasn't going to be an olympics because of the war, Finny says, "Leave your fantasy life out of this. We' re grooming you for the Olympics, pal, in 1944'" (Knowles 117). This quote demonstrates that Finny is putting the war to the side to have "a separate peace" with Gene.
ReplyDeleteI think that while at first Finny had the influence, but he is slowly losing it. The weaker Finny appears, the weaker his influence gets. As Mitch said, Finny appears shocked, but the shocking part is that Finny is dropping his facade of confidence. I think that as Gene becomes more comfortable in assuming Finny's role, he will start to leave Finny behind, maybe even enlisting. I think that this is why Finny is trying to prevent the war from entering their "bubble."
ReplyDeleteI think that while at first Finny had the influence, but he is slowly losing it. The weaker Finny appears, the weaker his influence gets. As Mitch said, Finny appears shocked, but the shocking part is that Finny is dropping his facade of confidence. I think that as Gene becomes more comfortable in assuming Finny's role, he will start to leave Finny behind, maybe even enlisting. I think that this is why Finny is trying to prevent the war from entering their "bubble."
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Finny has enough influence on Gene to convince him not to go to war. The first time Brinker convinced him to enlist, Gene changed his mind immediately after finny showed up. I think think Gene was correct with saying "In some ways [Finny] needed me.” (Knowles 108) Finny and Gene are so different, they need each other to balance them out. Without Gene, Finny will have to face the fact that the war is going on. With Gene, Finny can relax at Devon, surrounded in the bubble of peace it provides. By prevented Genes enlistment, Finny will be able to continue to be surrounded by that peace.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Finny has enough influence on Gene so that he doesn't go to war. Also, I think this scene is also showing that Gene no longer thinks him and Finny are in a constant battle. In the beginning of the story Gene would have thought Finny doesn't want him to go to war because Finny is planning to go and Finny wants to be better than Gene. But now Gene believes Finny and takes his word after Finny yells, "Your going to enlist!" (Knowles 107). After Gene sees that Finny is truly concerned about him going to war, I think Gene will decide not to enlist.
ReplyDelete