Finny acts like this because he is trying to convince himself that nothing has changed, although lots of things have. First Finny was betrayed by Gene, who he thought was his best friend. This resulted in never being able to play sports again, which is another major change in Finny's life. He comes back to Devon expecting it to be the same place he left it, but arrives to find Gene about to enlist. "Phineas was shocked at the idea of my leaving...He needed me." (Knowles 108). All these changes came very suddenly to Finny. Little changes, like the maids leaving, cause Finny to become distraught. Although it is obviously very simple to go on with life without maids, Finny is upset about the changes going on at the school. He doesn't want to accept any of these changes, so he convinces himself, and tries to convince Gene, that the war is not real.
This behavior is very unlike Finny. Before he broke his leg, Finny was very interested in the war. "'I was reading in the paper that we bombed Central Europe for the first time the other day.'...'Well, we've got to do something to celebrate.'" (Knowles 25). Now he is hurt and everything is different, but Finny doesn't want to show any kind of weakness. Instead, he uses his trademark charm on himself, to comfort himself into believing that none of the war, both between the world and between him and Gene, is real.
I agree with Anya. Finny is against all the change that is happening at Devon and lies to Gene about the war being a conspiracy in order to keep Gene from leaving the school. Finny has recently returned to Devon and is upset the atmosphere is changing. One example is sports. During the summer session, sports were played for competition and relaxation. However, after the summer session, sports were used for training to enlist in the army after graduating. Finny is against this and is extremely hurt because sports were one of the many things he could enjoy during the summer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates. Finny is very desperate to keep Gene at his side by this point of the novel. Sports were Finny's favorite thing and without being able to carry out dares or preform athletic games Finny doesn't know what to do with himself. Finny needs Gene by his side and is living through Gene at this point. On page 119, it states that he got up at six in the morning to watch Gene run. It is simply a guess but Finny does not strike me as a early riser. Finny wakes up at six because he needs to see Gene run or else Finny may go crazy. Finny enjoyed watching Gene do chin ups and is training Gene for the olympics despite the inevitable fact that they will be cancelled. Finny needs Gene and henceforth calls the war a conspiracy because Finny knows Gene will go along with anything he says.
ReplyDeleteNear the beginning of the book, Phineas did believe in and care about the war. Gene says this explicitly; “Phineas was the essence of this careless peace. Not that he was unconcerned about the war,” (Knowles 24). However, after returning to Devon, he is injured. Phineas knows that he will be able to walk, but he will never really be able to do anything else with his legs, and as such, would not be allowed to participate in the war. When this possibility was taken away for him, he started to tell himself and others around him that there was no war. Phineas cannot live knowing that he is incapable of doing something because of his lack of physical ability.
ReplyDeleteFinny is against the war because he can't be part of it. Before his injury, he was really interested and ready to enlist. His reason for all his actions was "because we're all getting ready for the war."(Knowles 22). The war was the main thing that motivated him. Now, since he can't enlist, he's against the war and thinks it is fake. Finny can't face the truth, that he can't be part of everything, especially the one thing he was most looking forward to. Finny finally starts to realize the things he can and can't do because of his disability.
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