4) How does the invention of and the playing of Blitzball impact the relationship between Finny and Gene?
After seeing Finny create a new game and perform so impressively in it Gene becomes insecure and jealous. Blitzball is a very important symbol in this book. It symbolizes the personalities of each person based on the way they play it. Finny, for example, is not afraid of the challenge and works hard to make sure he is the best. The way Finny plays completely displays his personality, he is one to take charge and face a challenge. Others like Leper are scared of the ball and refuse to carry it. Gene however is in the middle. He watches Finny perform amazingly and shows everyone how talented he is athletically. I believe this, like other traits Finny possesses, is what Gene is so jealous about. Gene claims he is happy for his best friend (Knowles 40) but in reality he is hiding his jealousy. He wishes he could have the personality and talents of Finny. I think Gene hides his real emotions in the book.
"It was good that Finny could shine at it. He could also shine at many other things" (Knowles 40)
Do you think that Finny is actually showing his real emotions and is truly happy for Finny, or is he just finding a way to mask his jealousy.
I agree with you that Gene is just trying to mask his jealous and is lying to himself about how he truly feels. Over these two chapters, we learn that Finny can get himself out of bad situations pretty well. For example when Finny and Gene skipped dinner, Finny was able to talk Mr. Prud'homme out of getting them in trouble. "Mr. Prud'homme released his breath with a sort of amazed a laugh, stared at finny for a while and that was all there was to it." (Knowles, 23). This upsets Gene because he says that Finny has a way of hypnotizing people and when Finny is able to make the un-laughable Mr. Patch-Withers laugh after getting in trouble for his attire, Gene gets even more envious of Finny's charming personality. "He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." (Knowles, 28) Gene tries to cover up the fact that he wanted Finny to get in trouble, by saying he just wanted to see some more excitement. Over these chapters and with these examples, including the blitzball, we see that Gene starts to envy Finny more and more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caleb that blitzball symbolizes the traits of the characters in A Separate Peace, but I do not believe that Gene was in the middle during the game. Gene was rather placed as the center point by Finny, and the first game symbolized the friendship between the two high schoolers. “Here, Gene, the ball of course is still yours.” (Knowles 39) Finny repeats this phrase after Gene continuously gets knocked-down in the game that Finny created. After Gene finally gets back on his feet again, Finny only pushes him back to the ground. Does Finny do this on purpose, or is he ignorant to his actions?
ReplyDelete- Joey O'Brien