There’s a point in everyone’s lives that changes them for the better or worse. For some it might be getting married; for others it might the death of a loved one. Either way, these moments can last forever. For Gene, it was was pushing his best friend, Finny, out of tree. A Separate Piece is about a boy named Gene who goes to a school called Devon during World War 1. Gene’s a quiet and reserved guy who follows his only friend, Finny. Gene gets jealous of Finny though because he’s the star of the school and a leader people look up to. Gene ends up pushing Finny out of the tree and shatters his leg. Finny leaves for recovery and makes new friends like Brinker and Leper. Gene goes back to his older self more once Finny comes back. Finny becomes upset at Brinker for trying to get the truth, Gene pushing Finny, out. Finny falls and re-breaks his leg; While it’s reset, Finny dies. Gene is soon after sent into the war.The pivotal moment of Gene pushing Finny out of the tree affected the story in multiple ways: it changed the role of Finny, changed the dynamic between Finny and Gene, and changed Gene’s character with his development. The pivotal act of Finny being pushed by Gene affected the story by changing the role of Finny. At the beginning of the story, Finny was someone that was looked up to. He was someone that was a leader. He was thought as someone strong; they thought he was a person that didn’t have insecurities or weakness. One of Finny’s commandments were to “Never say you are five feet nine when you are five feet eight and a half” (Knowles 14). Finny believed in not telling a lie even if it was a small one. After shattering his leg and talking to Gene he says “Why do you think I kept saying there wasn’t any war all winter? I was going to keep on saying it until two seconds after I got a letter from Ottawa or Chungking or some place” (Knowles 103).
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Finny became less of a god and more human. He showed more emotion and faults of a normal person. He showed anguish of not being allowed to participate in the war. He didn’t want to be left alone. Before the fall, he only showed feeling of happiness and joy. All of this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Gene pushing Finny. Finny never really felt anything but happiness before. His fall was the catalyst for him having a wider range of emotions. This let him grow as a person; in return, it let him have a different role. His new role was not only one for himself but for others. He was still looked up to, but now he was depended upon less. The act of Finny becoming more human and less like a god is one of the reasons why the act of Finny being pushed by Gene was a pivotal moment in A Separate Peace. Finny and Gene’s dynamic was changed by the pivotal act of Gene pushing Finny out of the tree. Gene and Finny were best friends before the fall. They did almost everything together. They never showed weakness to each other verbally. Gene was in awe of Finny and Finny liked Gene’s traits. When Finny comes back, Finny and Gene talk about the new secret information he found out about the war. Finny talks about how they are on of the few people who knew and Gene asks “What makes you so special? Why should you get it and all the rest of us be in the dark?” (Knowles 61) Finny’s “face froze. “Because I’ve suffered, he burst out.” Gene relied less on Finny and started to notice more of his flaws; Finny was more open to Gene and revealed his flaws. Finny was finally close enough to Gene, and had something traumatic enough that Finny was finally able to share more of their inner emotions with each other. Unlike earlier, where they mainly just shared what was on the surface of their feelings. Their friendship grew to have more depth and complexity. It went from a textbook, simple friendship to something that was real. They could
Finny became less of a god and more human. He showed more emotion and faults of a normal person. He showed anguish of not being allowed to participate in the war. He didn’t want to be left alone. Before the fall, he only showed feeling of happiness and joy. All of this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Gene pushing Finny. Finny never really felt anything but happiness before. His fall was the catalyst for him having a wider range of emotions. This let him grow as a person; in return, it let him have a different role. His new role was not only one for himself but for others. He was still looked up to, but now he was depended upon less. The act of Finny becoming more human and less like a god is one of the reasons why the act of Finny being pushed by Gene was a pivotal moment in A Separate Peace. Finny and Gene’s dynamic was changed by the pivotal act of Gene pushing Finny out of the tree. Gene and Finny were best friends before the fall. They did almost everything together. They never showed weakness to each other verbally. Gene was in awe of Finny and Finny liked Gene’s traits. When Finny comes back, Finny and Gene talk about the new secret information he found out about the war. Finny talks about how they are on of the few people who knew and Gene asks “What makes you so special? Why should you get it and all the rest of us be in the dark?” (Knowles 61) Finny’s “face froze. “Because I’ve suffered, he burst out.” Gene relied less on Finny and started to notice more of his flaws; Finny was more open to Gene and revealed his flaws. Finny was finally close enough to Gene, and had something traumatic enough that Finny was finally able to share more of their inner emotions with each other. Unlike earlier, where they mainly just shared what was on the surface of their feelings. Their friendship grew to have more depth and complexity. It went from a textbook, simple friendship to something that was real. They could