Who Was Responsible For Finny's Death Analysis

Great Essays
Who was Responsible for the Death of Finny Imagine having a best friend who’s life and future was ruined because of you. This is similar to what happened to Gene and Finny in, “A Separate Peace,” by John Knowles, but others were also involved. Finny’s life, in fact, was lost during an accident in this novel when he fell down stairs. The incident can be traced back when the super suicide society would jump off the tree limb over the summer. This tragic accident can be blamed on Gene since he was the person who shattered Finny’s legs in the first place; however, the fault can be branched out to Brinker and the actual victim, Finny, as well. The blame for the death of Finny falls onto the accusations of Brinker, Gene’s actions at the famous …show more content…
First of all, Brinker played a role in Finny’s death because he was the one who hosted the illegal meeting. Brinker was in charge of the makeshift trial in the assembly room and was responsible for the outcomes. He began by brutally breaking it to Phineas and Gene that they were having a trial to reveal the truth of what happened the day Finny’s leg was shattered. In chapter 11, Brinker explained to the two that, “‘Tonight we’re investigating you.’ ‘What the hell are you talking about!’ I cut in suddenly. ‘Investigating Finny’s accident!’ He spoke as though this was the most natural and self-evident and inevitable thing we could be doing (Knowles, 201).” Brinker failed to ease into the topic, but just made matters seem like a horrendous crime or a complete act of betrayal on Gene’s fault alone. This made both Finny and Gene anxious and nervous, which automatically negatively affected their decisions. It was also evident Phineas was feeling …show more content…
In the first place, he was the one who decided to climb the tree illegally during the summer session. One day he decided to jump off of it into the river in order to liven up the summer session. “He began scrambling up the wooden pegs nailed to the side of the tree, his back muscles working like a panther’s… At last he stepped onto the branch which reached a little further toward the water… ‘If I do it, you’re all going to do it, aren’t you (16)?’” At first it wasn’t too big of a deal, even though Gene didn’t like being told what to do, but it got worse when it became a routine for the “Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session.” This became a constant danger everyday where they could easily get injured or disciplined in school. Finny basically set himself up to break his legs, and put himself and others at risk. Secondly, it was his fault because he always (unintentionally) made it seem like he was leading Gene away from his schoolwork work and normal life, which made Gene feel betrayed. His actions led Gene to say, “Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitzball, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions (61).” Since Gene felt betrayed and envious of Finny, a part of him decided to jounce the limb. If Finny made it clearer that he wasn’t trying to sabotage Gene’s work

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