8. Power/Submission

Gene & Finny’s friendship: Gene submits to Finny in their relationship. Finny is the one who had influence over Gene when they went to the beach and jumped out of the tree. Although Finny may not have realized it, Gene felt obligated to go along with Finny and participate in activities thus neglecting  his studies.

Finny & his injury: His broken leg has power over everything Finny does. He is no longer able to play sports and the doctor has hope that he can at least walk again. This set back doesn’t completely hold Finny behind. He still tries to be involved by training Gene but there is only so much he can do.

Jealousy: Gene’s jealousy of Finny has power over his emotions and actions. It caused him to blame Finny of taking him away from his studies and also caused him to shake the limb. This jealousy ultimately ruined their friendship.

Older Generation & Young Generation: The reader sees the relationship at the end of the book when Brinker’s father talks with Gene and Brinker. He expects a lot out of Brinker and Gene because he remembers his war days. Brinker claims that the only reason they are having to fight this war is because of the past generation.

War: The war has power over the boys at Devon. They are going to this school to prepare for a war and they are expected to fight. Finny is the only boy the war doesn’t seem to  have control over. He creates this facade of the war being controlled by fat old men. Later, we find out that he is probably the boy the war has the most power over. He would do anything to be a part of the action-even fight for the other side.

2 Comments

on “8. Power/Submission
2 Comments on “8. Power/Submission
  1. Do you think that Finny’s broken leg killed Finny, and I don’t mean literally. I’m talking about his spirit.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *