9. Theme

“I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again.”

Every teenage struggles with self identity. Some find themselves in high school while others discover themselves in college. Gene often struggled with his identity. He depended on Finny because Gene felt like he was a part of Finny. Their friendship wasn’t healthy from Gene’s point of view. Gene was always jealous of Finny and developed a hidden hatred towards the oblivious Finny. He struggled desperately to find himself and his dependency of Finny got in the way. With so many different influences in life, it is hard to truly find yourself. I believe Finny found himself because  he is a passionate strong willed individual. He is always breaking the rules and going against authority but that is what makes up Finny. I know that he didn’t struggle with his identity in this novel because of the way Knowles created his character. However, it is evident that Gene couldn’t find himself. Trying on Finny’s clothes is proof that Gene tried to find himself in Finny. He would have never succeeded because you can’t find yourself in someone else. You have to be your own person and Finny is proof of this.