Guilt is a feeling where you did something wrong, and you didn't tell someone. You are the only one who knows and it slowly haunts you and makes you want to tell someone but you know that you can't. Every person has guilt because very one has done something that they are not proud of and they want to tell someone but they can't and won't. It is apart of being human because every person does things they aren't proud of and either live with the consequence of knowing they did something wrong or they tell someone. It's hard to lie guilt free. When Gene realized how hurt Finny was it was hard for him to not tell him an when he did tell him he acted like he was making it up when he really was telling the truth. On page 70, it says, "I jounced the limb. I caused it. I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." (Knowles 70). This quote shows how he had to tell Finny because the guilt of knowing that e caused Finny's injury was eating him alive.
I agree with you, but I think that lying guilt-free is possible if it is done to save someone or something good and noble. After he tells Finny the truth about the branch, Gene reconsiders, saying, "...could be and even deeper injury than what I had done before. I would have to back out of it, I would have to disown it" (Knowles 70). Gene knows that Finny is deeply devastated by his injury, and that knowing his friend caused it will make it all the more devastating, so he decides to cover it up to protect Finny.
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