Gene
blames Finny for his near fatal fall even though Finny saves him. Gene is
pressured by Finny who talks Gene into jumping from a tree that he knows is
dangerous. The day before Gene successfully jumps from the tree but on his
second try he jumps with Finny. While they are on the branch Gene turns around
to say something to Finny but, “Realized that in turning I had begun to lose my
balance…. and then Finny’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm”(Knowles 31). At
first Gene is thankful for Finny, “Had practically saved my life”(Knowles 32).
As Gene continues to think about what had happened he realizes that he was on
the tree only because he had given in to Finny’s pressure. Finny strongly urges
Gene to jump. He tells him to jump from the tree and if Gene hadn’t given in,
he wouldn’t be on the tree, so he shouldn’t be thankful. He says this the day
after he almost falls when he has a chance to reflect. The reason he is
thinking this is because he wants to blame Finny for something because he always
gets away with breaking school rules. When Finny used a tie as a belt at a tea
with Mr. Patch-Wither, Gene thought, "This time he wasn't going to get
away with it" even then he didn't get in trouble (Knowles 27). The reason
why Gene blames Finny for his loss of balance is because he wants him to get in
trouble even if the whole incident just involves the two of them.
What
are other examples of Finny getting away with breaking the rules?
In saying that Finny had saved his life, though he had been the one who made him lose it, Gene is not just talking about the incident with his fall by the tree, but more broadly about Gene's life and experience at Devon. Gene thinks of himself as rather timid, and thinks of Finny as someone who was cut out to lead, who can invent and command on the spot, as he does with the invention of Blitzball. Without Finny, Gene doesn't really have a significant life at Devon. His entire life revolves around risk-taking with Finny and waiting in half-fear half-anticipation of the time when all Finny's misdeeds finally catch up with him. Gene exhibits excitement at the prospect of Finny being punished, thinking in near-jubilation to himself at the tea with Mr. Patch-Withers, "This time he wasn't going to get away with it." (Knowles 27). This feeling of excitement when Finny is close to getting caught stem's from Gene's deep knowledge that Finny leads him badly astray, and yet without Finny, Devon would be somehow different, somehow less worth attending. Thus in a larger sense, Finny has almost cost Gene his life (at Devon) and yet saved it for him as well.
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