The Leftovers discussion

At the beginning of the novel "A Separate Peace", certain characters display behaviors that can be seen as immature and naive. Provide an example of a specific action that shows the naive behavior of a character in "A Separate Peace". Additionally, do any characters display mature actions as well?

One character that displays immature tendencies is Phineas or Finney. An example of his immature behavior is his recklessness as a daredevil. This is evident when Finney brought Gene with him to jump out of the tree when they arrived at the river. Asv they were preparing to jump, Gene almost falls off the tree but is saved by Finney. Although Finney had saved Gene's life, it would have been Finney's fault if Gene had actually fallen out of the tree. This is best stated by Gene, as he says"Yes he had practically saved my life. He also had practically lost it for me... I don't need to feel any tremendous rush of gratitude towards Phineas" (Knowles 33).

The immaturity of the characters are shown when Phineas avoids trouble from Mr. Prud'homme. Phineas and Gene skipped dinner ten times within a span of two weeks, which should have prompted punishment. However, Phineas delivered a speech explaining how they were, "... getting ready for the war," to Mr. Prud'homme, who appreciated the story and let them off easy (Knowles 22). This re-enforces the idea that their actions don't have consequences, which is not setting up Phineas or Gene to be mature at all. If Phineas had actually been mature, he would have accepted his deserved punishment instead of rambling on about nonsense.

The immature young nature of the characters is shown when they the Upper middles compare themselves to the seniors. They describe the seniors as mature and "practically soldiers" and themselves as still playing tag and fooling around in immature ways. (Knowles 15). Anther way the boys are not mature yet is shown when it is said Phineas refused to wear pajamas because he was influenced by a senior saying they were "unmilitary". (Knowles 20). This is a show of immaturity as the boys are still able to be influenced heavily by judgement, a trait of immaturity not by being matured.

A clear example of immaturity is when Gene and Finny climb and jump of the tree. The immaturity is exhibited in Gene's retrospective analysis of the event; gene notes that, immediately prior to climbing the tree, he was so unsure of it that he "must have been in a mild state of shock" (16). Additionally, having climbed the tree, he remembers himself thinking "Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me?" (17). Allowing himself to be convinced to do this tree jump, all the while being conscious of the risk and extremely skeptical of it, is an example of immaturity on Gene's part. Finny is also somewhat immature as well for pressuring Gene and th others into the tree jump.

June wrote: "One character that displays immature tendencies is Phineas or Finney. An example of his immature behavior is his recklessness as a daredevil. This is evident when Finney brought Gene with him to ju..."
This is a good example of Finny's immaturity. It is also shown when he and Gene run away to the beach for the night. (45) They both know that it is against the rules but they do it anyway. This event displays Finny's immaturity and youthfulness

Thomas wrote: "June wrote: "One character that displays immature tendencies is Phineas or Finney. An example of his immature behavior is his recklessness as a daredevil. This is evident when Finney brought Gene w..."

True, even more so Gene acted largely immaturely for going with Finny and taking the risk of expulsion himself while typically being the more cautious and prudent of the two

Michael wrote: "The immaturity of the characters are shown when Phineas avoids trouble from Mr. Prud'homme. Phineas and Gene skipped dinner ten times within a span of two weeks, which should have prompted punishme..."

Michael, this is a great example o just how immature Finny is. His lack of grasping the concept of consequences, as he refuses to acknowledge the fact that Gene made him fall off the tree. Eventually, when Finny accepts the fact that Gene made hm fall on purpose, he is crushed and rashly attempts to leave, falling down the stairs and hurting himself more.

June wrote: "Michael wrote: "The immaturity of the characters are shown when Phineas avoids trouble from Mr. Prud'homme. Phineas and Gene skipped dinner ten times within a span of two weeks, which should have p..."
Nice comparison June. Another thing I noticed with the event Michael initially alluded to is that it shows the duality of Finny's apparent immaturity and advanced cleverness. While he acts like a child in the sense of impudent immaturity to a degree, Finny demonstrates his wise ability to pick up on social and conversational patterns, evidenced by the fat that he could pickup Prud'homme's easy impressionability and thereby predict his positive response.

Alec wrote: "Thomas wrote: "June wrote: "One character that displays immature tendencies is Phineas or Finney. An example of his immature behavior is his recklessness as a daredevil. This is evident when Finney..."
Well yes I agree and I believe that Gene's immaturity is shown here. This is because he was so easily swayed by Finny,showing an immature character.

Alec wrote: "June wrote: "Michael wrote: "The immaturity of the characters are shown when Phineas avoids trouble from Mr. Prud'homme. Phineas and Gene skipped dinner ten times within a span of two weeks, which ..."

That's really interesting. Phineas is so good at communicating with people that in ways it makes him mature. When he was talking to Mrs. Patch-Withers, he was actually really insightful and smart. His opinions, like, "I think we ought to bomb the daylights out of them, as long as we don't hit any woman or children or old people, don't you," were really thoughtful (Knowles 26). For someone who is known for getting bad grades, he is really intelligent.

I think a really mature moment was when Gene confessed to Phineas that he was the cause of the accident. Gene was obviously very nervous to reveal this, saying that his, "...blood could start to pound if it wanted to..." (Knowles 69). What Gene did to Phineas was totally awful and unacceptable, and apologizing doesn't change what he did, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Apologizing for something this violent and cruel must have been very difficult to do, yet he owned up to his awful deed.

Michael wrote: "I think a really mature moment was when Gene confessed to Phineas that he was the cause of the accident. Gene was obviously very nervous to reveal this, saying that his, "...blood could start to po..."

This example also shows immaturity as well, as Finny's reaction was to ignore it instead of confronting the truth.