The Leftovers discussion

As Gene assumes that Finny is attempting to prevent Gene from becoming better than him, Gene is blinded due to his jealousy of Finny and hs a severe lapse in judgment. State an example of how Gene's assumptions about Finny affected his judgment and thought process.

Gene seems very jealous of Phineas. The relief he felt of Phineas being there to keep his balance faded away quickly when he realized that, "I wouldn't have been on that damn limb except for him," (Knowles 33). This is one of the first indications of Gene's jealousy of Phineas. It is interesting how he blames Phineas for being in the tree, yet Gene consciously made the decision to climb it multiple times. Gene lets Phineas control him, and then gets mad at Phineas for it. Gene should blame himself for not being affirmative.

Gene speaks extremely highly of Finny, especially with phrases such as “It was quite a compliment to me, as a matter of fact, to have such a person choose me for his best friend.” (29) This particular phrase culminates in and in fact almost foreshadows a moment soon after in which Gene explains that “..[he] always jumped [from the tree]. Otherwise [he] would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable.” (34) Besides the fact that Gene holds Finny as a close friend, he also holds him in an almost exultant regard, and as such is determined to keep his reputation high in Finny’s eyes.

As Michael stated, Gene is very jealous of Phineas due to Phineas' innate talent to draw people around him and sway people with his words. This jealousy clouded Gene's judgement that when he and Phineas climb the tree again, he shakes the branch that they both are standing on and makes Phineas fall off the tree, with the result of Phineas breaking one of his legs severely.

June wrote: "As Gene assumes that Finny is attempting to prevent Gene from becoming better than him, Gene is blinded due to his jealousy of Finny and hs a severe lapse in judgment. State an example of how Gene'..."
After Gene and Finny stay overnight at the beach Gene starts to believe that Finny is holding him back. Gene realizes that he has been jealous of Finny this whole time and he sees this by remembering how he felt when Finny was able to beat the swim record without practice. These events tied together pushed Gene over the edge with jealousy and clouded his judgement. In this state of jealousy Gene intentionally knocked Finny out of the tree where he greatly hurt his leg.(60)

June wrote: "As Michael stated, Gene is very jealous of Phineas due to Phineas' innate talent to draw people around him and sway people with his words. This jealousy clouded Gene's judgement that when he and Ph..."
You could even say that this ties back into the notion of immaturity since Gene sabotages Finny's ability that he is jealous of. The mature thing for Gene to do would've been to instead just accept the situation and be grateful that he is so close with Finny and therefore gets to enjoy that aura to a degree himself.

Alec wrote: "Gene speaks extremely highly of Finny, especially with phrases such as “It was quite a compliment to me, as a matter of fact, to have such a person choose me for his best friend.” (29) This particu..."

Alec, Althogh your perspective makes sense, Gene visits Finny in Finny's home and tells Finny that he shook the tree on purpose, though Finny refuses to belive this.

Thomas wrote: "June wrote: "As Gene assumes that Finny is attempting to prevent Gene from becoming better than him, Gene is blinded due to his jealousy of Finny and hs a severe lapse in judgment. State an example..."

Note that this is a shift in the book - not just in their friendship but also in the world and the school. Also it is the last summer day (not sure if technically but last summer like moment).

I had a student say this once:

"We all wish we were Finny, but in reality we are all Gene"

What does Knowles represent about humanity, relationships, and society in general with these characters?

Give details in your answers.

Oh and someone please take a look at the seasonal shifts and the character shifts bc it is really interesting.

Brigid wrote: "Oh and someone please take a look at the seasonal shifts and the character shifts bc it is really interesting."
In the summer the boys felt free. They had very loose rules by the school and this season was representative of fun and freedom. In the summer the boys did activities such as blitzball or sneaking to the beach.(45) However the fall showed a change in character. After Finny's injury the characters change with the season. The mood is no longer fun and lighthearted but instead the reader feels a gloomy mood as the seasons change and summer ends.

Brigid wrote: "I had a student say this once:

"We all wish we were Finny, but in reality we are all Gene"

What does Knowles represent about humanity, relationships, and society in general with these characters?..."

I understand the student's point of view, however I do not agree with it. Maybe it's because I always assume the best in people, but I find it hard to believe that we are all Gene's. Rather, I think people can usually fall somewhere in between. While we may not be radiating with confidence and constantly excelling in life like Phineas, I don't think that we are all jealous and spiteful like Gene. It is perfectly normal to compare your success and ambitions to those of your friends, however Gene takes it way too far. It even seems as though Gene enjoys the idea of Phineas plotting to ruin his life. When Phineas says to Gene, "Don't go. What the hell, it's only a game," Phineas is surprised and possibly disappointed (Knowles 57). Gene is so delusional that he wants Phineas to be against him. It's the only way he can justify his own intense jealousy of Phineas.

Brigid wrote: "Oh and someone please take a look at the seasonal shifts and the character shifts bc it is really interesting."

One great example I found of this is with Leper Lepellier. During the Summer session, he is prudent and cautious (e.g. too scared to jump off the tree). However, come the winter session, he appears to harden to some degree, as evidenced by his enlistment and Gene's observation that "The careful politeness [Leper] had always had was gone" (142) and that "None of this could have been said by the Leper of the Beaver dam." (143)

Michael wrote: "Brigid wrote: "I had a student say this once:

"We all wish we were Finny, but in reality we are all Gene"

What does Knowles represent about humanity, relationships, and society in general with th..."

Michael, I disagree with your prior statements on how we are not all like Gene. As you said, Gene takes his intense jealousy to the next level. However, I think that Gene was not intended to be connected to people up to that level, only the part in which he was jealous of Finny.

June wrote: "Michael wrote: "Brigid wrote: "I had a student say this once:

"We all wish we were Finny, but in reality we are all Gene"

What does Knowles represent about humanity, relationships, and society in..."

I have absolutely no idea what this comment means.

A huge change in behavior is Gene finally learning some self respect. Although Phineas was certainly not a toxic friend, Gene did let Phineas pressure him into doing things he didn't want to do constantly. It was so entertaining seeing him stand up for himself against Quackenbush. I love when he states how he didn't fight Quackenbush for Phineas, and said "It felt as though I had done it for myself," (Knowles 80). Reading this line made me so happy. This new Gene is so much stronger and more assertive then the one who let Phineas tell him to climb trees and do the lame Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session every night (yikes).

Michael wrote: "A huge change in behavior is Gene finally learning some self respect. Although Phineas was certainly not a toxic friend, Gene did let Phineas pressure him into doing things he didn't want to do con..."

Additionally, I wonder if the absence of Phineas affected Gene as well. I believe this because when Finny was out of the picture, gen began doing his own thing, and separated from Finny's way of living. For example, instead of joining a sport as Finny requested, Gene jouins as a manager, later enraging Finny.

Michael wrote: "A huge change in behavior is Gene finally learning some self respect. Although Phineas was certainly not a toxic friend, Gene did let Phineas pressure him into doing things he didn't want to do con..."
As you said, Gene learns to stand up for himself. I think this is also shown when he is defending himself from Brinker's spiteful attacks that were aimed to make Gene feel bad. (89-90). I think in the past he would have just taken the words and he would have Finny stand up for him.