Gene is indirectly the cause of Finny’s death, because he was responsible for the suffering that led up to it. In the opening of the book, Gene causes Finny to fall out of the infamous tree and break his leg. Although Finny is in denial the first time Gene tells him this, he accepts the truth after the trial. When he hears that he was betrayed by his best friend, he is deeply hurt and runs away, tripping on the marble stairs. Had his leg not been broken by Gene, he would have been less likely to fall and break his leg on the stairs. When Gene goes to visit Finny in the infirmary, Finny shouts at Gene the moment he sees him. Finny yells, “‘You want to break something else in me! Is that why you’re here!’” (Knowles, 184). Gene has not only been the cause of Finny’s leg-breaking twice, but he has also betrayed his trust and broken his heart. He has caused Finny to suffer a lot over the past year and Finny finally snapped out of his denial and showed his suffering to Gene. Although Gene didn’t mean to destroy Finny’s life this much, he was the original cause of Finny’s suffering, that eventually lead up to his death.
How do you think that Gene will be able to cope with Finny dying? Do you think that his friends will blame him? How will he be able to live with the fact that he was the cause of his best friend’s death?
Finny's death is most certainly something to blame on Gene because he initially broke Finny's leg. One could argue the environment around Gene plays a factor in his actions leading up to Finny's death. Throughout the novel, Gene has been trying to block out the war, so he decides not to tell Finny about breaking his leg because their relationship is Gene's only escape from his fears. Gene, holding back this burden of information to the point where Finny eventually finds out, and then he explodes, running away and tripping on the stairs. Gene will not be able to cope well with Finny dying because Finny was Gene's only peace among sadness and war. At Finny's burial, his death has such an effect on Gene's life that he "could not escape a feeling that this was [his] own funeral" (Knowles 194). Since Finny is the only peace in Gene's life, he feels he will surrender himself to the war. With no peace left, Gene feels his teenage years are killed, thus meaning Finny's funeral is his funeral.
ReplyDeleteWhile Finny's death is partially Gene's fault, I also think Brinker should have to take part of the blame. He is the one who pushed Finny too hard with the trial. The trial is what caused everyone in the trial to hear the sound of "his body falling clumsily down the white marble stairs" (Knowles 177) and is what ultimately killed Finny. While Gene and Finny were both pretending the war didn't exist, and pretending that Gene hadn't cause Finny's leg to break the first time, Finny had been getting slightly better, though he still had to use the cane, he was moving about pretty well. Brinker forcing Gene and Finny to come to the trial caused Finny to tumble down the stairs and ultimately caused his death.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in the long run, Gene did break Finny's leg. However, Finny did make the choice to angrily storm out of the "court" room and lose his temper. Right before Finny left he yelled, "I don't care... I just don't care" (Knowles 176-177). this quote shows that Finny actually was angry and he may have not been able to control himself because of his emotions taking control over him. However, like Rhys said if Gene hadn't purposefully broken Finny's leg, Finny would be alive and the fall would have never happened. I agree that it's partially Gene's fault but if Finny had controlled his emotions like he usually does the fatal accident would not have occured.
ReplyDeleteTechnically speaking, almost every character in the book could indirectly be the cause of Finny's death. Infact, Finny himself could be the indirect cause of his death. Gene bounced on the branch because he wanted Finny to fall. However, he felt this way because of all that Finny accomplished, and how Gene felt as if Finny was trying to be the "better" or "more accomplished friend". Another person that could technically be the indirect cause of Finny's death would be Brinker. He brought Finny to the "court" room in the first place, and pushed Finny to the point of mentally breaking. ““Wait a minute!” cried Brinker...body falling clumsily down the white marble stairs.” (Knowles, 177). If Brinker had left the Situation alone and had not involved himself, Finny never would have fell down the stairs, therefore never requiring a surgery, therefore living. Finally, the last person that could be held accountable or finny's death indirectly is Leper. Leper answered all of Brinker’s questions mentally breaking Finny, causing him to run full speed out of the “court” room, and falling down the stairs. In conclusion a lot of characters, if not all, could technically be indirectly responsible for Finny's death. However, Finny himself ran out of the room, fell down the stairs, and directly caused his own death
ReplyDeleteI agree that Gene did break Finny's leg, and that eventually lead to his death. However, I also agree with Katherine that this was also the fault of Brinker. Brinker was the one who set up the "trial" and that eventually leap to Finny getting upset, storming out and falling down the stairs, "Do you think I want to hear every gory detail! Shut up! I don't care" (Knowles 151). This quote is significant because it shows how much Finny does not want to believe that it is Gene's fault that he jounced the branch.
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