Part one of term paper
“Adolescent friendships are of the most complex companionships due to the suppressed feelings of contempt one child may feel toward another.” The deterioration of the complex friendship of Gene and Phineas is brought about in John Knowles’ by the combination of their envy and denial. Finny and Gene begin their summer of 1942 with the i ...

Part two of term paper
... their friendship is flawless. At the beginning of the story, Gene seems to accept Finny’s superior athletic ability, but he resents what he feels was Finny flaunting his abilities. Finny demonstrates his superior agility to Gene when he grabs Gene’s hand, lending him support when he loses his balance during one of their routine jumps from a towering tree. Gene feels that he should not feel any “rush of gratitude toward Phineas,” because he does not like feeling clumsier than Finny. Instead ...