A Separate Peace Notes | Topic Tracking: Envy

Chapter 2

Envy 1: Gene is jealous that Finny is able to get away with so many things that he himself would ordinarily be punished for, since he was always too afraid to break the school rules before the two became friends. He wants Phineas to get into trouble with Mr. Patch-Withers because of his jealousy and is disappointed when he gets away with breaking the rules yet again because he is such a charming young man.

Envy 2: As Finny gains an increasing power over Gene with his reckless behavior, Gene increasingly resents and envies him. After Finny stops him from falling out of the tree, he is not grateful but instead feels even more jealousy. Their friendship is dominated by Phineas rather than being an equal enterprise for both boys. Gene only wants to give something to Finny although there seems to be nothing to give since he is such a talented person.

Chapter 3

Envy 3: The jealousy Gene has towards Finny extends towards all of the students at Devon School where the entire atmosphere is founded upon competition in its sports and academics alike. It is a matter of who can be better than whom. This is why Gene tries to excel at his academics, to be better than the rest. It is difficult to understand how Finny would not want recognition and to have it known that he has beaten another boy's swimming record. Yet he assumes it is because Finny is conceited because he has so many athletic awards already and another one would mean little to him.

Envy 4: Gene's jealousy of Finny begins to intensify to the point at which he can hardly bear to be around him since he feels so overshadowed and controlled. Finny's good looks, his athletic skill, his powers of conversation are all things that he thinks he himself lacks. Rather than treasuring the good moments they share, he constantly obsesses about how much better Finny is than him and is resentful. Finny is unaware of this and believes that he and Gene are best friends.

Chapter 4

Envy 5: Forrester decides that Finny is as jealous of him as he is of Finny, thinking that he has intentionally tried to make Gene do poorly in his classes. But if he is the best in academics, then he and Finny will be equal since Finny is the best in sports. This makes Gene happy, for the competitive world of Devon is all that he knows. Competition is what drives him. Gene projects his envy onto Finny and feels content, thinking he understands his odd behavior by assuming they are the same.

Envy 6: All at once Gene's rationalization of Finny is shattered, realizing that the two are not alike at all. Finny is a good person, free of any envy, and Gene is inferior. Feeling beaten, he lashes out in frustration by knocking Finny out of the tree. Gene is pleased to have done this and to have defeated someone whom he perceives as an enemy and a threat to himself just because he is more virtuous. He feels liberated.

Chapter 5

Envy 7: Finny is hostile towards Gene after he confesses he had intentionally shaken the tree branch. Gene is pleased to see that Finny has some resentment towards him just as he has towards Finny. In this sense, he feels that they are now more equal.

Chapter 6

Envy 8: Because he envies Finny's virtue and goodness, Gene decides to become Phineas himself so that he will have these same virtues and be a good person. He doesn't like the person he is and wants to be someone whom he perceives as better, such as Finny. While fighting Quackenbush, it is himself and not Finny whom he defends after being called "maimed."

Envy 9: Gene commits acts of violence against Finny and Quackenbush yet he is terrified to compete in sports. Finny played sports for the fun of it and not to win. It was only by chance that he always won whatever game they were playing. To him, even war is not a competition between jealous enemies but rather is as much of a game as "blitzball."

Chapter 7

Envy 10: Brinker is jealous of Finny's renewed influence over Gene after the two were supposed to enlist together before Finny had surprisingly returned to campus. Gene dramatically changes his mind and now mocks the entire idea of going to fight in the war, much to Brinker's surprise and jealousy. He feels betrayed.

Chapter 8

Envy 11: Gene is happy that Finny will never be as great as he had been. He will never have his same perfect walk and Gene notices how easy it would be for Finny to slip and fall again while walking outside. He says nothing to warn his friend to be more careful. Finny shows some bitterness and envy of Gene since he can still walk normally while Phineas is stuck limping around in a cast, declaring that "he's suffered."

Chapter 9

Envy 12: During the summer Finny had dominated their friendship but in the Winter Session he and Gene share each other's skills equally. Gene tutors him in academics while Finny trains him in athletics. Forrester does not feel resentment or hostility towards Finny any longer, for he has fixed the problem that was there by knocking Finny out of the tree. Now he becomes Finny's caretaker.

Envy 13: Leper comments that the stronger or better creatures in nature are the ones that survive. Gene wonders how this concept applies to him and Phineas since he is now stronger because of his maimed leg. His jealousy has disappeared because he no longer feels as if Finny is better than he is.

Chapter 10

Envy 14: The Army has made Leper a bit paranoid. He has started to think about himself and his own needs instead of worrying about other people. He has become more outwardly selfish, much as Gene is secretly inside. He has begun to be jealous of other people's things and remembers that Gene shook the tree branch beneath Finny's feet, for he now understands what it means to hate and envy someone. Before the Army he was innocent of these feelings.

Chapter 11

Envy 15: Brinker is jealous of Gene's friendship with Finny since the two were going to enlist before Phineas' return to Devon School. Brinker declares that he will prove that Gene knocked Finny out of the tree for Gene's own good. Then Hadley would have Gene as his close friend again since that would probably destroy Gene and Finny's friendship.

Chapter 12

Envy 16: Finny had been jealous of the other boys who were able to enlist in the military. This was the reason he had pretended that there was no war, because it was something he couldn't be a part of. Gene assures him that he would not have been a very good soldier anyway.

Chapter 13

Envy 17: Gene's jealousy of Finny's great talents disappeared as they began to share their talents with each other. During the summer Phineas had dominated their friendship and Gene allowed this to happen, thus keeping his anger growing inside. When they began to truly open up to one another and talk, they understood one another better, and they become closer friends. Then there is nothing left to envy because both of them had great talents to share, which lets them learn from one another. Gene's outlook on life has been forever changed for the better because of Finny. Similarly, before Finny dies, Gene makes him realize that he would not have been a good soldier even if he had enlisted, because he was such a kind, free-spirited person.