A Seperate Peace Ch.6

"It was only that he was so ignorant, that he knew nothing of the gypsy summer, nothing of the loss I was fighting to endure" (79).

'For I wanted no more of sports. They were barred from me, as though when Dr. Stanpole said, "Sports are finished" he had been speaking of me' (84).

"I didn't think you would. Roommates are roommates. Even if they do have an occasional fight" (83).

Gene just doesn't get it! Gene's "best" friend was the one that fell off a tree, which was caused by him. Why the hell would Gene be fighting with a loss? He isn't the one who is passionate about sports, so he has no right to be acting like a drama queen. If Phineas is the one who has fallen, then it has no relevence for Gene to feel as though he is also "finished" from playing sports. He's not even playing on a sports team. The funny thing about that is the fact that Gene had said in a previous chapter that he is "a pretty good athlete" (55). If Gene is "a pretty good athlete" then why isn't he playing sports? His legs are both working well and he has not fallen off any trees, so there is no need for him to feel that way. Yes, it's very possible that Gene feels guilty when he thinks of playing sports because Phineas is devoted to them and is not able to, but that is still not a good enough excuse. Poor Phineas makes his long-distance call to hear Gene lying about how he made sure nobody took Finny's place as his roommate. Phineas is such a sweet kid and does not deserve a friend like Gene. Phineas considers this whole catastrophe as a simple fight and is acting like his normal self. The least Gene can do is change his selfish ways after making his friend fall off a tree. Gene is one sad story.

Is Gene still jealous of Phineas?