Ch. 8 "'Don't be a sap,' he gazed with cool self-possession at me, 'there isn't any war.'" (115)

I chose this quote because I believe it represents a change in character of Finny since he has returned to Devon. I think Finny is acting like a real fool here because he actually says that the war is fake. Throughout the book so far I had thought of Finny as one of the most level-headed, down to earth characters since he is always so clever in certain situations. Finny did sometimes use his imagination to create things like blitzball, but that was to help other people kill the time during the summer, which was a very ingenious thing to do. My whole view of Finny is changed when he says this because by saying this, his words have no true meaning to others like they normally do. Everyone knows that his this is false so they have no point in listening to everything he says like they used to.

Did falling out of the tree affect Finny mentally as well as physically?

Ch. 9 "He drew me away from the Butt Room crowd, away from Brinker and Chet and all other friends, into a world inhabited by just himself and me, where there was no war at all, just Phineas and me, where there was no war at all, just Phineas and me alone among all the people of the world, training for the Olympics of 1944."

I chose this quote because I think it shows how much is wrong with both Gene and Finny. First, I cannot believe that Finny is pulling Gene away from all of his friends like that. I think there is definitely something wrong with Finny because he actually thinks that Gene will make it to the Olympics. Taking Gene away from others is not what Finny should be doing right now. Finny should be in the Butt Room with everyone else catching up with all he had missed since he had been away instead of isolating himself from others and making himself lonely. Second, I do not know why Gene is still putting up with Finny. Finny is making Gene train for the Olympics when he is absolutely certain that he is not going to make it, especially when Gene does not even play sports. I do not know why Gene has not stood up to Finny yet, but he still lets him force his will upon Gene. Even after Gene has injured Finny, he is still afraid to be himself around Finny. I think that on the pace he is going, if Gene does not stand up to Finny soon he will start doing things even more illogical than what has already happened.

Is Gene afraid to stand up to Finny?

Ch. 7 "Everything that had happened throughout the day faded like that first false snowfall of the winter. Phineas was back."

I believe that this of course shocked Gene to see Finny in his room, but I believe that he was upset to see Finny there after all he had gone through. Gene was still trying to get over the guilt of hurting Finny, and I think he might have finally found a way to get over it by just thinking that he had accomplished his goal of making him not be so powerful over everyone anymore. I think that seeing Finny destroyed all the progress that Gene had made towards getting rid of his guilt because he is now reminded that he severly hurt his friend and did not even take him out of the picture. I think that Finny will be able to get forgive Gene for what he did before Gene can forgive himself.

How will Gene react in the long term to Finny coming back to Devon?

Ch. 6 "'Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're gpoing to play them for me,' and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas." (85)

I find this quote to be very disturbing on the part of Phineas and Gene. First, I think it was wrong for Finny to tell Gene that he had to play sports for him. I also find it creepy. Finny can no longer get the thrill he got out of sports anymore, but he still forces Gene to play even though he does not like sports as much as Finny. Gene is his own person and should not be intimidated into playing sports by his overbearing friend. Gene should not give in to Finny just because he feels guilty for breaking his leg. Second, I think it is strange at the end of the quote when Gene thinks he was supposed to be 'a part of Phineas' because it makes it seem that Gene feels so guilty towards Finny that he is ready to bow down and do whatever Finny wants. Throughout the story, I think Gene has been a veryy shifty character because he just seemed to try to blend into the pack and listen to Finny's every word and I think we will see even more of the same in the chapters to come.

Will Gene start making decisions for himself instead of listening to Finny?

Ch. 5 "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." (70)

Is Gene crazy? This quote obviously makes any reader think there is something wrong with Gene right from the start. Gene became so filled with envy and jealousy that he would intentionally hurt his own previous best friend. Seriously? Maybe doing something to get them in trouble would be different. (I bet Gene thought of that first and realized Finny would probably talkhis way out of punishment like he had done so many times before.) Even if Gene had hurt Finny on purpose he should not have told him about it.

Is it really Gene's fault for being so envious of Finny since he really is so good at everything?

Ch. 4 "No one cared, no one exercised any real discipline over us; we were on our own." (55)

I chose this quote because I believe it relates to how all of Gene's class is about to be drafted into the military and they can get away with more things. Here, Gene is telling Mr. Prud'homme how Finny and he went to the beach, an act that normally gotten them in a lot of trouble. This is a great example of how the teachers know this might be the last fun they ever have they are giving the students a chance to get away with other things. I believe there is some forshadowing at the end of the quote when it says "we were on our own" because it preludes to after they graduate when the students will be out in the real world by themselves in the war.

"Is it only Gene that does not like Finny or do they both secretly hate each other in the middle of chapter 4?

Ch. 2-3

Ch. 2 "Finny never left anything alone, not when it was well enough, not when it was perfect." (29)

I chose this quote because I believe it contains forshadowing for how Finny and Gene's relationship will soon break apart. I think that right now Finny and Gene have a great relationship as two good friends that would do anything for each other. Later in the story I think we will see Finny's overbearing personality take over and he will do something to drastically change their friendship. So far in the story it seems that Gene gets pushed around a little by Finny, mentally and physically. I think this means someday Gene will be pushed too far by Finny and the bond between the two of them will snap.

Ch. 3 "Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth." (48)

I chose this quote because I believe it truly shows how Gene feels about Finny. This quote talks about how Gene stopped himself from saying Finny was also his best friend. I think Gene realized that if someone asked him who his best friend was he would normally say Finny right away, but when he did not say Finny was his best friend he notices that deep in his heart the truth was that Finny was not his best friend.

Why does Gene always follow in Finny's footsteps?
Why does Finny say the word "Naturaly" all the time?

"When I jumped on top of him, my knees on his chest, he couldn't ask for anything better." (19)

This quote is significant because it shows how Phineas wants the narrator to be less of a robot and more free spirited like he is. I think this will play a big role in the story where the narrator both change the other person's personality in a way.

How are Phineas and the narrator friends if it seems they both have rather different personalities?

Phineas- outgoing, free-spirited, exciting, fearless, athlectic
Narrator- obedient, friendly, nostalgic, hesitant, friendly

Narrator- "' We'd better hurry or we'll be late for dinner," I said, breaking into what Finny called my 'West Point stride.'"
Phineas- "No Upper Middler... had ever tried. Naturally Finny was going to be the first to try... to inveigle others, us, into trying it with him."