Thursday, July 16, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
aseparatepeacebook.blogspot
The infamous Tree
aseparatepeacebook.blogspot
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(46)
-
▼
July
(17)
- A Separate Peace, Honors
- A Separate Peace, Honors
- A Separate Peace, Honors
- A Separate Peace, Honors
- A Separate Peace, Honors
- THE END. YOURS TRULY, HUCK FINN.
- Language
- What I’ve gotten out of it.
- Growing
- symbolism?
- What would you change?
- Actions and Reactions
- well worth it
- Reflections and Reactions to Huck Finn
- Emmeline Grangerfield
- Thoughts on Huck Finn
- The last line of the book
-
▼
July
(17)
Contributors
Cluster Map
Good Books
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
- The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
One of the examples of Finny's adventuresome spirit that sticks out to me is his first day back to Devon after he's been gone due to injury. Finny is walking, with Gene, on crutches and it's the middle of winter with ice topping the sidewalks. They both have classes to attend, but Finny suggests that they skip, and go to the gym instead. Whenever Gene asks what their excuse would be, he replies with a 'phantom smile', "We'll say I fainted from exertion on the way from chapel, and you had to tend to me."
ReplyDeleteI chose this example because it reminded me at the beginning of the book whenever the two of them skipped dinner after swimming in the river. Finny told Mr. Prud'homme this, and about the wrestling, and the sunset that you just had to see. Finny enjoyed life, and every part of it. He found good in everything, and his adventuresome spirit allowed this. Even though he returns physically changed, Finny is still the same inside, and has not lost his spirit that everyone looks to him for peace for.
"What I like best about this tree, what I like is that it's such a cinch!"
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, when Gene's memories begin, it all starts with a "tremendous, irate, steely black steeple" of a tree beside the river. Finny wanted to jump out of this tree. It did not intimidate him. Even if it did, he didn't admit such things. Finny has this charm and presence about him. People usually flock to him and do what he suggests. He's charasmatic. However, people did not want to jump out of this tree. They thought Finny had lost his mind! The idea of the tree made Finny smile his goofy smile. Gene and three others were around, and they looked up at the tree with anxiety and dismay. Finny had an excited look. He asked if anybody wanted to go first and no one jumped at the offer, so Finny stripped down. He climbed up the tree with no problem because of his extreme athletic build. He jumped from the tree, splashed into the water, came up and exclaimed, "Great!"
Finny is a very eager young man to try anything new that tests his athleticism. He doesn't think about the risks or consequences. He jumps into adventures with a positive attitude and thinks nothing could possibly go wrong. His adventuresome spirit allows him to do so.
After Finny broke the school swimming record, he made Gene promise never to tell anyone. "swimming in pools is screwy anyway. The only real way to swim is in the ocean! Let's go to the beach." This means that they will be breaking school rules, risking suspension or worse, and besides that, taking a 3 hour bike ride to get there! Finny was the most spontanious, adventuresome character in Gene's world. If he gets an idea in his head for something outlandish and potentially fun, he's doing it in a heartbeat!
ReplyDelete"Swimming in pools is screwy anyway. The only real swimming is in the ocean. Let's go to the beach."
ReplyDeleteFinny and Gene decided to go to the pool. There was plaque that marked the school records for swimming events such as the 50, 100 and 220 yards. An A. Hopkins Parker had the school record at 53.0 seconds for the 100 yards since 1940. The fact that that person had graduated before they got there and still no one had broke his record bothered Finny, so they got a stop watch and Finny swam the 100 yards thinking that he could beat A. Hopkins Parker. He beat the record, but there were no witnesses to account for it, so therefore it wouldn't count. That upset Gene, but all Finny needed was to know that he could do it.
Later on, Finny said the quote I put up. The beach was hours away on bikes, and thats how they would have to get there. Although this was completely outrageous and if they were caught they would risk getting kicked out of Devon, they left and went to the beach. Finny and Gene were at the beach all evening, ate dinner, had a glass of beer, and then found a place to sleep. The next morning they woke up, Finny went for a morning swim, and then they started their trip home. They broke a lot of rules that night, but Finny didn't seem to see any problems in going to the beach and having some fun with his best friend.
"This kind of sunshine and ocean, with the accumulating roar of the surf and the salty, adventurous, flirting wind from the sea, always intoxicated Phineas. He was everywhere, he enjoyed himself hugely, he laughed out loud at passing sea gulls. And he did everything he could think of for me."
ReplyDeleteFor me, the way Phineas got immense joy out of life attributes to his adventursome spirit. He took in the wonders of the world around him and used that to fuel his soul. He allowed the joy he found in life to channel his creativity and uniqueness, which shows up in so many of the things he does. Such coming up with blitzball, traveling to the beach, generating a new theory as to why the "war" was being fought, starting the winter carnival, or breaking a record just for the sake of knowing he can do it. You never know what he's going to do, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He's not afriad to bend the rules because he feels that there's so much to life to be explored and lived out. I deeply admire the character of Phineas because he truly lives life to the fullest and lives as an adventurer.
I chose the quote I did because I feel that it demonstrates the true joy Finny got out of life, and the way he appreciated it and explored it.
" 'I think it's about time we started to get a little exercise around here, don't you?' he said, cocking his head at me. Then he slowly looked around at the others with the expression of dazed determination he used when the object was to carry people along with his latest idea. He blinked twice, and then said, 'We can always start with this ball.'"
ReplyDeleteFinny had a way of intriguing people into his witty ideas. He ran the school, in a sense. This was just one of his many ideas. This particular idea was that of Blitzkrieg, which was some crazy sport Finny invented to satisfy boredom and himself. In this way, he was adventurous. Adventuring outside of normality to create his own sport.
”I like the way the beach looks now. Shall we go for a morning swim?”
ReplyDelete“Are you crazy? It’s too late for that.”
“What time is it anyway?” Finny knew I was a walking clock.
“It’s going on seven o’clock.”
“There’s time for just a short swim,” and before I could say anything he was trotting down the beach, shedding clothes as he went, and into the ocean. I waited for him where I was. He came back after a while full of chilly glow and energy and talk.
I chose this rather long quote because it showed just how carefree Finny was, especially on his adventures. Not only did he go on the rule breaking trip to the beach, for the sole reason that pools were “screwy”, he was going to stay there as long as he could and make the best of it. Even though there was a test at ten thirty and the school was three hours away on bikes, that wasn’t going to stop him from cutting down his beach time. Finny takes on things as they come, and he always chooses the most favorable choice, whether it is the wisest one or not. Alas, in a way, it could be considered wiser than returning to school. The best things in life are often things like his adventures.
" Well, we've got to do something to celebrate. We haven't got a flag, we can't float Old Glory proudly out the window. So I'm going to wear this, as an emblem."
ReplyDeleteI found Finny adventures in more then one way. Everyone has quotes of physical actives Phineas did, but I thought this quote also showed his adventuresome side. I felt that sometimes Finny was on an "adventure" to find out what people thought or how they viewed things. I thought this quote expressed that because by wearing something that made him look like a "fairy" he got people's reaction. Finny always seemed to have an answer for everything and it seemed to be different from everyone else. I did not just see Finny as adventuresome through actions alone, but also through his thoughts and responses.
Of course, Finny and Gene had to jump out of the infamous tree before Leper could make his attempt. This scene is when Leper Lepellier has finally decided to "make the leap" out of the tree.
ReplyDelete"We reached the others loitering around the base of the tree, and Phineas began exuberantly to throw off his clothes, delighted by the fading glow of the day, the challenge of the tree, the competitive tension of all of us. He lived and flourished in such moments."
This quote practically says it all. Finny lived in the moment, and he loved the thrill of new adventures. He was always thinking of something new to do with Gene and/or his other friends. Because of his easy-going personality, he was very well loved by his peers. Even his teachers were more lenient towards him because of that rare charisma that he had.