Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Favorite Character: Finny

Finny was easily my favorite character in the story. I found it very easy to relate to him as some others have already said, and that makes a big difference for me. He was the ideal friend to Gene. He was athletic, good-humored, and a natural leader. This allowed everyone to follow his lead no matter what his crazy ideas were. John Knowles made Finny so easy to like, you could not help but feel bad when Gene distrusts him and acts on that distrust.

Even after Gene ruined Finny's athletic ability, Finny continued to be an amazing friend to him. He tried to ignore even the slightest possibility that the accident could have been Gene's fault just so that they could continue on being friends. He could have blamed Gene right away and made Gene feel guilty for it, but instead he chose to retain the friendship they had before.

Finny was my favorite character in "A Separate Peace" because of how perfect of a friend he seemed to be to me. What was your favorite character and why?

6 comments:

  1. Well Pickle, you took what my topic was going to be! So thanks a lot.

    Finny was also my favorite character because of all the things you stated. I loved his attitude and optimism through any situation, and that was probably my favorite quality about him. Optimism through a terrible situation is something I would love to have. I have it to a certain extent, but there is no way I'd be able to stay as happy as he was when he knew his athletic career was over forever. Also, I agree with you that he seemed to be the perfect friend. He's just seemed to be the all around good person.

    Finny was definitely my favorite part of this novel!

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  2. Well, I'm not sure who my favorite character would be, but I know it isn't Finny. Finny is a dreamer, something I don't like. He's so "trusting" towards Gene that he refuses to acknowledge what he knows to be the truth when it comes to the accident.

    Optimism? Try Panglossianism.

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  3. My favorite character was definitely Finny as well. I think possibly even for the reason John didn't like in him. Finny is a dreamer. There's been many times I've had dreams but because of other people those dreams have faded or become a lost cause in my mind. People were willing to follow Finny, and he was a natural leader. He's someone that could get people to do things they normally wouldn't, and that's a special quality.
    I think his optimism really was pure optimism. He probably knew in the back of his head that Gene did it, but he wanted to think better of his best friend, who wouldn't? As M said, with his athletics completely out of the picture, he stayed so positive, and that really amazed me. I know if that would be me, I would more than likely be a total wreck. Sports are a huge part of my life, and were of Finny's as well. Finny showed you can still help others, be positive, and make something of yourself even when what was going for you fails.

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  4. I like Finny, but for the sake of originality, I will pick Leper. Leper was a pretty practical, no-nonsense guy. I like when he goes ranting about how those down hill skiers are ruining the sport, as he cross country skis his way to a beaver dam. I was kind of disappointed when he went crazy, but that added a new element to him. I think it's possible that he was always crazy, but he was just quieter before. Also I was annoyed by Gene when he yelled at him and ran away like an idiot. Gene is such an irational person... He is my least favorite.

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  5. I don’t think I have a favorite character, but I really like how all these characters meshed together. If Gene wasn’t as insecure and academic, if Finny wasn’t as trusting and self deluded, if Leper wasn’t as odd and frail, if Brinker wasn’t so enforcing and pitiless, the story wouldn’t have been as enjoyable. They all changed around each other, taking on new personalities just as off as roles they played before. The way their characters were set up made the story flow perfectly, and take just the wrong, yet right turns to complete the story, adding countless reflections us readers could take upon ourselves.

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  6. Contrary to John, I love Finny because he is a dreamer. And if you saw my post, you can easily see what I think of his character. I just really admire the way he lived, and so he was my favorite.

    I liked the character of Gene as well because he demonstrates that sometimes we're not so innocent as we might portray to be, and so I liked that aspect of him. I think maybe we can all relate to Gene at some moment in time.

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