Post by anewman98 on Oct 31, 2015 19:21:03 GMT
I would like to use this thread to discuss different characters’ childhood, liminal, and adulthood states. Some characters go through all, some skip, and some don’t make it to certain phases.
However, you can argue a lot of different times where the characters' stages change.
Gene is in the liminal state for a long time. His childhood includes a brief summer session of jumping into rivers and playing games. His enticing incident is when Finny falls from the tree. This causes him to reevaluate his feelings for his “best friend”. He questions himself by saying, “Had I really and definitely and knowingly done it all along?” (70). This shows that he is hiding the truth from Finny and himself. Gene is torn between enlisting in the war and staying at Devon. This represents the desire to go back to childhood versus become an adult. He understands that he needs to grow up, but isn’t quite sure how to do it.
On the other hand, Finny is in his childhood for most of the story. He lives in a happy haze where he refuses to accept that Gene hurt him. He denies the war and believes he can train Gene for the Olympics. His perception of the world is far from accurate; the war is real and he believes it to be fake, and the Olympics isn’t possible but he believes it is attainable. This shows his childish mindset. His enticing incident is when he finally admits the war is real. It is interesting to note that Gene and Finny don’t share the same enticing incidents.
However, you can argue a lot of different times where the characters' stages change.
Gene is in the liminal state for a long time. His childhood includes a brief summer session of jumping into rivers and playing games. His enticing incident is when Finny falls from the tree. This causes him to reevaluate his feelings for his “best friend”. He questions himself by saying, “Had I really and definitely and knowingly done it all along?” (70). This shows that he is hiding the truth from Finny and himself. Gene is torn between enlisting in the war and staying at Devon. This represents the desire to go back to childhood versus become an adult. He understands that he needs to grow up, but isn’t quite sure how to do it.
On the other hand, Finny is in his childhood for most of the story. He lives in a happy haze where he refuses to accept that Gene hurt him. He denies the war and believes he can train Gene for the Olympics. His perception of the world is far from accurate; the war is real and he believes it to be fake, and the Olympics isn’t possible but he believes it is attainable. This shows his childish mindset. His enticing incident is when he finally admits the war is real. It is interesting to note that Gene and Finny don’t share the same enticing incidents.
