4.) What exactly happened in the tree and who do you think was responsible? Why do you say this?
The incident at the tree marks a turning point in Gene and Finny's friendship. Although I do think Finny's fall was partially an accident, Gene did nothing to stop it. "holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step towards him,and then my knees bent and jounced the limb."(Knowles 59-60) This quote suggests that, at least from one perspective, that Gene was simply stepping forward and slipped, causing Finny's fall. But he did not reach out to catch finny, and just watched as he fell. Then he jumped cleanly into the water. I think this is the culmination of the buildup of enmity in the last two chapters and both the boys realize it. Right before falling, Finny "swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest," (Knowles 60) before falling down. This shows that Finny realized exactly what was happening. Also, the fact that Gene forgets his fear, because it has been blown out of the way, shows that hes not exactly torn up about what happened.
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