The invention of Blitzball heavily impacted the relationship between Finny and Gene. Blitzball was a game created by Finny for Finny. As Gene says "It was good that Finny shined at it"(Gene page 40). Blitzball helped Gene realize that Finny was "His room mate and his best friend" (Gene page 40). Blitzball also made Gene realize other features of Finny. Firstly, Gene realized that Finny shined at everything he did. "He attracted everyone he met" (Gene page 40). This enabled Finny to get away with everyone wrong thing he did. Not only did this help Finny but Gene was also protected by this feature because the mayhem that they caused were mainly Finny ideas where Gene had tagged along. Secondly he discovered that Finny spontaneous mind and quick wit was a privilege that Finny probably took advantage of making Gene "envy him. It is okay for a friend to envy". This made Gene feel "lucky to have him as a best friend". The invention of blitzball greatly impacted Gene and Finnys' relationship in a good way making them closer than they have ever been before.
Although Gene does say, while reflecting on the creation of the game of blitzball, that Finny was his best friend, the context of the quote shows that he is simply trying to convince himself that he should be happy for him, as he was supposed to be his best friend. Throughout the reading, Gene talks about how he wants to Finny to fail at something saying, "He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." (Knowles 28). The invention of Blitzball made Gene even more jealous, causing him to have to reassure himself that he was not envious but glad for the success of his friend, and even happier for his apparent charm with people, including the strictest faculty members. Gene, who seems to follow, without protest, in the footsteps of Finny, has begun to develop jealousy of his numerous and shining talents that will threaten their friendship in the near future.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Lachie's statement because as soon as Finny created the game you could sense that Finny and Gene instantly bonded. While Finny created the game he would always encourage Gene to start with the ball and keep running. Gene mentioned several times that Finny was his best friend and this game made him notice the true bond they had. Although Julia brought up a good point about Gene's envy of Finny i still think that their friendship overpowers Gene's unsureness. At the end of the reading he makes a final statement that Finny was his "roommate and my best friend" (knowles p. 40). This was not a statement of assurance but a statement that Gene proudly thought in his mind. We talked in class about questions of friendship and jealousy and i answered saying that a friend can be jealous of another friend and i still believe this thought even in Genes and Finnys case.
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