They set out immediately across campus for the gym. Gene worries that Finny is planning to stare at his trophies and brood, but instead they go down to the locker room and Finny asks Gene what team he has joined for the year. Gene tells him that he did not try out for any teams, attempting to defend himself by noting the diminished importance of sports during the war. Finny declares that there is no war, that it is all a conspiracy orchestrated by the adult establishment—by fat, rich, old men—to keep young people in their place.
When Gene asks why the conspiracy has not been detected by anyone else, Finny replies that he alone can see it because of the extent of his suffering. His answer amazes both boys. An awkward silence follows, and Gene, wanting to break the tension, goes over to an exercise bar and begins doing chin-ups. Finny tells him to do thirty and encourages him with his tone of voice as he counts them aloud for Gene.
Finny tells Gene that he wanted to be an Olympic athlete and that now he will have to train Gene to go in his place. Finny convinces Gene to undertake the training despite his objections that the war will preempt the Olympics in Finny begins to train Gene and Gene tutors Finny in his classes; they are both surprised by their progress.
These qualities, according to Gene, make Finny unique; Gene believes that humans are fearful and create enemies where none exist. Moreover, by assuming that everyone thinks like he does, Finny often acts selfishly, insisting that he and Gene do whatever he fancies. Finny is a powerful, charismatic figure—perhaps too good a person, as he inspires in Gene not only loyalty but also jealousy.
SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Afraid of accusations and also frightened of his own deepest emotions, Gene retreats into himself, where he discovers paradoxically his own mirror image of his friend — and victim. Alone in the room he shares with Finny, Gene decides, on an impulse, to dress in his friend's clothes, including his pink shirt. In the mirror, Gene sees himself becoming Finny, even down to the expression on his face — "Phineas to the life.
Imaginatively restoring his friend to vigor, Gene feels momentarily relieved of his guilt — and at one with Finny. Yet this illusion, comforting as it is, lasts only a single night for Gene, although the theme of his identification with Finny — their doubleness, as it were — continues to develop throughout the novel.
Gene not only identifies with his friend, but also tries to confess his wrongdoing to Finny. Twice in the chapter, he makes the attempt, first at the infirmary and later at Finny's home in Boston, but both times the discussion ends without any true resolution. Yet even these attempted confessions show Gene struggling to cope with his psychological turmoil and still very much caught up in his conflicted emotions about Finny.
The scene at the infirmary — when he makes his first abortive attempt at confession — reveals the guilt, fear, and anger that Gene still feels toward Finny. Dreading a direct accusation, Gene hesitantly probes Finny's memory of the fall, hoping, it seems, to find a lapse of memory that would make his guilt disappear. When Finny remembers an urge to reach out and catch on to his friend, Gene reacts in anger and fear — "to drag me down, too!
Reliving the fall with Finny in the infirmary room, Gene emphasizes his own pain and fear, insisting that the accident, in a sense, happened to him, too. Again, Gene seeks relief from his guilt through his identification with Finny. As the two boys struggle with their memories, Gene tries to confess to Finny, but is interrupted by Dr.
Actually, Gene welcomes the interruption, because he comes to his confession not so much out of contrition as shame. Indeed, before Gene begins his stuttering admission, Finny makes a confession of his own — he vaguely suspects that Gene somehow caused the fall — but quickly apologizes to his friend for thinking badly of him without any proof of wrongdoing. Ironically, then, it is Finny who confesses out of innocence — he feels guilty for guessing the truth — rather than Gene, who should be confessing out of guilt.
Gene's second attempt at confession takes place during an impulsive visit he makes to the recuperating Finny at his home outside Boston. His impulse here suggests the beginning of his growing maturity and personal integrity, which prompts his need to confess.
Yet, visiting at Finny's home, Gene feels like a "wild man. Finny, in turn, lashes out in anger, hurt by his friend's words and unable to accept the dark secret inherent in their meaning. And Gene, in turn, sees this reaction as a vindication of his own violent instinct; if Finny can express such murderous rage, Gene reasons, then his own action must be no worse than his friend's.
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