The Truth, by George Eliot

The "truth" to which Gene refers is that his outward appearance of being Finny's best friend is a lie; instead, he envies Finny, almost to the point of hatred. Throughout the first few chapters of the novel, A Separate Peace, all appearances suggest that Finny and Gene are the best of friends. They are the only two boys who jump out of the tree; they wrestle playfully on their way to dinner; and they sneak away from school together to go to the beach. Beneath the surface of each appearance, however, is a darker truth. When Gene jumps out of the tree, he feels "the sensation that [he] was throwing [his] life away" (17). Being friends with Finny means courting disaster. Despite his apparent pleasure while wrestling, Gene says he is "trapped... in [Finny's] strongest trap" (19). Being friends with Finny means being caged and confined. And to describe the trip to the beach, Gene uses the words, "risked... destroyed... blasted...[and] hated" (46). Being friends with Finny means going along in spite of one's own better judgment. After Finny's affectionate declaration of friendship, Gene cannot reciprocate. He does not enjoy the time he spends with Finny; Gene's internal monologue suggests that activities with Finny comprise a long stretch of time when he compares himself to someone he can never match. When Finny gets himself and Gene out of trouble for missing dinner, Gene notes his "soaring and plunging... vibrant" voice (21). He himself is silent. When Finny is about to get in trouble for wearing the school tie as a belt, Gene claims to feel lucky to have such an "extraordinary kind of person" for a best friend (28). The most Gene says of himself is that he is "sarcastic," and "weak" (29). In every facet of their daily lives, Finny shines. Gene, in his own opinion, does not. And while Gene tries to convince himself that it is "perfectly normal" (28) to envy Finny, his inability to claim him as a best friend suggests that this "normal" emotion is having an abnormal effect: turning a friend into an enemy.