Beginning of Essay
“Adolescent friendships are of the most complex companionships due to the suppressed feelings of contempt one child may feel toward another.” The deterioration of the complex friendship of Gene and Phineas is brought about in John Knowles’ by the combinatio ....

Middle of Essay
.... Gene feels that he should not feel any “rush of gratitude toward Phineas,” because he does not like feeling clumsier than Finny. Instead, he blames his presence in the tree on Phineas. Finny also has the role of being the leader in their friendship. They sustain the balance of the friendship when Phineas thinks of something to do, and Gene supports him. The problem with this is that Gene only trails Finny so that he would not “lose face with [him].” Gene never speaks up when he has a problem, hereby damaging their lines of communication. Another principal factor that dissolves the bond between them is Gene’s jealousy. Gene is envious of ....