Chapter 2 Summary

Gene and Finny did not go unnoticed when they decided to skip dinner and go straight to their dorms. Their absence was found by Mr. Prud’homme, who is the summer housemaster at Devon. Mr. Prud’homme visits Gene and Finny the next morning in their room to question and admonish them about not just their absence at dinner last night, but other dinners over the previous two weeks. Finny, instead of making an excuse or lying, straight up tells Mr. Prud’homme that they were out swimming in the river and were caught up with wrestling each other in the fields. Finny rambles about the beauty of the sunset the previous evening and says that it was something that nobody would want to miss. Gene realizes that Finny’s actions are not a calculated measure to escape punishment, but an honest reaction despite possible repercussions after his confessions. Mr. Prud’homme, despite his intention to discipline the two boys, falters under the onslaught of Finny’s excitement and verbiage. He lets the boys off with a warning and a reminder that they have already missed nine meals over the last two weeks. This doesn’t stop Finny though, for his onslaught of Mr. Prud’homme continues, motivated not by his desire to challenge the authority of Mr. Prud’homme, but rather to satiate his desire for excitement in the challenge of winning his teachers over.

Holding onto the challenge of winning Mr. Prud’homme over, Finny then confesses the real reason behind their tardiness, which was the ritual of jumping off a tree and into the river. Gene realizes that this infraction is far more serious than a simple case of missed meals, but Finny does not seem to think so. He continues to explain what the ritual entailed, stating that it was a necessary action so that they can be prepared for the war, especially since they only have a year left before they will be eligible to join or be recruited to the army and fight in the war efforts in Europe. Finny also reminds that Leper will reach the age of eligibility for war at the end of the upcoming academic year. Finny clearly sees war in a more jovial and trivial light, and Mr. Prud’homme does nothing but sigh, suppress a little laugh and leave the boys alone without punishing them.

Gene notices that Finny is quite eccentric and unique. He sees Finny as someone that is kind and fair, despite his proclivity toward breaking rules and living by his own whims. Gene also believes that Finny seems to get away with his acts of breaking rules because when confronted by Finny and his antics, the teachers get reminded “of what peace was like.” This is especially true in the case of the adults who work during the summer term because the boys are yet to register with the draft board. Moreover, none of the boys in the summer term would have gone through the physical tests that determine their eligibility for participating in the war effort.

Finny pays particular attention to the war efforts and the current scenario. His thoughts constantly revolve around the ongoing war, and he speaks often about the recent events in the war, laced strongly with patriotism. Once Mr. Prud’homme leaves their room, Finny dons a pink shirt, one that makes Gene particularly uncomfortable. Worried that people would make fun of Finny for his choice of shirt color, he claims that the shirt makes Finny look like a fairy, something Gene seems to have trouble associating with a boy or male. Finny shrugs Gene’s worry off, and says that if such suitors come looking for him, Gene can tell them that the pink shirt is a sign of his support for and solidarity with the troops that had recently bombed Central Europe for the first time. Finny equates his pink shirt to that of the American flag and says that him wearing the shirt is the same as celebrating America.

Gene continues to watch Finny equate his pink shirt with patriotism. Finny goes around explaining to teachers that question his choice of shirt why he chose that color. He also passionately tells them about the American troops bombing Central Europe. That very evening also happened to be the time when Mr. Patch-Withers, the substitute headmaster at Devon, happened to host a party at his home. Of course, Finny doesn’t fail to show off his pink shirt at the party by wearing it, and relishes in explaining his reasons behind the attire to Mr. Patch-Withers’s wife. The wife of Mr. Patch-Withers happens to notice that Finny was wearing the school’s tie as a belt around his waist, an act that Gene thought would be found offensive by both Mr. Patch-Withers and his wife. Gene wondered if this was a step too far for even Finny and if Finny finally was going to get himself into a lot of trouble. But instead of finding himself in some serious trouble with the substitute headmaster, Finny flourishes an explanation for his choice of belt by stating that it was a symbol of Devon’s involvement with or contribution to the war efforts in Europe. Instead of being angry as Gene expected him to be, Mr. Patch-Withers finds himself amused by Finny’s antics. Seeing how Finny seemed to pull another cat out of the bag to get away from any relevant punishment, Gene is surprised to realize that instead of only feeling relieved for his friend and roommate, he also feels disappointed — disappointed that Finny is not punished. Gene soon dismisses this realization and categorizes it as just a need of his for some form of excitement and adventure.

After the party at Mr. Patch-Withers’s home, Gene and Finny head to the river instead of the dormitories. On their way to the river, their conversation revolves around the war efforts, and in the comfort of Gene and nobody else, Finny confides and confesses that his pride in the bombing of Central Europe by American forces was not genuine. Finny admits that he does not believe the news that America Bombed Central Europe. Gene does not stand in dispute with sentiment, and processes how events of war feel distant and alien to boys living in a peaceful place in New Hampshire in the summer. When the two boys reach the banks of the river, they decide to swim for a while, during which time Finny asks Gene if he is still scared of jumping off the tree, into the river. Gene states that he is no longer fearful of the act, and when dared to go first by Finny, Gene agrees. While climbing up the tree, on Finny’s proposal, the two decide to start a club involving the ritual of jumping off the tree and into the river. Forming this club, Finny believed, would make their “partnership” official. They decided on Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session as the name of their club, and the tree-jumping ritual will be a necessity or requirement for anyone else to join their club.

After reaching the point on the tree where he was supposed to jump from, Gene suddenly loses balance and is about to fall to the ground. Instantly recognizing the situation, Finny reacts quickly and grabs hold of him. Gene is awash with relief and gratitude for having been saved from a terrible fall. Gene takes his jump into the river and Finny follows suit, and they swim. For the rest of the night, that precarious moment holds Gene’s thoughts, reminding him of how terrible a turn his life would have taken if he had fallen, with him possibly dying. Gene finally comes to admit that Finny had just saved his life.

Chapter 2 Analysis

Mr. Prud’homme is shown as a compassionate and kindly housemaster that understands what it means to be a child and cherishes this part of innocence, especially considering the war, but the biggest exposition is of Gene, who is shows some admiration for Finny’s ability to get along and wiggle out of trouble. Finny’s outgoing personality seems to not be limited to people of his age group; he is found charming by everyone, even Gene to a certain extent. Finny’s nature of finding pleasure in competing in challenges also comes to the forefront. His desire for adventure or challenge is not limited to physical activities, but extends to people of authority too, where failure could result in punishment. He does not try to deceive Mr. Prud’homme by lying about his activities. In fact, he admits to jumping off the tree, an action more punishable than the mere act of missing a few meals. Yet, his skill at solicitation and control over the narrative is strong enough to make Mr. Prud’homme believe his reasoning behind his actions. Finny uses the war efforts and his patriotism and his support for the American troops as the cause that motivated his actions, apparently knowing that he can get away with doing absurd things with patriotism and support for the soldiers in Central Europe as the excuse.

Finny seems to have taken a liking to using the war efforts as an excuse to get away with doing the absurd, for he soon dons a pink shirt, something he may know (and is reminded by Gene) would cause other students to pick on him or tease him. He gets even more daring and decides to wear that same shirt and uses the school tie as a belt to attend the party hosted in the home of the substitute headmaster, Mr. Patch-Withers. Finny likes to push the boundaries of his adventure and rule-breaking to the limits, and hence the attempt. Despite Gene believing that Finny went too far with the belt and would be punished, Finny once again escapes punishment using the very same excuse of patriotism and support of the American troops in Europe. His natural charm and way with words seems to always triumph, and Gene’s jealousy rears its head, something Gene refuses to acknowledge. Gene here is shown to hold both admiration and envy toward Finny once again, which, in cohesion with competitiveness, currently define his feelings toward his friend and roommate. The infallibility of Finny rouses Gene’s envy and sense of competition and a part of him wants Finny to fail so he may feel superior. Simultaneously, his admiration comes from a good place too, and he sees Finny as a friend.

On their way to the river, they talk about the war. Here, Finny reveals his doubts about the bombing of Central Europe by the American troops, something he seemed to believe staunchly and was proud about during his talk with Mr. Prud’homme and at the party hosted by the substitute headmaster. This shows a contradiction in Finny’s character — he is not fearful about saying the truth about what he was doing to teachers, something that could easily land him in trouble, and is bold about breaking rules, but he was concerned enough about telling his real feelings about the war. War seemed to make the playful child that dared to say the truth in the face of punishment lie about being in support of or believing military actions occurring in a place very far away from home. The seriousness of war clearly hasn’t taken root inside the minds of the boys, yet those very minds seemed to understand that being in open disagreement with anything concerning American war efforts was a risk much greater than any punishment they could currently fathom. The difference between the thoughts of innocent boys and people recruited and pushed into the grinder of war is a mere year in school, but this line or border marks a stark difference between the two worlds, giving the readers a sobering realization that war consumes the lives, minds and worlds of innocents in multiple ways. It also displays Finny’s juvenile understanding of the war. He seems to look forward to joining the war; his activities are rationalized as a way to prepare for and contribute to the war, but in truth, the war is just a means to him to justify continuing to live out a childhood dream.

Finny’s admission seems graver than his admission of jumping from the tree, and he believes Gene is one he could trust. This harks back to the time just a while ago when Finny tells Gene that it was just the two of them after Gene was the only one to take the jump. The admission by Finny comes when it was only the two of them and nobody else around. The trust fall taken by Gene makes Finny trust him enough, and this prompts Gene to trust him back enough to agree with Finny openly on the matters of war.

While swimming in the river, the boys once again decide to do the jump. This time it is so Gene can show he isn’t afraid of the jump anymore. It also seems to be a way in which the two boys can further solidify their relationship, especially considering this was immediately after Finny’s confession about his thoughts on the war. Gene deciding to jump again and go first seems to indicate to Finny that Gene is still trustable as a friend. Them wanting to form a society involving the jumping as an initiation shows they are open to having more people within their close circle of two. The reciprocation of trust happens soon after, when Gene is about to suffer a dangerous fall, potentially to his death, and Finny grabs hold of him and saves him. Finny trusted Gene enough to hold his confession, and now Gene realizes that he can trust Finny enough to hold his fall. Finny was a friend, roommate and person of admiration and envy. Gene wanted to compete with him, now Finny becomes Gene’s savior. This also makes Gene realize that a friend is someone that watches out for you and is there to help you when you fall.