Chapter 3 Summary

Despite Gene realizing that Finny just became his savior, it does not extinguish the resentment that he holds toward Finny. Gene’s thankfulness toward Finny is extinguished by the rationalization that it was Finny that had put Gene in that dangerous situation in the first place, especially considering that he would never have to climb over the tree in the first place if not for Finny and his taunts.

The Super Suicide Society gains popularity in the coming weeks, with many boys wanting to join them. The sheer quirk and appeal of belonging to a secret society is tempting enough for many boys to show interest. The club meets every night and begins with Gene and Finny doing the jump into the river. Gene, the narrator, confesses that his fear of the jump never really went away. In fact, the fear and trepidation is amplified with each attempt. Gene wishes he could refuse to do the jump each time they set out to do so, but could not get himself to do it. Instead of voicing his fear and refusing to come to the river, Gene follows Finny to the river and takes the jump from the tree. His fear of losing Finny’s favor or friendship trumps his fear of the jump.

Gene also notices that despite Finny’s proclivity toward breaking rules, he holds some beliefs as absolute and lives his life following those rules. Finny strongly believes in honesty and absolute good. “Never say you are five feet nine when you are five feet eight and a half,” says Finny, aptly showing the extent of his need for honesty. He also believes that sports is an absolute “good as everyone playing in a sport is a winner. When the school gets them to play badminton, an appalled Finny finds a medicine and invents a game called “blitzball.” Finny made the game in reference to the blitzkrieg used in World War II, where the one holding the ball is tackled by everyone else. The new sport quickly becomes the most popular sport in the summer, and nobody shines brighter that Finny, who proves to be the most athletic and agile of the boys with the ability to dodge and dupe the ones attacking him. This earns a lot of admiration from Gene, who is starting to believe that Finny is good at everything he does, and above all, is able to gather and rally people around him with ease — a born leader. This also makes Gene feel proud to be a good friend and roommate of Finny.

Gene next explains how everyone has a particular period in their life — “everyone has a moment in history” — where they hit maturity and reality sinks in, where the most defining moment of their life rests. Gene identifies this period of time as World War II, when he was a mere teenager at the age of 16 in Devon and living a comfortable life while hearing about the ongoing war. Gene thinks that 16 is the ideal age, the most optimal point in life where the older generations are in awe as the beholders of the vitality of youth.

Another moment where Finny left Gene in awe was at the swimming pool. Where Gene and Finny were using the pool, Finny is shocked that the old swimming record for freestyle at the school hasn’t been broken yet. Finny immediately remedies this error by breaking the record before Gene right then and there. Gene is stunned by the fact that not only was Finny athletic enough to break a long-standing school record, he did so without any practice. Gene insists that they get an official timekeeper and witnesses so that Finny can break the record officially, but Finny refuses. He states that he has no interest letting the world know of his record, and that him knowing that he has broken the swimming record was enough. Finny also makes Gene swear secrecy about Finny’s swimming feat, only stoking more admiration and intrigue within Gene toward Finny. Gene starts to believe that despite rivalry being predominant in Devon, Finny is too unique and gifted to have any rival in the school. Finny also insists that swimming in pools is nothing to be proud of, and that real swimming must be done in the sea. Hence, the two boys decide to go to the beach and swim there, despite sneaking away to the beach being a violation of school rules. Gene’s agreement to the plan to the beach is with unvoiced reluctance, as the trip to the beach would mean hours of bike rides, suffering in the math test the next day due to lack of adequate preparation and risking expulsion from the school.

On the way to the beach, Finny thinks Gene is as interested in the trip as him and tries to entertain Gene with long stories and different bike tricks. After the beach the two boys play around in the water for a while until a big wave crashes into the two of them. The wave makes Gene give up, but Finny continues to play in the water while Gene waits for him on the sand. Then, the two boys go looking around the area, eat hot dogs and order beer at the local bar using their fake draft cards. During this stroll and expedition, Gene notices that everyone has their attention drawn to Finny, which he attributes to his tan, blueish green eyes and hair. Finny, on the other hand, turns to Gene and says that everyone’s attention is drawn to Gene. He then playfully calls Gene out for showing off, and says that Gene’s acquired the “movie-star tan.”

Gene and Finny decide to settle down and rest among the sand and dunes. Finny thanks Gene for accompanying him on this trip, and hopes Gene is having a good time. Finny also admits that he would not be able to do this outing with anyone else, admitting that he considers Gene his best friend. Gene understands that Finny’s admission is a brave act, for such a confession would be an attack on one’s own social relations in Devon. He wishes he could tell Finny that he feels the same way, but he doesn’t do so as a hidden part of him stops him. This hidden part of him is the feeling that contains the truth about his opinion or view of Finny and their relationship.

Chapter 3 Analysis

Gene’s sense of gratitude to Finny lasts for a very short duration of time, for he soon starts transferring fault onto the boy that just saved his life. He blames Finny for making him climb the tree and jumping, assuming Finny is the root cause for the potential accident. He completely ignores the fact that he had every opportunity and right to refuse to jump from the tree, much like how the other boys had done the previous evening. Gene refuses to lose or feel inferior to Finny in any way, yet seems to blame his failures on Finny, as though his streak of competitiveness and his envy prevents him from fully appreciating Finny as a friend. Worse, he transposes faults, which is quite contradictory to Finny’s way of living life, which is through honesty and the universal notion of the good. In contrast to the cynical Gene is Finny, who is optimistic about the people around him. Engaging in sports or athletics is seen by Finny as an ideal action belonging to the good as he believes there can be no losers in that engagement.

Although their inherent differences in their approach to the world are contradictory in nature, Gene is genuinely in amazement of Finny and is proud to be his friend. Gene sees Finny’s influence on him in a positive light, although these sentiments are also laced with jealousy. Gene, the narrator, attributes this phase of his life and one of the most influential periods, and he discusses how the presence of war changed his behavior and experiences not only at that period of his life, but also in the years that come. Gene believes this to be true even though the war was happening in Europe, far from Devon, as the gloomy, looming presence of war that had been hanging over their heads in their lives at that time certainly tainted many of their experiences, feelings and choices.

Finny’s athletic ability is another aspect that astonishes Gene, as well as his willingness to not boast about his achievement of breaking the school record. This shows that Finny is serious about his love for athletics and belief that everybody playing sports is a winner. He is content with just knowledge that he has broken the school record and enjoys swimming for what it is and not for the purpose of achieving milestones. This also shows how Finny isn’t competitive about everything, as juxtaposing position to Gene’s competitive personality. This makes Finny as the odd one within Devon school, which is rife with rivalry. Gene’s admiration for Finny turns to slight bitterness at the realization that Finny was too good and too perfect to even be considered in the same league as anyone else. Gene feels like he isn’t even worthy enough to compete with Finny. This bitterness isn’t fleeting as it colors and taints not only how Gene views and treats Finny later, but also how he views this period of time when looking back later on in his life.

Gene going along with Finny to the beach is another delinquent act by the two boys, yet it is surprising that Gene goes along with Finny’s idea despite his instinct to blame Finny if anything goes wrong. While Finny once again shows his playful nature, love of athletic challenges and the natural talents at the beach, Gene once again made to realize the leagues of difference between the two. When Gene is thrown around by the waves, Finny comes to check on him, and then goes off to play in the waters again only after making sure he is alright. This marks the second time that Finny is seen looking out for his friend, and the second time Gene has struggled after going along with Finny’s ideas. Later, Gene also thinks people naturally find him attractive and gravitate toward him. Coincidentally, Finny calls Gene out for showing off and being the center of attraction at the beach. Finny also confesses to Gene that he sees Gene as his best friend, a bold move according to Gene due to the culture of rivalry in Devon. This once again shows how the culture at point in time was entrenched in homophobia and inherently discouraged kinship among boys. The culture of entrenching rivalry over kinship can also be attributed to the looming war, which changes the fabrics of civil society in a way that affects interpersonal interactions and relationships.

This confession by Finny also makes Gene realize that he cannot reciprocate the same feelings toward Finny, and he realizes that the impediment preventing him from doing so is this feeling of truth. From Gene’s previous sense of competitiveness, blaming of Finny for the incident at the tree and his bitterness at the pool, one can infer that Gene harbors some darkness in his heart toward Finny that prevents him from considering Finny as his best friend.