How does Gene's view of Finny evolve over the course of the novel?

• A. He remains an idolizer throughout.
• B. He shifts from idolizing Finny to feeling jealousy and resentment, then toward painful honesty as he confronts his guilt.
• C. He fully detaches and forgets Finny.
• D. He always mistrusts Finny and never reconciles.

Answer: (B)

Gene’s view of Finny moves from hero-worship to a troubling self-awareness, ending with a hard, painful honesty about his own guilt. At the start, Finny’s natural charm and athletic prowess make him an almost larger‑than‑life figure in Gene’s eyes—someone Gene wants to emulate and please. But as their friendship unfolds, Gene’s underlying insecurities surface; he feels inferior and secretly resents Finny’s ease and confidence. The turning point is the tree-jump incident, when Gene’s actions cause Finny to fall. That moment exposes the jealousy behind Gene’s admiration and introduces real tension into their bond. Finny’s inability or refusal to blame Gene, paired with Gene’s growing guilt, pushes him toward a difficult self-reckoning. He begins to acknowledge that his behavior sprang from envy and fear rather than loyalty or affection. This shift isn’t about forgetting or fully trusting again; it’s about facing the truth of what he did and what it says about him. The relationship can’t return to its earlier ease, especially since Finny dies, leaving Gene to carry the weight of his realization. Other interpretations miss this progression from veneer of reverence to honest confrontation with his own wrongdoing.