Gene and Finny shared different views on confidence, commitment, and friendship.
It is absolutely necessary in reading a novel to understand the characters. We must see what qualities they share and what qualities they don't. The attitudes of the characters are a key element in a novel. You must be able to truly feel who they are and what they stand for.
One thing we know is that Finny had confidence. Finny stood his ground and didn't change the person he was for anyone. He was confidant with who he was. You can see this in how he acted towards his teachers. A key example is when he wore his tie as a belt. It was something he wanted to do and he felt confidant doing it. Gene on the other hand fell into Finny's shadow more of the time. Gene never seemed to have much confidence in himself. He was always trying to change himself to be more like Finny. One thing about himself that Gene had the most confidence in was his studies. He was proud of his grades and stuck to his work.
Then we come to commitment. Once again we are brought back to Gene's studies. He was readily committed to them. But Finny's commitment was a different kind. When you get down to it, Finny didn't have many commitments in life. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. He was spontaneous. So really, Finny was committed. He was committed to being free. He was committed to living life the way he wanted to where as Gene was committed to living life as he was expected to.
Finally, we have friendship. This is where the irony mainly lies. Finny held Gene's friendship like gold as did Gene. They were best friends and held their friendship close. Finny, though, seemed to hold it closer. Gene was more thrilled with the fact that he was actually friends with "the Phineas." It was a title. Granted, Gene did care about Phineas. I truly believe that he did. But it wasn't the same way that Finny felt about Gene.
Gene and Finny shared different views. Gene and Finny also shared some that were similar.
Gene was a very intellectual person, and Finny was very athletic. ... One major example of this is when Gene decides Finny is trying to undermine him. ... When Gene said he wanted to stay at home and study, Finny said, "Don't go. ... Finny may have misunderstood Gene but he was still trying to be a good person. Gene makes Finny fall from the tree. ...