".
The climax of the story occurs when Gene and Finny finally have a two-sited discussion about the incident at the tree. This tear-filled conversation makes each boy realize how much they actually care for each other. Gene conveys to Finny the sincere remorse which he feels for what he has done. Gene also realizes that his conflict is with himself, not with Finny or with the war or anything else. He recognizes that his own feelings of jealousy, fear, and insecurity are his real enemies and sees that these are the qualities which he had labeled Finny with. .
In the resolution of the story Finny dies a death that is indirectly caused by his best friend. When the doctor re-sets his twice-broken leg, some of the marrow in Finny's bone gets into his blood stream and stops his heart. Gene is remorseful, but always keeps Finny a part of him and adopts some of Finny's personality traits. Gene goes to war, but he realizes that the real war was fought during his years at the Devon School. His enemy had been killed there. His war had ended before he ever put on a uniform.
Gene Forrester goes through the ages of 16, 17, and 18 during the course of the story he tells. He is of athletic build and is five feet 8 ½ inches tall. He is the same height as Finny, but Gene weighs 140 pounds where Finny weighs 10 pounds more giving him a more athletic build. Gene is very intelligent and is at the top of his class. He is constantly striving to outclass everyone in his schoolwork, especially Brinker Hadley the charismatic class politician. Gene has trouble displaying emotion though. This can be seen when he and Finny have a heart to heart talk on the beach one evening. Finny tells him that Gene is his best friend in a tender show of emotion. Gene feels the same way, however he falls asleep without saying a word in reply. Gene is also very sarcastic which relates to his inability to show emotion. He can't express the feelings that he wants to, so he ends up coming across as cold and bitter sometimes.