Phineas “Finny”

Phineas is Gene’s best friend and classmate at Devon School. Finney is an exceptionally talented athlete and charismatic student leader who deserve respect and admiration of the entire student body. Finney's useless behavior often causes him trouble, but his charming manner saves him from disciplinary stress. Finney's general attitude and attitude is forgiving and optimistic, in contrast to Gene's careful and rational approach to life. In fact, although Gene feels a strong rivalry with Finney, Finney does not share a competitive mindset for genes. Instead, Finny innocently and arrogantly assumes that Jean and everyone else should share their carefree attitude to life. One of the central open questions in the novel is that Finney's naive egoism owes him to Gin Gull. Another mystery of the individual world is that Feeney is often idealized, or even Jean's angelic portrayal reflects the truth about Finney's character, or rather, Gene, the unresolved guilt of Finney's death.

Finny is not only popular with peers, but he also wins the staff that probably never had a student like him. Finny loves Devon School and has an intense loyalty to the students and the institution, but he thinks enough of an ornery streak he keeps people on the go. Finny breaks the rules, but he never gets into trouble because he always talks himself out somehow.

"There could be a flow of simple, unregulated kindness between them (Finny and Mr. Prud'homme) and such streams were one of Finnie’s reasons for life." (Gene)

"The Faculty of Devon had never experienced a student who combined a quiet ignorance of the rules with a will to win to be good, who seemed to love the school really and deeply, and never more than if he violated the rules... The faculty threw Phineas his hands, thus loosening our grip on all of us.