The story starts from a man returning to his old school, this man is called Gene. He recalls his time in the school alongside his best friend Phineas. Gene in his younger days is shown to be a smart, intelligent, obedient, shy student, who befriends Phineas an athletic, charming, manipulative, controlling boy. Gene also happens to be quite jealous of the way Phineas is able to talk himself out of trouble and charm the adults around him. He is a boy trying to fit in who soon finds himself under the control of his best friend. Phineas is the charming guy who kisses up to administration to get special treatment, he’s the guy who can break the rules and not get into trouble. He has this strong presence that overpowers Gene and maybe that’s why Gene is constantly jealous of how amazing his friend is.
The story so far is based around a boarding school in England during World War II. This all boys boarding school were training to be part of the war. The scenery is explained to be calm and away from the real world. Possibly in a secluded place, also seems to be in a high class area/neighborhood from the introduction. The theme of the story seems to be of a young man going back to his boarding school, to revisit a couple of places. In the beginning of the book, it mentions that Gene is relieving some guilt and tension that he has carried with him for the past 15 years.
The overall tone of this one particular piece seems to be of a narrator/Gene, who is reliving certain parts of his teenage years, possibly regret or a mistake. He seems to want tor relief himself of his doings by going back and visiting his old school, where there are many memories. As he goes back in time, he sees how he was controlled by his best friend Phineas and how he slowly lost who he was. Gene talks about how even if Phineas considers him his best friend, he no longer considers Phineas his best friend for he’s envious of how charismatic, manipulative and charming his friend is. Phineas being good at sports, interaction, has a strong presence disturbs Gene and feeds fuel to his lack of Self esteem
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