Friendship is a special bond between two people; a bond that depends on one important element, trust. The book A Separate Peace focuses on the relationship between two adolescent boys in prep school. Phineas and Gene had two completely different personalities. Phineas, athletic and adventurous, had a wild imagination, and never followed tradition. Gene, smart in academics, conservative, and hard working, would have preferred to follow the rules.
It hardly seems that the two could become friends, being so different from each other; having little in common, what time could they possibly spend together? When Phineas persuaded Gene into biking to the beach with him, Gene thought of several reasons not to go, still he went with Phineas. Much of their time spent together was at school; being with Finny outside of school was Genes choice. If Gene did not want to go why was he able to join Phineas? Although it did not seem like it, Gene actually did trust Phineas.
Gene was able to do most of the things Finny wanted him to do because he trusted Finny; he may not have realized it, but he did. Gene jumped out of the tree after Phineas had convinced him to; Gene felt that Finny had some kind of a hold over him. Phineas held Genes trust that was the key to their relationship. Phineas thought of Gene as an extension of himself. After he broke his leg, Finny began training Gene for the Olympics; he said “If I cant play sports youll have to play them for me.
Phineas wanted to enjoy sports through Gene because he could no longer play them. When Phineas died, Gene did not cry although he felt a great deal of pain; because Phineas thought of Gene as an extension of himself, Gene thought of Finnys funeral as his own and therefore was unable to shed a tear. Phineas and Gene may not have shown their friendship and trust for each other well, but they were still friends despite their differences; they could not have been friends if they had not trusted each other.