river, and calling birds. This peaceful environment serves as a
sharp contrast to the world war that rages in Europe and the
personal conflict that rages in Gene’s mind. Throughout the novel,
the images of water take on symbolic significance. Gene gets a
baptism in to his Finny-like life in the clean, delightful waters of
the Devon River. In contrast, he gets muddied by the dirty, nasty
Naguamsett River during the time that he is in turmoil over Finny’s
accident. Gene also sees Finny’s leg cast like a sea anchor,
weighing both of them down.
The tree that hangs over the river is an important and symbolic
image throughout the book. It offers Gene the first opportunity to
become more like Finny; he jumps from its branches into the
Devon River below, a daring feat that scares him to death. It is also
the tree that causes the creation of the Super Suicide Society,
formed by Finny to celebrate freedom and disregard of authority.
Most importantly, the tree allows Gene to punish Finny for his
superiority; he pushes his friend from the tree, causing him to
become a cripple.
Indirectly, the tree leads to Gene’s self-examination and acceptance
of who he is and his relationship to Finny. During Finny’s absence
from school, Gene, for the first, time starts acting on his own. In
the past, he had always done things the way that Finny had wanted
him to do. When Finny returns to school, Gene realizes that Finny
is not a super hero; as a cripple, he is just another human being
struggling with existence. Now Finny needs Gene, just as Gene
had needed Finny. The tree, therefore, leads Gene to pain, and out
of the pain comes an emerging knowledge and acceptance of self.
When Gene leaves Devon to join the Navy, he is still in the process
of maturing and accepting what has happened to him at school.
As an adult, Gene comes back to Devon to come to grips with the
power that the tree has held over him during his life. When he
finally locates the tree by the river, it is not so fearful as he
imagined. He notices that it has changed a great deal; like the
narrator himself, the tree has aged and matured, seeming almost
weary.