The Marble Staircase

The marble steps are a symbol for Gene and Finny's fight. The marble is hard and unbreakable which is like Gene's hate for Finny at first. He literally says to himself, "You hate him." There are also many steps in the large staircase which is like how the fight is very big to Gene but also has many layers of loyalty and hate. Gene loves Finny because he is his best friend, but subconciously hates him for his innate athletic abilities. After Finny falls down the staircase after finding out Gene knocked him out of the tree, he breaks his leg again and during surgery he dies. The facts that Finny didnt want to acknowledge were figuatively killing him for months, until they finally did.

The Tree

The tree is a symbol for the loss of innocence. The beginning of the novel is set during a lazy, fun, innocent summer. Even the teachers at Gene and Finny's school are more lenient and laid back. "Now on these clear June days in New Hampshire they appeared to uncoil". When Gene knocks Finny out of the tree, it is the catalyst for a series of more mature events that force Gene and Finny to grow up and start facing life like adults. Finny's sports career is finished. They are preparing to go to war. One of their good friends goes insane. Finny breaks his leg again and dies during the surgery to fix it. When Finny falls out of the tree because of Gene, they both lose their innocence and care-free attitudes. After the incident, they start growing to be adults.

World War II

The majority of this novel in set in 1942, and it was during this time that World War II occurred. The war is not only a very important part of the plot, but can also be a good symbol for the friendship between Gene and Finny.

World War II was very gruesome and had many participants. Lots of countries, such as Japan, Germany, Russia, and America, played their part. Many alliances and friendships were made, and then broken. No one knew who to trust, even within themselves. The boys of Devon school knew this. At one point in the novel, Finny creates a game called Blitzball. As he is describing the rules,he says this: "Since we're all enemies, we can and will turn on each other all the time." This quote can also apply to the war, and in turn, Finny and Gene's friendship. The boys are very competitive (at least, Gene believes they are), and for some time in the novel Gene decides that he loathes his supposed best friend, Finny, simply because he is jealous of him.
The war was also very temperamental, quickly and easily changed.This is like their friendship beacause Gene's feelings for Finny change very fast; one morning he is his best friend, that afternoon Gene is convinced that Finny is his rival.

The war can also symbolize the expectations that were set for boys of their age. In those days, the war meant growing up and being a man. It was the mature thing to to, and those who did gained favor from everyone in the country. The war symboliozes manliness, popularity, and growing up, things that some boys were not yet ready to do, as shown in this quote: "The war was at worst only a bore, as Brinker said, no more taxing to us than a day spent harvesting in an apple orchard".