From his clothes — especially that pink shirt — to his daring jumps from the tree, Finny flouts all the prep school conventions as the classic rebel in an overwhelmingly conformist world. Yet Finny's actions — even his most dangerous antics — spring up spontaneously, out of a natural enjoyment of life, without a trace of deviousness or vindictiveness, and this innocence informs his view of everyone else as well. Finny, for example, cannot imagine that Gene might envy him his easy success as an athlete, nor does he suspect that his friend's secret animosity might suddenly erupt in violence.
As the innocent in this story of Eden lost through human weakness and war, Finny emerges finally as a kind of Christ-like figure. Through the sacrifice of his suffering and death, Finny redeems Gene, offering his friend — in their essential doubleness — the promise of a better self.
