Chapter 4 opens with the gray dawn and closes with a gray dusk, suggesting the symbolic unity of a single day (although a much greater time actually elapses). It begins, too, with Finny coming to life as Lazarus and ends with the tragic fall that destroys his life.
The chapter opens with the promise of the dawn over the ocean, with images of death gradually yielding to life as the sun rises to bring color to a gray world. As the Biblical allusions make clear, the sleeping Finny seems like Lazarus returned to life, and the white sand that surrounds the awakening boys recalls Eden.
Finny responds to this idyllic morning with characteristic action, proposing a quick swim. But in the dawn, by the roaring ocean, Gene can only think about limits and rules. A look at the rising sun tells him it is 6:30, and he worries that he will be late for his trigonometry test at 10:00.
For Gene, the meaning of the morning emerges not from the beauty of the dawn and the excitement of the waves, but from his worries and disappointments. He and Finny have lost their money, and they must now bicycle back to Devon without breakfast. In fact, they arrive at the school just in time for Gene to fail his examination.
