What are some important quotes and their importance to the story??

“I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.”

This quote is significant because Gene's envy went beyond normal...... it was great enough to make him resent his friend.

“To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for – not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry.”

In this quote, we can see that Gene didn't understand that Finny competed for himself. It wasn't a rivalry. It was one boy attempting to prove what he could do to himself and no one else.

The first quote I gave you is located in Chapter Two; the second can be found in Chapter Three.