When acted upon, deep-seated jealousy establishes a hate-filled position that can demolish even the strongest relationships, and can go to the enormity of destroying lives.

I researched the growing envy Gene has towards his best friend, Phineas. Gene realizes his hate for Phineas and acts upon it in the tree. His jealousy goes to the extremes mentioned: demolishing relationships and destroying lives. Even if Phineas hadn't died Gene changed his life forever

Gene realizes he envies Phineas and yet does nothing to stop it but instead makes excuses for it and even acts on it. “ It was hypnotism. 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.”(Knowles 17).
“The tragedy of the novel ultimately is that Gene is not capable of maintaining the spiritual purity that distinguishes Phineas and so must as he discovers his own savagery betray Phineas” (Ellis 314) Gene envies Phineas’ charisma and purity. He wants those traits for himself.

“Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous”(proverbs 27:4)

We as human beings, experience jealousy. And we can learn how harmful it is from this story, as the example is about how it ruined a relationship and ended a life.

Gene lets his jealousy run wild until he has no control over it. “ Discovering Phineas incapable of hatred, gene had to face his own moral ugliness and then strike down Phineas’ for inadvertently revealing it to him”(Grieling 1271). Phineas’ life is ruined and demolished because Gene could not bear the fact that Phineas did not envy Gene. Gene thinks it is normal for everyone to envy others but when he finds that Phineas does not envy Gene that angers him because it shows Gene’s true colors.

“For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3:16 NLT

As sinful human beings, we are prone to have unjustified anger which results in less than perfect thoughts and actions.