Assignment #5: Explore the significance of the fight with Quackenbush. Why does it happen? What exactly sets Gene off? How is related to his narrative earlier in the chapter? Why might Quakenbush be so disdainful of Gene? (Tushar)

In this reading assignment, Gene gets in a fight with Quackenbush because Gene had never had done crew before, but once he called Gene "maimed",  Gene is set off due to the fact that he remembers that Finny, who is very close to him is in a similar state. Quackenbush and Gene argue about whether Gene should be allowed to be the crew team manager while being a senior with no experience in the field. The fight quickly escalates when Quackenbush calls Gene "maimed", and in a flash, Gene has "the realization that there was someone who was [maimed] flashed over me" (Knowles 79).  Gene remembers Finny, with his broken leg and retaliates, in a sense, for him. This relates to the narrative of the chapter because he realizes that because Finny isn't here to fight his own battles, so Gene has "to become a part of Phineas" (Knowles 85).  Quackenbush is mainly disdainful of Gene and his wanting to be the crew team manager because he feels that Gene has no experience and is too old, so he thinks he is unfit for the job. When Gene and Quackenbush talk, he immediately opens the conversation by saying, "'You never rowed, did you'" (Knowles 77). The tone of Quackenbush suggests that he finds Gene to be inferior to him as he has no experience with crew and also argues that it does matter to be too old for the job. He wants to be the dominant male and is trying to show Gene that too. Gene gets in a fight with Quackenbush because he feels that he is threatening Finny by calling him "maimed", and because he has no experience in the sport so Quackenbush feels superior to him.