Like too many of the classics taught in American junior high and high schools, this one again deals with relationships between young males in an all-male setting. This time the setting is a private school in the New England countryside prior to WWII. Two friends, Gene and Phineas, face the rigors of school together and form a bond that will last their lives. One day however, in an adventure climbing trees, Gene shakes the branch Phineas is on, plunging him down to the ground where he is crippled. Later, a confrontation ensues between them induced by the words of others. The confrontation leads to Phineas breaking his leg, and dying in the ensuing medical procedure. Gene recalls these events as an adult later on with regret, trying to understand whether he did what he did out of malice, jealousy, hatred, etc... He, and the book comes to the conclusion that part of growing up is recognizing the evil within one self, and how controlling it is part of maturing.