"Night of black-jack and poker and unpredictable games invented by Phineas rose up in my mind...Phineas losing even in those games he invented, betting always for what should win, for what would have been the most brilliant successes of all, if only the cards hadn't betrayed him. Finny finally betting his icebox and losing it, that contraption, to me."
To me, this seems like a disguised summary of the book so far. The games invented by Phineas represent all the things he got Gene and the other boys to do during the Summer Session. Losing those games represented him falling from the tree, and any negatives he may have encountered. He bets for what should win, or his 'commandments'. All that goes out the window when the cards betrayed him, or when Gene betrayed him. The last line, however, I don't think has happened yet. What could Finny be betting on, but lose to Gene? Perhaps, and I may be completely off, it is the Galbraith Football Trophy or some other athletic award he probably would've gotten had Gene not pushed him from the tree. Now, however, Finny entrusts Gene with the responsibility of playing sports for him. So, instead of Gene winning Finny's 'icebox', maybe he will gain a trophy Finny would've won, thusly fully completing his transformation as 'part of Phineas.'
What do you predict will happen next in the book?
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