From the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles: Consider the choices both Finny and Gene make that lead to Finny's death. Whom do you think is more responsible for Finny's death?

Assigning blame for Phinny's death depends in large part on the reader's belief in the narrator's voice. Because Gene is the survivor and the narrator, we get a story that is filtered through his lens. It seems that Gene is suffering from survivor guilt so he paints himself in a very negative light. Evaluating the crucial events requires the reader to decide how much Gene's view is distorting the past.
We meet Gene as a teenager who is too serious for his own good. Smart and studious but also vain, he is flattered to be befriended by a boy as cool as Finny. However, he also envies Finny's free spirit.
Finny is a natural risk taker who approaches life as an adventure, but is prone to reckless behavior. He was the driving force behind their society and if not for him, the two would not have been playing on the tree.
Gene took the action that put in motion the sequence leading to Finny's death, but did he force Finny into the tree? Deciding where to locate responsibility for the book's events depends on how the reader weighs each plot component and whether they believe Gene is presenting--or even can present--an accurate representation of events.