A Separate Peace Analysis

When Gene visits Leper at his home in Vermont, he discovers Leper’s mental instability and fears the same will happen to him in the future when he enlists in the army. Gene states, “I didn’t care what I said to him now; it was myself I was worried about. For if Leper was psycho it was the army which had done it to him, and I and all of us were on the brink of the army” (Knowles 135). Gene is now coming to the realization that war can have negative effects on those involved and is beginning to fear the war. Previously, just as the other boys, he has been shielded from the ugly truths of war by attending Devon, alien to the idea of the violence that it contains. Now, he has achieved a new understanding and has now created an informed opinion on war. This serves as a turning point for Gene because he is losing his innocence and discovering more about the war beyond the walls of

These notions come almost immediately when Finny urges Gene to jump out of the tree. Gene thinks to himself, “Was he getting some kind of control over me?” (p.17). This demonstrates his paranoia as a simple invitation for a ‘fun’ activity is misconstrued as a mind game. Gene thinks that Finny is establishing power over him, but in reality Finny is just being a friend. This mindset changes towards the cessation of the novel as Gene gains his own tranquility. He begins to realize who he was as a person, good or bad, and accepts his characteristics for what they are. This change is evident after Finny tragically dies during surgery, leaving Gene at peace he’s never felt before. When questioning why he feels this way, Gene ponders, “I killed my enemy there” (p.204). He understands that since Finny is gone, he can finally be free from the envy and competitiveness that held him in the relationship. Gene also understands that he was the only one who truly felt this way, as Finny was exactly who he acted like. Finny’s actions were never malicious and Gene begins to comprehend that Finny’s charismatic attitude was genuine, he never put on a show. These two traits contrast greatly, but the author

With each scenario, it is shown that most of the time Gene’s enemies are only in his head- not many are in a battle to reign supreme as he is. The war put together with these power struggles allows for such a well done piece, for the reader learns that even in times where others are in battle one does not have to be anchored against someone. Phineas and Gene’s relationship is also instrumental in delivering this message because the reader can witness Phineas, with his free and peaceful ways and realize that Gene does not have to be on the defense and seek power all of the time. Phineas is a unique contrast to Gene that helps Knowles prove his point. Just as in the book, life shows us that this urge to beat an “enemy” is unnecessary and can often have consequences like the ones Gene experienced. It is crucial to recognize the reigning powers in life and not let them take over and cause one to find evil in everyone- Knowles displays this perfectly with Gene and his

In the middle of the novel, Gene starts to understand events as time passes. One particular event is when Gene visits Leper. Gene learns that, Leper has turned crazy. “I didn’t care what I said to him now; it was I I was worried about. For if Leper was a psycho it was the army that had done it to him, and I and all of us were on the brink of the army.”(144) Gene realizes that it wasn’t he who turned Leper crazy, but it was the army, and him and Brinker were about to enlist. Gene understands and realizes the horrors that are really out there in the universe. It transforms Gene by letting Gene understand the horrors and the reality of things that are happening.

Learning is a strong aspect in the novel. The characters learn who they really are and choose their own path. Gene, in the beginning was a character of self doubt, jealousy and greed. He never took a step back to realize that he had traits that others wished they had. Nothing was ever good enough for him, not even his best friend. He had to learn who he should be just like his companion Finny did. Finny chose to be a man of forgiveness, loyalty and strength even before the clock ran out of time. He truly did succeed in shaping Gene to be a good person. And Finny learned about himself as he held Gene’s hand along the rocky road. Gene started to learn about himself when he said in the novel on page 59, “Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he. I couldn’t stand this.” Gene was finally realizing that he was not going to be the best at every single thing he does, but that he has someone who can be the tour guide for him in his own life and who can show him who he really should be. This exact situation happens in our modern day lives. We see the things and characteristics that others have and we never take a step back to take in and learn that we are each different and we all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. Everyone shouldn’t be greedy for the ear to ear smile we “don’t have” or the blond hair that we can’t have. But what we can get, that we may not have is the ability to be accepting or forgiving. We can learn to acquire these traits as we learn from example and try these traits on.

Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace, also reveals that human nature never changes. Knowles, reveals the tragic flaw of jealousy, that has continuously plagued human nature. Gene’s envy of Finny’s exceptional personality and character, reveals this terrible flaw. Human nature has always contained jealousy or envy, but Knowles’ novel reveals its truly destructive nature, through the characters’ thoughts and actions. Gene’s character, illustrates the progression of human nature and jealousy. A pattern is revealed, that simple jealousy forces action, which in turn, creates guilt and internal punishment. This represents the static nature of humans, who change very little. Gene’s envy, forces him to act, which creates enormous guilt that he must now carry. Knowles reveals that humans do not change or learn, even after a great tragedy. Gene may have learned from his actions, but all the other characters, will take no heed. This shows that although humans should learn from their past mistakes, they do not pay attention, and continue doing what they know they should not. Gene “jounced the limb,” (Knowles 60,) thus ending Finny’s life. Humans however, will not change, and another person

John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is about a few boys at a boarding school in New Hampshire. The story is centered around the friendship of two boys, Gene and Finny, at a boarding school in New Hampshire. Although in the beginning of their friendship Gene did not trust Finny, by the time he dies Gene feels as if a part of him has died, showing that he still felt closely bonded to him after all they had been through.

I think the main struggles he faces throughout the novel are jealously and internal guilt. Throughout the book, Gene struggles with his envy towards his best friend Finny. Even after Phineas breaks his leg, Gene is jealous of the way Finny still manages to have motivation and how Finny pretends that nothing even happened. Although Gene feels resentment for the duration of the novel, after causing Finny’s fall off the tree, he starts to feel major guilt inside of him. Even though Finny does not know that Gene jounced the tree for most of the book, I think that made Gene feel even more guilty. In the end, Gene ends up not only losing his struggle, but also losing his best friend. Gene realizes that all along, he thought Finny was the enemy, but if he had acted like Finny, like he always compared himself to be, he would have realized that the antagonists are maybe not always the enemy after all. So after Finny passed, Gene never killed anyone during World War II, and never saw anyone as an enemy, just as Finny would have

Finny remains unaffected. When Gene begins yelling at Finny and telling him that he needs to study, Finny simply replies, “[d]on’t go. What the hell, it’s only a game” (57). Gene’s struggle with Finny is apparent within the first few pages of the novel. When Finny tries to persuade Gene to jump from “[t]he tree [which] was tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple beside the river.

“But I no longer needed this vivid false identity . . . I felt, a sense of my own real authority and worth, I had many new experiences and I was growing up “(156). Gene’s self-identity battle ends and he finds his real self. Gene’s developing maturity is also shown when he tells the truth about Leper. His growing resentment against having to mislead people helps Gene become a better person. When Brinker asks about Leper, Gene wants to lie and tell him he is fine but his resentment is stronger than him. Instead Gene comes out and tells the truth that Leper has gone crazy. By pushing Finny out of the tree, crippling him for life and watching him die; Gene kills a part of his own character, his essential purity. Throughout the whole novel Gene strives to be Finny, but by the end he forms a character of his own. Gene looks into his own heart and realizes the evil. “. . . it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (201). He grasps that the creation of personal problems creates wars. Gene comes to acknowledge Finny’s uniqueness and his idealism and greatly admires his view of the world. He allows Finny’s influence to change him and eliminates the self-ignorance. At Finny’s funeral Gene feels that he buries a part of himself, his innocence. “I could not escape a feeling

To begin with, Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affects him. He is affected because he begins to forget the consequences that he could receive for the things he does with Finny. For example,

Gene begins to wage a mental war as his jealousy for Finny destroys the innocence of their friendship. From the start, Gene realizes just how much Finny’s “perfection” surpasses Gene’s own self; this is shown by the way the boys walk. Gene notices how “Phineas [walks] serenely on[…] with such unthinking unity of movement that ‘walk’ didn’t describe it” (Knowles 18). His envy starts to build because he wishes he could be as carefree as Finny. However, Gene’s militaristic order stops him from letting himself go and enjoying the world.

Overcoming internal barriers is a struggle humans typically endure. The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles focuses on the friendship between two teenage boys, Gene and Phineas, who are the exact opposite of one another. It is told from Gene’s point of view as he journeys through adolescence while attending one of the most prestigious boarding schools in America during World War II, Devon. Gene learns that when times are difficult he can move past his struggles by latching onto an idea, hope, or an essence of peace. As he matures, it is clear that his friendship with Phineas has played a key role in helping Gene discover and accept who he is because he helped him to unveil the enemy that was inside the whole time

BP 1: In the beginning of the novel the present Gene is a fully matured ma, looking back on an incident in his past ;when he was sixteen years old. A key detail of immaturity iin the protagonist, Gene, is his envy toward his friend Phineas.. Gene 's jealousy leads him to the point where he wants to destroy Phineas ' greatest asset, his strong skill in sports. During the first jump off the tree Gene loses his balance and almost got severely injured but Finny held Gene so that he would not fall down. This shows how Finny perceives Gene as a friend and is willing to risk his life for him. During the other jump Gene Jounces the limb and when finny loses his balance and reaches out for Gene 's helping hand; yet Gene ignores it and allows Finny to fall down and shatter his leg. Another detail of Gene 's immaturityis on page sixtyfive, when Finny told Gene that he tried to grab hold of him to save himself then Gene responded byu saying " 'To drag me

Little sorrow and sadness is expressed around school, even in Gene; no one talks about what happened but everyone remembers, especially Gene. Throughout the novel, John Knowles' strong characterization of Finny results in a more developed and wiser Gene; in the end, Finny actually makes Gene a better person.