A Separate Peace Analysis

A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a seemingly simple yet heartbreaking story that gives the reader an inside look and analysis of the reality of human nature. Set permanently in the main character Gene’s point of view, the audience is first taken to the present of a reflective and now wise man (Gene) and then plunged into his past back in 1942 to relive the harsh lessons that youth brought him. Along with vivid imagery of tranquil days past, a view into the social construct of a boy’s private school, Devon, and the looming presence of World War 2 on the horizon, there is also a significant power struggle that the reader can observe almost instantly. Conquering the need to be supreme in the situations of the war, high school, social interactions, and even simple moments that

A Separate Peace is a World War II setting book written by the author, John Knowles. A Separate Peace is an example of a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age  novel. One of the main characters, Gene Forrester, is a perfect example of someone who is coming-of-age. As the  novel progresses, Gene  is transformed and impacted by many different experiences during his time at Devon High School.  In the book, A Separate Peace, Gene  becomes mature from his experiences from Finny’s death and Training for the Olympics; He also loses his innocence, and this teaches the reader about growing up and the idea of losing innocence.

John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, reveals the many dangers and hardships of adolescence. The main characters, Gene, and Finny, spend their summer together at a boarding school called Devon. The two boys, do everything together, until Gene, the main character, develops a resentful hatred toward his friend Finny. Gene becomes extremely jealous and envious of Finny, which fuels this resentment, and eventually turns deadly. Knowles presents a look at the darker side of adolescence, showing jealousy’s disastrous effects. Gene’s envious thoughts and jealous nature, create an internal enemy, that he must fight. A liberal humanistic critique reveals that Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, has a self contained meaning, expresses the

Gene’s trust towards Finny first subtly comes through after returning from Leper’s house. “I wanted to see Phineas, and only Phineas. With him there was no conflict except between athletes… This was the only conflict he had ever believed in.” (Knowles, 152)When Gene returns from Leper’s house, all he wants to do is see

As Gene feels the obligation to lose himself to become Finny, Knowles shows us that a loss of identity may be present in a relationship if there is an unequal amount of power. When Finny tells Gene that he has to play sports in the place of Finny himself, Gene says, “I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas” (77). Gene loses who he is to become the powerful Finny because told him to do so. He feels the need to give up his identity seeing that he has the order to do. This results in an unequal friendship because a true friend would never force someone to do something that would make them lose who they actually are. Gene and Finny’s unbalanced friendship eventually causes paranoia and insecurity on the less powerful side known as Gene because he is giving himself up.

In A Separate Peace, the author chooses to use conflicts to show the growth of a character. As a conflict happens there is some sort of growth which the character gains as a result. In fact, there are many conflicts throughout the story that shape the characters in unique ways including Genes jealousy of his best friend, Finny doing dangerous things, and Gene trying to live through Finny. Some conflicts result in good ways some result in bad and it changes the way the character is. The book is a good example of what it is like when a conflict happens in real life, by showing growth of a character after a conflict. The decisions made by the characters will either change them in positive or negative ways; that is an important message that the book tells quite well.

The novel, A Separate Peace, presents the full human cycle (birth, death, rebirth—summer, fall, winter and spring) but focuses on the adolescent struggles of Gene Forrester in his years at a military prep school, Devon. Gene visits his alma mater after fifteen years have past, including a world war. This story is about youth, friendship, fear, tragedy and growing-up. Some of these themes in A Separate Peace reflect the biblical stories of the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel and Jesus Christ.

The novel A Separate Peace focuses mainly around a 17 year old named Gene Forrester and his psychological development. The story is set in a boys boarding school in USA during World War II. There are four main boys in the novel and they all undergo major character changes through the story. One of them goes crazy, and the others experience severe attitude changes. Gene is caught right in the center of these changes. He is very close with all of the other three boys, and thus all of the changes affect him very much. Due to all the tension occurring in this novel because of the war and events going on at the school, there is a lot of denial of truth happening. Three of the four boys

Sometimes the most violent wars are not fought with guns on the front lines, but on the inside. John Knowles's A Separate Peace is a compelling story about friendship, betrayal, and coping with one's own shortcomings. Although the book is set during World War II, the plot focuses not on the outside, physical war, but instead on the wars that people create for themselves and, often times, within themselves. Gene Forrester, the novel's main character, faced this challenge, fighting to overcome his inner enemy, and often seemed to be evil to the core. However, in A Separate Peace, Gene was clearly not inherently evil because he felt guilty, apologized to Finny, and displayed pity and compassion.

In the very beginning of the book, Finny convinces Gene to come and jump off of the tree with him. At one point, Gene starts to lose his balance, but Finny immediately grabs Gene’s hand, preventing him from falling. By doing this, Gene’s “panic immediately disappear[s]” (Knowles 31). This shows how Finny is Gene’s savior, and this also marks the moment where Gene starts to trust Finny. After the fall from the tree, Gene’s friendship with Finny grows stronger, and the two are practically inseparable. When Brinker told Finny that he and Gene were going to enlist, Finny is very disappointed and looks at Gene with “ an odd expression” (Knowles 107). As a result, Gene decides not to enlist solely because of his friendship with Finny. He does not want to do it because he knows that Finny needs him. Likewise, Gene needs Finny because he is his better half. Through these reasons, it is clear that Gene has many healthy feelings for Finny.

Gene Forrester, the main character of A Separate Peace, tells a story of when he was in school. This story takes place during the time pf World War II. Gene is a well-minded boy who, at times, lets jealousy take over. If this book was narrated by Phineas, or Finny, it would have a happier nature to it. Gene is a smart, kind boy who thinks deeply into the problems of the world at the time. Finny, who is almost the complete opposite, sees conflict as he wants to view it. They are very similar in some ways as they share the same interests as the other.

Gene must react to the change happening around him and make difficult decisions in order to prolong and benefit the story. A Separate Peace begins as a flashback and is viewed from Gene's perspective as he recalls a part of his life that happened fifteen years before and is set in the 1940’s, in the time World War II. Gene, the narrator, main character and protagonist gives the reader an insight to his personal struggles that are caused by both the war happening around him, and within him; Gene’s inner struggles allow the growth of his character. As an introvert, intellectual, insecure, and yet envious friend, Gene is nearly his Finny’s complete opposite. Gene’s insecurities about himself constantly compel him

A Separate Peace, a coming-of-age novel by John Knowles, demonstrates the consequences of conflict in personal relationships, as well as within oneself. In the novel, Gene Forrester, the protagonist, battles with internal conflict involving his identity and emotions towards his best friend, Phineas, also known as Finny. Gene develops envy towards his best friend and believes in an enmity between them that does not exist, which leads to external conflict between Gene and Finny. Gene, throughout the novel, creates the most conflict that separates him from Finny, ultimately leading to Finny’s demise. Examples of these conflicts, both real and imaginary, have been provided by Gene’s thoughts as the narrator. One of the first signs of internal conflict involving Finny can be recognized when Finny calls Gene his best friend, to which Gene does not respond. As Gene states, “Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling deeper than thought, which contains the truth”(Knowles 48). The internal conflict has already begun, onsetting many more conflicts to come. This quote means that Gene does not consider Finny his best friend due to Gene’s latent jealousy towards Finny’s charm and wit. An example of external conflict as a result of Gene’s internal conflict can be derived from the scene where Gene realizes that Finny had no ill will towards him and that all enmity between them had been a figure of Gene’s imagination. Gene had thought Finny was making an effort to distract him from his

In the book A Separate Peace, the author John Knowles explores the darker side of human nature such as envy, jealousy, and guilt. The book takes place at Devon Boarding School in New Hampshire during World War II. He uses the characters Gene Forrester, the narrator, and Phineas to demonstrate the two aspects of life. Finny is an example of the bright side of human nature, while Gene turns from a cheerful boy into a man lost in his dark thoughts. Their days at Devon, in the book, start during the carefree summer session of school, but turn into the dark winter session as a result of the tree incident. Although the actual war

A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a classic “coming of age novel” (A Scribner Reading Group Guide) . It is best known for being Knowles’ most famous work and a popular reading selection in most high schools across the nation. As the story takes place during the treacherous World War II, the Devon school and the boys attending struggle with maintaining their innocence and beliefs. This is evident in the novel’s most lively character, Phineas, better known as Finny. Finny is an unaffected, big-hearted, athletic sixteen year old boy.