Character Analysis Of Finny In 'A Separate Peace'

Finny in this novel is a magnetic, charismatic character whom people cannot help liking, but he is also manipulative, immature, and self centered. He is not nearly as innocent as he seems. There are many moments of these and because it shows up more than once it proves that he is this. Finny is a likable character but as likable he is as manipulative and does things for his own self. Finny is immature which makes him seem innocent but as the book progresses further we can see he is not innocent at all he is really a self centered, manipulative kid.

Phineas, also known as Finny, is a boy who plays a lot of sports. Although Finny might not look like an athlete, ”Phineas had been the best athlete in the school” (Knowles 8) Finny also wants to join the military, which people need to be strong for. Athletes, like Finny, usually run the school. So naturally, Finny can get away

Finny was the “ alpha male”. Everyone wanted to be like Finny. He was athletic, kind, caring and very loyal. Finny’s great character is illustrated in the novel when “He got away with

Peace Seekers: A Separate Peace Peace Seeker Essay John Knowles, author of the novel A Separate Peace, shows peace through the character Finny. So far Finny has been push off a tree, broke his leg, lied to, depressed, and heartbroken these couples of times and despite these obstacles, he is still the true peace seeker. Knowles shows that Finny is always seeking peace by denying the truth, having fun, and finding peace in the world itself.

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

Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery? The novel, “A Separate Peace”, written by John Knowles, illustrates a story of two boys in high school during the time of WWII. One of these boys is Gene, who is a talented student who often experiences paranoia, which, as a result, makes him jealous of others. The title, “A Separate Peace”, lies the character Gene, whose jealousy and envy affects himself and his relationship with Finny. First, Gene’s obsession with Finny leads him to transform the he behaves. Gene starts to disremember who he is and desires to be a part of Finny. Gene says, “… and 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” (Knowles 85).

Education is not really one of Finny’s favorite things, he is more like the outgoing friend of the group. In the novel, “A Separate Peace”, Gene has a thought about Finny and his education. The quote says “If I was head of the class on Graduation Day and made a speech and won the Ne Plus Ultra Scholastic Achievement Citation, the we would have came out on top…”(Knowles, 52). If you think about it, Finny could be head of the class and graduate and win the prizes if he would put a little

John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace, utilises symbolism to further explore weather as a motif. Gene, the narrator of the novel states, “I think we reminded them of what peace was like, we boys of sixteen”(24). During the summer session the boys are “careless and wild”(24). Being an outgoing and relentless character, Finny symbolizes and is “the essence of this careless peace”(24). The summer session symbolizes the youthful innocence of the Devon boys.

Sometimes people read a text and do not go any further into the message inside. Howeverin the story A Separate Peace by John Knowles, The character of Finny represents innocence-aninnocence that is destroyed when it is forced to confront the hatred and evil in the real world.Finny is preserved by most as a picture of innocence because he acts like he has nothingto hide from anyone. The reader can infer this because, most of the teachers at Devon seem tothink of him this all good boy way. The reason the reader thinks this is because, they let the stuffthat Finny does, that is against the rules, slide and he does not get in any form of trouble.However when anyone else at Devon done these things they do not let them off as easy. Thisbeing because of the fact that Finny had a certain attitude towards life that made people not seethe bad in him.However later in the novel Finny falls from the tree and

Finny still tries to hang onto his "separate peace", his liberty, that he has had at Devon for a year. Adding to his physical disability, Finny starts to fall apart. " Since no army will accept him due to his accident, Finny loses much of his self-confidence" (Themes and

In A Separate Peace Gene and Finny’s friendship has to tackle a lot of obstacles. Gene and Finny were never exactly on the same page when it came to their friendship. Each of them was always assuming about the other. One of the book’s messages is that friendships take work, and if the friendship is worth it, then you should put in the work. In A Separate Peace, there are prevalent themes of friendship, how friends can help or hurt one another, and the sacrifices made for loved ones.

Many people think that it is easy to let go of the past, to move on, to let it all go, apologize to those you hurt, and forgive the people who have hurt you. But in reality, others would agree that it is definitely easier said than actually done. The book, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, is about a boy, Gene Forrester, who is attending an all boy boarding school in New England during the beginning of World War 2. He battles to find his inner self while also battling with the hardships of having a best friend, Finny, who everyone adores and who is good at everything he does. This book is chalked full of events, dramatic as well as calm, between these two boys that happen during a particular summer. They not only find their inner selves and make a stronger bond, but they stretch the limits of their relationship and they lose the innocence of their world. Coming of age is a necessary, but often challenging stage of life which involves seeing oneself and the world as they truly are. Coming of age is the main theme of this book because the boys need to be able to grow and mature into the young adults that they need to become.

Finny did a lot of risky things, that most people would not be able to pull off, but somehow he always manages to slip away with no punishment. Unknowingly, Finny went to a party, the headmaster was also attending it. As usual, Finny was out of dress code, wearing a neon shirt and their school tie as a belt. Somehow he talked himself out of trouble. Gene says “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little (Knowles 9).” Finny continued testing his luck, with skipping chapel and classes, and test, and meetings. In the article "A Separate Peace: The Fall from Innocence" James Ellis writes “Incapable of the spiritual purity of Phineas, Gene finds himself jealous of Finny's ability to flout Devon rules.” All of this grew on Gene and started to make him very jealous of something he did not have. Trying the ultimate dare, Finny decided to go to the beach, Gene says “The beach was hours away by bicycle, forbidden, completely out of all bounds. Going there risked expulsion (Knowles 20).” Finny went through with his plan and spent a night at the beach, and received no punishments or disciplinary actions. As Gene was struggling with his identity, he saw that Finny could do things he could not. All those things made Gene jealous and gave him something to focus on, other than solving his identity

This novel was set during the post war period, this was a time when independence and rebelling against parents and law was more important than doing the right thing, during these times of independence, and teenagers needed friendship more than anything else.

Friendship is one of the most important relationships that people form in all of their lives. Children build bonds when they are young and use those skills to continue fulfilling friendships for the rest of their lives. Throughout A Separate Peace, John Knowles displays the good things about close friendships but also the hardships that often occur. Gene and Finny are two boys that attend Devon school. Which is a school that closely reflects the one that Knowles attended while he was growing up. Both Gene and Finny emotionally grow despite their opposite personalities, and they go through several situations that force them to consider the value of their friendship. Through their time at the school, Knowles reveals Gene’s and Finny’s