Jealousy In A Separate Peace

The start of this tragedy was when the boy and his best friend, Gene Forrester, decided to jump out of a tree together. The two have been best friends and roommates for a long time. So long Gene felt close enough to Phineas that he felt like a part of Phineas, or Finny. Gene Forrester states, “It must have been my purpose from the the first to become a part of Phineas.” Gene and Phineas might have been two opposites, but they brought out the best in each other. Finny was more of the rebel/athlete, and Gene was better in school. It was Finny’s idea to start a secret society, Super Suicide Society, in which to become a member you had to jump out of a tree into a river.Gene and Phineas had jumped from the tree plenty of times by now, so Phineas thought it would be a great idea to spice things up. He proposed that the two jump out together at the same time. Finny climbed first, and moved farther out

Sometimes this causes built up resentment and eventually could cause both of the friends to be hurt because of one rash decision like shaking a tree branch. While only Phineas was physically hurt Gene was in an emotional battle with himself about what he has done to Finny and what he thinks of him. Eventually the other boys at Devon find out Gene shook the tree branch, which causes them to lose respect of him. The thought of shaking Phineas out of a tree would have never normally crossed Gene’s mind but him viewing Phineas as a competitor instead of a friend made the idea seem fine for the split second it took for him to shake the branch. The idea hit him just like when he thinks about stealing the doctor’s car. He only even thinks about shaking the limb for an instant, a single life changing moment, and with “some kind of blind impulse”, as Phineas describes it, he shakes the branch. In contrast when he “idly considered stealing” a car even if he thinks about it for a second he can decide not to after the first few steps. Once the tree branch is shaken Phineas’ fate is sealed. Competition and rivalry can cause people to replace trust in each other with protection from each other and cause them to build up walls to separate and protect themselves from their competitors. Not everyone constructs these fortresses of secrets and distrust. Some people are open and trusting of

Gene was jealous of Finny throughout the whole book because Finny was more athletically inclined then him, and Finny was able to do basically whatever he wanted to.¨ I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little¨(8). This lead Gene to want to be better than Finny, by being first in the class. One night while Gene was studying Finny interrupted him, as he wanted to go jump out of the tree. After a little argument Gene eventually went with Finny to the tree, but he was still kind of angry. This lead Finny to jounce the tree limb. ¨Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud¨(28). Because of this fall, Finny completely shattered his leg. He may have been able to walk again, but he would never play sports again. Because of Gene's jealousy toward Finny he decided to make a rash move, which cost his friend their

Separate Peace What really happened in the tree? Gene and Finny were very good friends; however, whatever happened in the tree the day the Finny "fell" out, is the actual cause of Gene "…My knees bent and I jounced the limb…" page 52. In fact, Finny did not fall out of the tree, but Gene had actually pushed him out. Gene had very good reasons to push him out "Finny had put him up to it, to finish me fro good on the exam." Page 49. He pushed him out of jealousy for two things. For athleticism, and for his popularity, and also for his ability to talk his way out of anything.. First, Finny was a very athletic person; however, Gene is just a normal average day person. Gene couldn't stand attempting to

In the beginning of the novel, Gene, is a clueless individual. He sees the worst in people and lets his evil side take over not only his mind but also his body. During the tree scene, Gene convinces himself that Finny isn’t his friend, tricking himself into thinking that Finny is a conniving foil that wants to sabotage his academic merit. Gene is furthermore deluded that every time Finny invites Gene somewhere it’s to keep him from studying and

In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the protagonist Gene Forrester constantly battles within himself to find the true emotion towards his friend Phineas and to find out who he really is. Gene and Phineas formed an illusion of companionship, but there was always a silent rivalry between them in Gene’s mind. In the beginning, Gene thought his feeling towards Phineas was completely normal and it will go away in time. However, as the time went on and Gene matured he found out that his feeling was much more than little jealousy but it has turned into hate. Gene Forrester develops into a mature adult when he finally accepts his feeling and faces reality.

John Knowles implies Phineas is naive through the implementation of dialogue. Phineas confesses to Gene that “[he] hope[s] [Gene is] having a pretty good time here… you can’t come by yourself, and at this teenage-period in life the proper person is your best pal” (48). The boys live in a masculine society, which places an emphasis on strength. To expose one’s feelings to someone else is considered “social suicide.” Therefore, Gene takes advantage of Phineas’ naiveté by not responding to his declaration of friendship. Phineas also asserts that “when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love” (111). Phineas’ philosophy centers around a world of youth of peace; he always attempts to find the best in everyone. This naive attitude contrasts with the cruel nature of the world, where wars and competitions are common occurrences. At Gene’s trial for Phineas’ fall, Phineas asks Gene if “[he] was down at the bottom” (170) in a concerned, friendly tone. Phineas fears of Gene’s betrayal; he cannot believe that his friend would have the urge to push him out the tree. In order to protect his high opinion of Gene, he alters the past in his mind to avoid facing the truth. This emphasizes his naiveté as the true events do not align with what Phineas made up in his mind. At the hospital after Phineas’s second fall, following the trial, Gene explains to Phineas that he would "get things so scrambled up nobody would know who to fight any more” and that “[he would] make a mess, a terrible mess...out of the war'" (191). Phineas’ world does not hold any fights or enmity. His good character is unrealistic in this world. Consequently, the war would drive him to madness.

Throughout A Separate Peace, Gene’s relationship with Phineas is constantly being questioned. One second they’re the best of friends, whereas the next moment they’re enemies. “It made Finny seem too unusual for not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. Gene’s confused with Phineas

The novel “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles is a story of friendship and conflict. John Knowles uses Gene’s envy to demonstrate that jealousy ruins friendships. This is shown multiple times, including fake friendships, internal conflict becoming physical, and all conflict resulting in the loss of trust of one another.

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.

[his] enemy there," meaning that he killed both Finny and also what was, at the

I wouldn't have been on that damn limb except for him. I wouldn't have turned, and so lost my balance, if he hadn't been there. I didn't need to feel and tremendous rush of gratitude towards Phineas.” Gene's mind is only able to think bad things of Finny.

Leper, while recounting the events that lead up to Phineas’s fall from the tree, describes the whole ordeal with striking imagery. The reader can clearly visualize exactly what he saw -- how sunbeams graced Gene and Phineas’s dark silhouettes as they stood on the limb, and the black, solid mass that was the tree itself. Enhanced with similes such as “black as death” and “like golden machine-gun fire”, the whole passage really comes to life.

When Gene says,“ I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke though little branches below and hit the bank sickening, unnatural thud”(60). This shows how their relationship progressively gets weakened over time just like the branches that fell from the tree. This incident causes for their relationship to weaken to the lowest point because Finny’s never able to fully recover. The end result is that their relationship is foreverly weakened, with Finny never able to be completely

Human nature is notorious for its trait of jealousy. One may grow hostile when he desperately seeks another’s possession or talent. This statement is evident in the character of Gene from John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. Throughout the story, he is jealous because his friend, Finny, has exceptional athletic ability. After one regretful action from Gene, Finny starts facing tough circumstances, eventually separating them. A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene demonstrates how envy can tear friendships apart.