Preview

A Separate Peace Jealousy Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
139 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Separate Peace Jealousy Analysis
Rivalries and competition are the heart of jealousy. In A Separate Peace jealousy was at the basis of the competition between Gene and Finny, one who was superior in the classroom and one who was superior on the field. Gene let this competition go to the extent of jealousy. Jealousy was what controlled Gene to jounce Finny off the tree. “Finny never permitted himself to realize that when you won they lost. That would have destroyed the perfect beauty which was sport,”(Chapter 3) this quote shows that Finny continually conquered his peers in athletic events. Finny failed to see the unsuccessful side losing on a consistent basis. The invigorated Gene to show Finny that he wasn't the incomparable to his peers. This struck jealousy between
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    A Separate Peace Chapter 1-5 Summary
    • 2936 Words
    • 12 Pages

    A Separate Peace Chapter 1-5 Summary

    CHAPTERS 1-5: • Narrator introduces himself as a detective and claims he craves truth but lies • Manipulates his suspects into giving in and giving him the confession he wants • His name is Adam Robert Ryan • He grew up Knocknaree, Ireland • Book opens and it is 1984 • His best friends were Peter Savage and Jamie Rowan • Went into the woods to play but did not return in time for tea and as the night dragged on their parents grew worried and finally called the police • Adam Ryan was the only one who was found: 4 gashes in his shirt, legs all cut up, shoes soaked in blood, petrified and in shock • No DNA testing in Ireland at the time but blood is believed to be from a 4th person • Jamie and Peter are never found • Adam moves to London for boarding…

    • 2936 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis
    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

    One of the most asked questions for A Separate Peace is: who exactly is the protagonist and antagonist? Most would agree that Gene is the protagonist, however is it Gene or Phineas that is the enemy? I believe that the real ‘bad guy’ in this book is Gene. He envied Phineas from the very beginning but didn’t admit it until a little later on. Whether it was getting away from trouble, having a natural athletic ability, or simply being modest and humble about things, Phineas seemed to have been better at almost everything.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Compare And Contrast A Separate Peace
    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast A Separate Peace

    Both the movie and the book share a basic concept of showing an understanding of a story being told. The book does a more in depth explanation and a better job of narrating the story. John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, is a story about a destructive and corrupt relationship between Finny and Gene who both attend Devon School around World War ll where most boys went off to fight in the army not realizing there was already a war created within themselves, hence the title, A Separate Peace. The book does a much more effective job of telling the story compared to the movie. In the novel, the story is being told from Gene's perspective whereas in the movie, it is being told from a third persons point of view. Also, Cliff…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    The first scene of jealousy to be discussed, is the scene where Gene jounced the limb of the tree, causing Finny to fall. Finny ended up with a severely broken leg. Any reader would basically have to think that Gene jounced the limb because of his of jealousy of Finny. Finny was one of those kids that everyone could be jealous of. He was a rebel, but could talk his way out of everything. He could be known as the “Houdini” of getting in trouble! Gene was obviously jealous of this, like everyone. However, the kicker is when the reader finds out that Gene had previously thought that Finny was trying to sabotage him because he was jealous of Gene’s academic abilities. At this point, you are probably thinking to yourself “What if Gene accidently did move the branch? What if he…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Separate Peace: the Incident at the Tree
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace: the Incident at the Tree

    In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester and Phineas, also known as Finny, are best friends who have a very deep friendship. However, as the story progresses, Gene began to develop feelings of jealousy for Finny when he saw how perfect Finny’s character is. Finny has always been able to talk his way out of trouble and is naturally a good athlete who is earnest, confident, & pure. On the other hand, Gene cannot be pure like Finny and feels insecure. Seeing how good Finny is, caused Gene to become jealous, “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything, I couldn’t help envying him…” (ch2.20) Soon, Gene thinks that a rivalry is happening between them. Because Gene envies Finny’s character, he thinks that Finny is also jealous of him for his good academic performance, “I felt better. Yes, I sensed it like the sweat of relief …We were even after all… The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all.”(ch4.34). By thinking there is a competition between them, Gene feels at ease, because none of them is better than the other. One night, Finny announced that Leper will jump off the tree, in order to become a full member of their secret society. Gene didn’t want to go because he feared his grade would slip if he didn’t study and also thinks that Leper wouldn’t dare to jump off the tree. After hearing from Gene that he wanted to study, Finny was surprise because he thought that Gene was naturally intelligent, who doesn’t need to review for a test. With sincerity, Finny lets Gene study, but Gene changed his mind and would come along with Finny. On the way to the tree,Gene realizes that a competition never happened and it was just Gene that was envious of Finny. Because Gene saw Finny's goodness and innocence, Gene realizes a rivalry with Finny will never occur. Gene began…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gene's War In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gene's War In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    He was fighting his savage heart and his jealousy and hatred towards Finny. Gene had to face the fact that he had purposely injured Finny even though Finny had not done anything wrong. Gene fought himself while debating if he should enlist or if he should stay at Devon School. His fear for losing and being looked down upon was another major enemy in Gene’s life at school.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Correlation Of Friendship Between Gene And Finny In A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Correlation Of Friendship Between Gene And Finny In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, he plagues the friendship of Gene and Finny with competition. Through the glimpses of Gene’s memory, Knowles shows the intertwining of competiveness and friendship because of jealously and envy. In several episodes of Gene’s memory, like Finny and Gene’s arguments, the winter carnival, and the trial, Knowles expresses the difficulty of separating friendship from competitiveness. Throughout John Knowles’ novel, the friendship between Finny and Gene is jeopardized by their constant want to be better than the other, through competition.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    War And Rivalry In A Separate Peace
    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    War And Rivalry In A Separate Peace

    In the nonfiction novel "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, there are many themes. One theme that appears in every chapter is "war and rivalry". The novel "A Separate Peace" presents many examples of the theme "war and rivalry" like World War 2, enlisting for the war, and Gene and Finny's egos.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jealousy In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'
    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jealousy In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

    In the book, A Separate Peace, the main relationship of the novel is between the very charismatic, and humble Phineas (or Finny for short), and the jealous, overachiever, Gene. The book is mostly set at a boarding school named Devon, there he meets many friends including Finny, who which he becomes good friends with, and even creates a club with. There Friendship can be described with the quote, “Never waste jealousy on a real man: it is the imaginary man that supplants us all in the long run.” , which was said by William Shakespeare. When compared to the relationship between the two friends, it means that you should not be jealous of those who you trust, for your perception of them will become tainted. This happens quite a bit during the…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    Gene Forrester is a high school boy who goes through a war with jealousy. Jealousy, according to Wikipedia, is mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness. Through the the novel "A Separate peace" by John Knowles, Gene meets Phineas who is going to be one of his best friends. This boy will not only start a war that gene will be fighting with himself, he will also stop it and free him of it. Gene starts a love hate relationship with Finny ( short for Phineas) with the hat gearing more toward jealousy. Finny Is good at sports and always gets away with things. Finny was always around gene and his smile never faded, he was good at making Gene feel like a brother to him, if not a great friend.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis
    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

    After reading “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles, I have come to believe the central idea would be to speculate before you do, and the coming of age. Gene was always jealous of Finny, because Gene felt inferior to Finny. This led to Gene doing something horrific, without even thinking what…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis
    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis

    “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out” (Walter Winchell). This quote is portrayed in the book of A Separate Peace through the characters of Gene and Phineas. Friendship is a common theme in the book of A Separate Peace. It causes conflict between characters and it also causes characters to change as a person throughout the book. Gene is the narrator of the book and he causes many conflicts with his best friend, Phineas or commonly called Finny, and also changes as a person throughout these conflicts. Over the course of the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester changes as a person due to certain thoughts, actions, and feelings; he influences relationships with people in a negative way, and teaches the importance of not being jealous towards others.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Separate Peace Dialectical Journal
    • 6349 Words
    • 26 Pages

    A Separate Peace Dialectical Journal

    | Gene is in denial attempting to make himself less guilty. He persuades his own conscious that jealousy towards his best friend is…

    • 6349 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis
    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis

    "A Separate Peace" takes place during World War II in 1943, a time of great uncertainty and changing lifestyles but the danger of this war never really seems to come near Devon. So does this terrible environment and events affect the characters of a Separate Peace or just provide a safe and surreal environment for the characters? The war in a Separate Peace may not directly affect the characters for the majority of the novel but we see its affects on the characters actions indirectly and it ends up greatly affecting the final outcome of the novel. The war also changes the characteristics and attitudes of certain characters of the novel, causing them to adapt and change to create a sort of defense against the impending threat of enlistment in…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace: the Price of Jealousy
    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Separate Peace: the Price of Jealousy

    my studies” (45). Gene’s insecurity was the cause of Finny’s accident and Finny’s death, and as a result, Gene’s sense of peace. He no longer lived in anyone’s shadow, and was able to make peace with himself. At the conclusion of the novel, Gene states, “I never killed anyone and I never developed an intense hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed by enemy there” (196). The basic concept of…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More