Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

Patrick Rothfuss states, “When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the boys at Devon are confronted with a decision that will affect their future, whether they should enlist into the military, or wait to get drafted. Unrelated to the war, Gene is also faced with choices that will not only have an impact on him and his reputation, but also the people around him. Passing from adolescence to adulthood is a time where people change their personalities into how they want them to affect the world; identity, rivalry, and change are all elements that shape people into who they really are.
For instance, Gene makes an effort to define himself and his identity as he grows into an adult. Unlike his friends and their struggle to find themselves in relation to the war, Gene’s crisis resolves around Finny. He gradually finds himself thinking about his friend as he would himself. John Knowles states: “Phineas seemed older that morning, and leaning quietly against that great tree wrapped in his
The transition from the carefree teenage years to the realities of adult life brings to the surface the flaws of enmity and jealousy present in every person. Gene considers: “To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for -- not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. And there were few relationships among us at Devon not based on rivalry” (45). This is the starting point where Gene starts to view Finny’s actions in a different way, not as a challenge or a competition, but as a part of Finny’s personality. This causes Gene to change his attitude and see his friend in a different