A Separate Peace, a book placed at an elite all boys school during World War II. Though the resolution of A Separate Peace isn’t the typical “happy ending,” by studying the development of the plot, one can realize that this is the happiest ending possible for Gene, Finny, and Leper. Gene, Finny, and Leper got their happiest ending possible because of the war, past, and future.Gene got his happiest ending because of war because even though his friend died he still ended his war, and became the person he wanted to be from it.Finny got his happiest ending because of war when he died because even though he did die he found out the truth and got closure on his accident. Leper got his happy ending in war besides going crazy because he…
4. What does Finny say to Gene at the end of Chapter 3? “I hope you’re having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all, you can’t come to the shore with just anybody and you can’t come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life, the proper person is your best pal. Which is what you are.” (Chapter 3, page 40.)…
The novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is about two young boys attending prep school together in the early 1940’s during World War II. Gene, the main character and the narrator of the novel, is a highly intellectual, sarcastic 16-year-old who struggles throughout the book to discover his true self. Phineas, on the other hand, is athletic, careless and highly admired by his peers, and seems to get away with anything he pleases. Throughout the story the friendship between the boys strengthens, but at many times is tested by the pair’s risky feats and competitiveness.…
In the beginning of the story, Gene was jealous of his best friend. He of envious of how attractive, athletic and how Phineas can get away with anything. “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.”(Page 9 online) That feeling of jealousy soon became stronger and stronger and thinking of Phineas getting caught pleased him. “This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that.” (Pg. 10 online) This envious sensation even led to thinking Phineas was trying to ruin his grades, by distracting him, and that Phineas was jealous of Gene too. However, after confronting Phineas, Gene realizes Phineas never meant to hurt him, and that feeling made Gene want to be like Phineas. That’s exactly what happened. At first, Gene simply put on Finny’s infamous pink shirt to feel at peace, “I never forgot, and that evening I put on his cordovan shoes, his pants, and I looked for and finally found his pink shirt, neatly laundered in a drawer.” (Pg. 29 online) Later on, Gene actually became Phineas, from thinking like Phineas to feeling like Finny’s funeral was his own. “I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case. “ (Pg. 104 online) It shows the revolution of Gene’s feelings towards…
In the first chapter, Gene describes Phineas in a very descriptive yet unemotional way. Gene states, “For such an extraordinary athlete-even as a Lower Middler Phineas had been the best athlete in the school- he was not spectacularly built. He was my height- five feet eight and a half inches (I had been claiming five feet nine before he became my roommate, but he had said in public with that simple self-shocking acceptance of his, “No, you’re the same height I am, five eight and a half. Were on the short side”). He weighed a hundred fifty pounds, a galling ten pounds more than I did, which flowed from his legs to torso around shoulders to arms and full strong neck in an uninterrupted unity of strength” (16). Gene reveals his admiration for Phineas in this passage. Although this quotation seems simple and unbiased, Gene makes subtle comments that foreshadow a rivalry between the two boys. When Gene compares their height, a potential rivalry is revealed, along with Gene’s paranoia. Gene also refers to Phineas’s “shocking self-acceptance”. Gene is uncomfortable with himself and witnessing that nothing seems to phase Phineas is shocking to Gene. This realization for Gene will arose problems later in the novel.…
Robert Dallek once said, “Don’t be intimidated by people who seem to be experts. Hear their point of view and get their judgment because it is not their life that is going to be affected as much as your future”. Why is it that human beings feel intimidated by others? Everyone has their own fears and insecurities. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main character and the narrator, Gene Forrester feels a sense of inferiority to his best friend, Phineas (Finny). When an individual feels intimidated by another, they do anything within their capability in order to feel secure. An individual may search for ways to be overpower someone, try new things to fit in, and hope that the other lands in a certain predicament. People should strive to…
Gene looked up to everything Finny did. Whatever Finny did, Gene felt that he needed to follow his lead and do the same thing. Finny easily convinced Gene to jump out of the tree after diving in the water.…
Along with the ramifications society was feeling from the rations, schools were heavily affected by World War II as well. As mentioned before, women were bound to take on more responsibility due to a lack of men in the workforce. However, women could not handle all and this prompted a need for children, especially adolescent boys to increase their responsibilities (“The American Family in World War II”). Many high school aged children were forced to drop out of school and begin working. The number of teenagers employed across America increased from one million to three million in a very short period of time (“The American Family in World War II”).…
The Critical Analysis of Leper Lepellier In a time of war, people can experience a variety of posttraumatic stress disorders. Personality disorders and personality changes are among the most common. These personality changes prevent people from resuming the lives they had before the trauma caused by war. Not only is this evident among our World War II veterans, it is evident in John Knowles ' A Separate Peace. The character of Leper displays this characteristic after he leaves boot camp. In John Knowles ', A Separate Peace, the, minor character Leper, experiences a dramatic personality change, due to his traumatic experiences during World War II.…
Gene’s outlook on life changes when his friendship with Finny blossoms. Lacking confidence in himself, Gene tries to find out where he belongs, and his friendship with Finny becomes unhealthy. In addition to the friendship, Gene feels an unspoken rivalry between him and Finny. However, Gene takes offense when Finny disagrees with the existence of a rivalry. Still feeling the tension, Gene decides to jump on the branch the boys are standing on, destabilizing it and causing Finny to fall down and break his leg. In the instant after Finny falls, the rivalry fades away and is quickly replaced by guilt. After the accident, Gene realizes that he will “never stumble through the confusions of [his] own character again” (54). Gene’s identity not only defines him but also Finny, because the two grow closer after the incident. Since Finny cannot be the star athlete he used to be, Finny tells Gene to work hard to become better at athletics, and this is the start of Gene’s codependency. Every time Finny convinces Gene to become a better athlete, "[Gene loses] part of [himself] to [Phineas]… and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been [Gene’s] purpose from the first: to…
The book, A Separate Peace was written by John Knowles. It was first published in 1959. It tells the story Gene Forrester, a former student at a prep school in New Hampshire, who returns to the school after he graduates. While he is there, He remembers the summer of 1942. When he walks up to a tree by the river, he remembers his friend and roommate Phineas. Phineas was the best athlete in the entire school. From then on the story moves back to 1942 at the school named Devon. Phineas’ athleticism inspires Gene to become one of the smartest kids in the school. He starts to do well in school until he failed a test because of a trip to the beach with Phineas. When this happens, he blames Phineas for him failing. He begins to get angry with Phineas and tries to stay focused until one day when Phineas persuades Gene to go and jump from a tree into the river. Gene thinks this is just another attempt to pull him from his studies so when he and Phineas are standing on the tree limb, Gene Jounces the limb to cause Phineas to lose his balance and fall to the river bank. Phineas shatters his leg and this accident cost him his athletic career. Gene felt guilty about the incident and tries to confess to Phineas. Phineas refused to believe what happened and continued to think that it was just an accident. Once Phineas returns to the school, he convinced Gene to train for the 1944 Olympics. Gene tried to explain that this would be impossible with World War II going on so Phineas persuaded him to believe that the war is fake. Gene accepted his explanation and began to train for the Olympics. Then one day, Brinker Hadley brings the boys and some of their friends together for a mock trial to accuse Gene for being responsible for the accident. When another boy shares his view of the story saying that he saw Gene Jounce the limb, Phineas leaves the room in anger. While walking down the stairs, he fell and broke his leg again. While talking to Phineas in the hospital,…
Gene’s journey through his years at Devon shows how he matures and gains a bigger understanding of the world around him. At the beginning of the book, both Gene and Phineas were childish at the beginning of the book. For example, Phineas would wear pink clothing and a school tie as a belt to a headmaster’s gathering. “In his haste that morning Finny had not unexpected used a tie for a belt. But this morning the tie at hand had been the Devon School tie” (20). This shows a level of disrespect of self-image and school-image that usually rash, young children have. Phineas even believes that the war is just a scam made up by adults to get a profit. There’s the bad, there’s the good; just pure black and white. He was even able to rationalize this illogical belief to Gene, and Gene easily gives in. Just like how a child sticks to her favorite blanket or comforting teddy bear to protect her from the nasty in life, Phineas is Gene’s way of clinging on to a more immature view to explain life simply.…
In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles one of the main characters, Phineas experiences a loss of innocence. This loss of innocence relates to a bigger theme in the novel. This bigger theme is that you must mature and evolve or you will perish. Phineas also known as Finny is very childish and prioritizes play over work, he has trouble accepting that there is a war going on, and he denies major events such as Gene jouncing the limb. Innocence must be lost in order to mature and Finny has a brutal time doing so.…
A Separate Peace by John Knowles, is a book is about a group of friends in their high school years that are on a journey to reach manhood but have to deal with many problems on the way. The major problem is the fear of being drafted into the war. The main characters Gene and Finny are best friends but experience many issues on the way to becoming best friends. The other two kids in their group, Leper and Brinker are also facing many problems from the war. The story is a flashback with Gene narrating it, and is talking about his highschool years at the Devon School. The major thing it emphasizes is how the war completely changes the boys at Devon. Gene, Finny, and Leper pick up new characteristics as a result, that impact their lives. There are also problems like Finny breaking his leg and Leper becoming psychotic. These issues are mostly negative and make an interesting novel, with a lot of ups and downs.…
In the novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles the question is presented “what is a true friend?” The author challenges the question by manifesting two main characters, Finny and Gene, to have a type of rivalry relationship. Finny is a self-confident, outgoing, and athletic person. Awhile on the other hand Gene is quiet, competitive, and intelligent person. Gene gains jealous thoughts which in the end lead their friendship too gradually to fall apart.…