A Separate Peace Growing Up Essay
Growing Up The process of growing up is a bittersweet process that everyone has to go through. The many layers that are within that process can affect, not only your appearance, but also your mentality and how you see yourself as a person. In Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, the main characters, Gene Forrester and Finny, learn how to compliment each other throughout their friendship during their process of growing up. Their friendship and bond grows immensely, but more importantly, both boys learn self acceptance and strive to find out their purpose on this earth before their last years of childhood diminish. The three most prominent themes in A Separate Peace include love and sacrifice, self acceptance, and loss of innocence. All
…show more content…
For example, Leper instantly gives up his innocence when he makes a decision to enlist in the war. The effects of the war left Leper psycho and a changed person. After seeing all the tragic deaths and tribulations throughout the war, it is hard to see the word as a promising and meaningful place. On the other hand, Finny never fully lost his innocence, but gained experience throughout his life and applied it to improve himself. Especially when Finny made up his theory about the war being fake, it delayed his process of growing up and losing his innocence. After Finny realized what the war is doing to Leper, he came to the realization that the war is happening and he could not delay it any further. Even if his leg prevented him from joining the war, he will have to watch his friends take a step into adulthood with the possibility of leaving him behind. Gene’s loss of innocence slowly fades away throughout the book, but completely vanishes after Finny’s death. Gene finally found himself through these battles with his enemy, only to realize the only enemy he has is himself. All of the characters in A Separate Peace learn how to battle their fears and conquer their enemies, including Gene and Finny, who both have sacrificed their time and effort for each other. They have spent the last years of their childhood together as a dynamic duo.
For example, Leper instantly gives up his innocence when he makes a decision to enlist in the war. The effects of the war left Leper psycho and a changed person. After seeing all the tragic deaths and tribulations throughout the war, it is hard to see the word as a promising and meaningful place. On the other hand, Finny never fully lost his innocence, but gained experience throughout his life and applied it to improve himself. Especially when Finny made up his theory about the war being fake, it delayed his process of growing up and losing his innocence. After Finny realized what the war is doing to Leper, he came to the realization that the war is happening and he could not delay it any further. Even if his leg prevented him from joining the war, he will have to watch his friends take a step into adulthood with the possibility of leaving him behind. Gene’s loss of innocence slowly fades away throughout the book, but completely vanishes after Finny’s death. Gene finally found himself through these battles with his enemy, only to realize the only enemy he has is himself. All of the characters in A Separate Peace learn how to battle their fears and conquer their enemies, including Gene and Finny, who both have sacrificed their time and effort for each other. They have spent the last years of their childhood together as a dynamic duo.