A Separate Peace By John Knowles: Character Analysis

Sometimes the most violent wars are not fought with guns on the front lines, but on the inside. John Knowles's A Separate Peace is a compelling story about friendship, betrayal, and coping with one's own shortcomings. Although the book is set during World War II, the plot focuses not on the outside, physical war, but instead on the wars that people create for themselves and, often times, within themselves. Gene Forrester, the novel's main character, faced this challenge, fighting to overcome his inner enemy, and often seemed to be evil to the core. However, in A Separate Peace, Gene was clearly not inherently evil because he felt guilty, apologized to Finny, and displayed pity and compassion.

Due to the severity of the break in Finny’s leg, he is no longer able to play sports but instead trains Gene to be the best athlete as possible. At the end of Finny’s funeral Gene reflects; “I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not 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”(194). Finny and Gene spent so much time together before Finny’s passing that part of Finny now lives inside of Gene.

Additionally, Gene does love Finny, and he has to live with knowing that he caused Finny’s injury. He tries to cope by doing all the things that Finny wants such as

A Separate Peace “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide” (Emerson 370). The author John Knowles, goes back to his old high school in Devon, New Hemisphere to find his peace. Gene’s characteristics in the novel shows that he is jealous, smart and conformed. A Separate Peace demonstrates how Gene’s jealously affects him, affects his friend and helps him find his peace. Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affects him.

In life, humans go through a point in their life where they struggle or have to fight for something; Whether it be fighting for money, food, shelter,a special someone or life. In John Knowles's novel, A Separate Peace, he quotes for Gene, “...my war ended before I even put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.” As you continue to read on, although it was caused by Finny...unintentionally. You’ll realize that Gene’s enemy was his insecurities, his feelings, …. maybe even himself.

“A Separate Peace,” by John Knowles focuses Gene and Finny’s friendship throughout the story. Any friendship is difficult to maintain and goes through many different phases. Separate feelings at the title of the story suggest their friendship has ups and downs. It goes into the idea of how people are not the same. Neither character has an understanding of who they are and how their actions and thoughts can affect people around them. This lack of understanding of oneself eventually causes the destruction of their relationship.

Gene combats his jealousy of Finny in a large inner war. He is jealous of Finny’s loving nature and athleticism. Gene jealousy leads him to conclude that Finny is trying to sabotage him so Finny could be better than Gene. As Gene develops more jealousy, it leads him to think that Finny secretly hates him. ”Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies.....We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (45). He can’t stand this thought and he makes a plan to get even with him by being the top student in class. His jealousy leads him to have a drive to get even and then eventually beat Finny. Gene was jealous of Finny, but he realized it was only on his side. He learns that Finny was never trying to sabotage him

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.

Friendships are like those fragile glass ornaments that come out for Christmas. They’re beautiful, until someone does something to damage it. Gene and Finny’s friendship is the same. Its great, until Gene’s mind comes along to ruin it. His jealousy gets in the way of him being able to appreciate Finny’s friendliness towards him.

John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” takes place at a boarding school during World War II. Best friends Gene and Finny have been inseparable during their time at the Devon School. This is until reality hits Gene, and he slowly starts to realize that he is inferior to his best friend. Through the unbalanced friendship between two teenagers in “A Separate Peace,” Knowles illustrates that a loss of identity may be present in a relationship if there is an unequal amount of power.

Finny dies and Gene is left alone and a separate piece from Finny. However he is still thriving to disconnect a few connecting strings that still remain linking the two. Gene never cries for Finny. It could be because he fells dead himself. “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” (194). This lonesomeness is a new concept for Gene and he is now faced with the challenge of finding

Second, the injury puts Finny in the hospital, separating the two, which cause Gene to suffer depression. As Finny is badly wounded, he has to leave his boarding school, Devon, for a long period of time. He spends his time in the hospital, away from Gene. FurthermoreThis makes Gene regret his decision even more. Not only are Gene and Finny physically separated, but also emotionally separated. Essentially, Gene loses his

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that intimidation is suicide…” (Emerson 370). A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, takes place at Devon, a preparatory school in New Hampshire, during the 1940’s. Gene Forrester is a student at Devon and drives much of the story’s plot through his intimidation of his best friend Finny. A Separate Peace not only shows how Gene’s envy and intimidation of Finny affected him and his friendship with Finny, but it also shows Gene’s failure in achieving true peace.

Some friendships last forever and others do not but in the novel, A Separate Peace (1959) by John Knowles, displays a different kind of friendship. The reader throughout this novel was very entertained. This novel takes place at the Devon Preparatory School in the years of 1942-1943.

He suspects that Finny also envies him, academically in return. While on the other hand Finny thinks the opposite, he wishes for Gene’s success and cares for him. Gene gets so jealous of Finny that he hurts him which he covered up as an “accident”. He did this to cause Finny to stoop to his level and this turns into a serious problem as this could majorly