Thematic Connection

A Separate Peace is a book by John Knowles about 2 boys named Gene and Finny who are both very different and very similar. They both relate to each other in different ways and can be identified by how closely connected they are. John Knowles uses their connections to display an overall pessimistic view on human nature throughout the book. He can show it through Finny’s actions and thoughts throughout the book, the overall tone and mood of the book, and by how he ends the book. Finny’s actions throughout the book are a great example of John Knowles pessimistic view of human nature.

I feel as though Gene cries for Finny because

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

John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, reveals the many dangers and hardships of adolescence. The main characters, Gene, and Finny, spend their summer together at a boarding school called Devon. The two boys, do everything together, until Gene, the main character, develops a resentful hatred toward his friend Finny. Gene becomes extremely jealous and envious of Finny, which fuels this resentment, and eventually turns deadly. Knowles presents a look at the darker side of adolescence, showing jealousy’s disastrous effects. Gene’s envious thoughts and jealous nature, create an internal enemy, that he must fight. A liberal humanistic critique reveals that Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, has a self contained meaning, expresses the

A Separate Peace is a short novel about a group of high school boys that live during world war two but this story has deeper more complex meaning then that can be seen from the surface. In disguise of a “coming of age” story this novel contains very familiar biblical connections. These connections include the trial of Jesus, the fall of man from perfection, and the story of Cain and Abel. Knowles novel A Separate Peace contains biblical allegories, that become evident under a close examination.

He no longer cared about his grades, and his personality went from introvert to very outspoken. His negative trait carries on throughout the whole book, but the underlying competition between him and Phineas lived on. When Phineas died, Gene’s negativity and hostile actions almost dissipated on the spot. “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.” If Gene did in some way become a part of Phineas, then part of Finny lives on in Gene. The narrator alludes to this when he says that he still lives his life in Finny’s created “atmosphere.”

A Separate Peace is a World War II setting book written by the author, John Knowles. A Separate Peace is an example of a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age  novel. One of the main characters, Gene Forrester, is a perfect example of someone who is coming-of-age. As the  novel progresses, Gene  is transformed and impacted by many different experiences during his time at Devon High School.  In the book, A Separate Peace, Gene  becomes mature from his experiences from Finny’s death and Training for the Olympics; He also loses his innocence, and this teaches the reader about growing up and the idea of losing innocence.

Only at the end of the book, Gene feels devastated and is unbelievably grievous, “I did not cry then or ever about Finny... I could not escape the that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case” (Knowles 194).

Emotions can drive people to act in ways they never imagined. The characters in John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, constantly fall victim to their emotions and often make decisions based off of them. A Separate Peace takes place during World War 2 at an all-boys private boarding school in New Hampshire. The plot follows the life of Gene Forrester in his senior year at the school, and how he faces the competition of school and the war at the same time. In this novel, Gene constantly competes with his best friend Phineas, better known as Finny, however the competition appears as one sided and takes a toll on their friendship.

A Separate Peace questions morals in friendships and how friendships survive through tough times. In the book, Gene and Finny have many disagreements, but most of them are between a character and the idea of the other character. They keep trying to make the best out of their situations, yet sometimes their

Finny's death causes the greatest maturity growth in Gene's character. After Finny dies, he realized how his own hatred caused the death of his best friend. "He came to understand Finny's innocence and purity which causes Gene to see flaws within himself and forces him to grow up" (Alton 1). Being able to admit your own flaws is critical in maturing. When Gene finally sees his impact of immature behavior, he realizes how much he needs to mature. Even though Finny is physically gone, his spirit remains with Gene and essentially makes him the adult that he grows up to be. Finny's death is a crucial part of Gene's coming of age. When Finny dies, Gene's immature behaviors also die. Because Gene's hatred was gone, he entered war as a man.

John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is about a few boys at a boarding school in New Hampshire. The story is centered around the friendship of two boys, Gene and Finny, at a boarding school in New Hampshire. Although in the beginning of their friendship Gene did not trust Finny, by the time he dies Gene feels as if a part of him has died, showing that he still felt closely bonded to him after all they had been through.

Throughout the story Finny thinks him and Gene are friends; when they are really enemies. In the novel Gene says, “what was I doing up here anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me?” (Knowles 5). The narrator’s jealousy, starts to grow more towards the other character. The hate Gene has for Finny builds up and eventually leads to his death. Their relationship got more affected when Gene admitted to causing the accident, and caused Finny to never play sports again. When Gene admits to hurting Finny, it changes both of the characters, and their friendship was hanging by a

A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a seemingly simple yet heartbreaking story that gives the reader an inside look and analysis of the reality of human nature. Set permanently in the main character Gene’s point of view, the audience is first taken to the present of a reflective and now wise man (Gene) and then plunged into his past back in 1942 to relive the harsh lessons that youth brought him. Along with vivid imagery of tranquil days past, a view into the social construct of a boy’s private school, Devon, and the looming presence of World War 2 on the horizon, there is also a significant power struggle that the reader can observe almost instantly. Conquering the need to be supreme in the situations of the war, high school, social interactions, and even simple moments that

A Separate Peace A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles is based on two boys, Gene and Phineas who are best friends in the setting of New England during the tragic years of the start of World War II. During their sudden yet stumbling adolescence, the two young men end up finding their way into adulthood quicker than they think, and it leaves a good and bad mark on the two boys friendship, which makes a life learning toll for both of them. In this novel the author: Knowles writes and shows many ways of symbolism, by just explaining this story of gene the quiet, lonely one. And the companion; Phineas who is a handsome daredevil, along being an outstanding athlete.