A Separate Peace Critical Analysis

Ralph Emerson once said,” Envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide” (370). In the novel, A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles readers are taken on a journey about a young boy named Gene Forrester who struggles finding himself. Gene faces these obstacles because he is determined to be his best friend, Finny in every aspect. The novel demonstrates how Gene finds that there is no separate peace after a challenging period at Devon, where he grows from a boy to a young man ready for war. In the novel readers see countless times where Gene conforms for Finny and by doing this Gene starts envying and imitating Finny. One way Gene is affected is when Finny persuades him to take a trip to the beach instead of studying for a math test.

Gene is already upset over Finny keeping his distance but now that he caused Finny to fall a second time which leads to his death he is broken. During the trial Finny yell at Brinker then abruptly leave, rushing down the stairs, he falls which everyone hears from the courtroom (John Knowles). After the second fall Finny is taken to a different area which Gene Finds. Finny forgives Gene then, he dies due to bone marrow going into the blood stream. Gene cannot forgive himself even though Finny forgave him. Another reason readers know Gene has no peace after Finny’s death is that he visits the two places Finny fell Fifteen years later. The older Gene says, “Both were fearful sites, and that was why I wanted to see them… Long white marble flight of stairs… The tree” (Knowles 10-14). Even after all the time he still cannot forgive himself. The envy, took over Gene and Gene realizes later that all of the incidents with Finny could have been avoided. Gene’s greed took over him, now Gene will try his hardest to relieve some of the pain of losing his best friend, knowing he is the culprit. Gene lost his best friend, he will never Forgive himself, never will find