A Separate Peace Phineas Character Traits

A Separate Peace is a novel, written by John Knowles, about a very quiet and cautious boy named Gene and his persuasive and daring friend, Phineas. It takes place at the Devon School during World War II. The story is told by Gene in a flashback, after he returns to the school 15 years later. Phineas is very easy going. He is unpredictable and lives in the moment. He doesn’t always consider the consequence of things. Even when he does things that could get him in trouble, he is able to talk himself out of it. For example, when Finny explained to Mr. Prud’homme why they missed a meal, he was able to get them out of trouble. He explained why they had jumped out the tree only seniors jump from, “We had to do that, naturally, because we’re all

He is also able to persuade people very easily. He was able to convince Gene to jump out of the tree very easily. I think people follow Finny. He is a natural leader. He doesn’t think much of school either. He didn’t realize that Gene needed to study to get good grades. Phineas is impulsive, he doesn’t always use his brain. Three traits I would use to describe Phineas are unpredictable, persuasive, and a leader. Gene is a follower. He never really speaks out on what he wants to do. He tends to just follow Phineas. Sometimes he doesn’t like the risky situations Phineas puts him in. For example when Gene was about to jump from the tree, he started to have second thoughts. “What was I doing up here anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold on me?. Gene didn’t really want to jump from the tree. He would've preferred to stay safe. Gene liked to focus on his school work. When he realized Phineas was keeping him from studying, he got upset. “Then a second realization broke as clearly and bleakly as dawn at the beach. Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explains blitzball, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions.” I think Gene was beginning to overthink everything. He found himself getting jealous of Phineas so he needed a reason to be upset with him. Three traits I would use to describe Gene