Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

Gene’s Transformation From a Paranoid Boy to a Peaceful Man In John Knowles’s novel, A Separate Peace, Gene Forrester was faced with a challenge as he feared his best frenemy, Phineas. Phineas, otherwise known as Finny, acquired the traits of a handsome, charismatic athlete while Gene remained an observant, brainy introvert. The two teenage boys attended Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II. Although Phineas considered Gene his best friend, Gene saw Finny as a threat. Gene suspected Finny of trying to distract him from his precious studies. Finny, a reckless dare devil, persuades Gene to join him while making a risky jump off a decrepit tree into a river. Soon enough, more boys join in and this routine turns into a club known

He expressed his satisfaction when he admitted that “[he] no longer had any hatred… [his] fury was gone, [he] felt it gone, dried up at the source, withered and lifeless” (Knowles 195). Gene’s hatred undoubtedly vanished following Phineas’ death. Although other boys and staff who attended Devon School would deem Finny’s death a tragedy, Gene would be one to consider it a blessing. Gene supported this when he claimed that “[his] war ended before [he] ever put on a uniform; [he] was on active duty all [his] time at school; [he] killed [his] enemy there” (Knowles 196). Gene compared “his war” with his one-sided battle with Finny, whom he referred to as his enemy. His personal battle with paranoia ended before his military battle commenced. He further mentioned that “everything at Devon slowly changed and slowly harmonized with what had gone before… [he] could achieve, perhaps unknowingly already had achieved, this growth and harmony [himself]” (Knowles 4). As Gene later reflected on his past, he came to the conclusion that he developed into a harmonious, trustful man. After finally outgrowing his paranoia, everything appeared more pleasing and enjoyable than it had before. Although Gene lived with a paranoid and fearful mindset for a substantial portion of the novel, he achieved true inner-peace and balance as the novel