ipl-logo

Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

1304 Words6 Pages

Peace, a noun. freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility or freedom from war or violence. The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles is set during World War Two. The world was captured in the most violent conflict, but several school boys in New Hampshire find a way to grow and develop. The book’s protagonist Gene Forrester develops in a normal way that is separate but affected by the war. Gene transitions from uncertainty through tough, questioning periods of self doubt to ultimately realize who he is and what he means. Three experiences shape Gene in the novel, Challenges of his might and will, Tribulations of great fear and affairs of Self-Realization that ties all three together. In the novel A Separate Peace, Gene Forrester is …show more content…

Gene in the second part of the book comes to terms with reality, or his distorted version and begins to try and correct it. He becomes more and more suspicious of Finny, wondering about their friendship: “Then a second realization broke as clearly and bleakly as dawn at the beach. Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies”.(24). Gene begins to examine and analyze his relationship with his friend. Gene matures when he asserts these ideas. Confirming them in his head that in fact Finny is an enemy. Though he keeps these ideas latent and to himself, he understands that Finny is not his friend. This realization clearly defines Gene opposing Finny as a person and a schoolmate. Gene eventually galvanized his ideas and acted: “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him [Finny], and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb”.(28). Finny was the only competition that angered Gene, and that he could not get away from. Gene decides to hurt Finny, demonstrating to himself that he does not care for Finny. He separates himself from Finny and now shows himself his true intentions. Gene ultimately discovers the darker, macabre side of himself that shows no remorse for ending the dreams of a classmate. He does not even come to his aid as he falls: “Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest”.(25). Gene in fact wanted to hurt his enemy, and reinforces his thoughts. He bears no qualms about the incident and becomes more sure of himself because of it “With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten”.(25) Gene knows he has destroyed his enemy. He evolves into sureness and calmness after the incident knowing he faces no competition. Gene now has only himself now, without Finny there is no fear. In all events Gene was scared. He was scared for the

Show More
Related
350 Words | 2 Pages

The boys in the Butt Room react to Brinker’s accusation as a joke, and playfully accuse Gene of his attempt to purposely hurt Finny and knock him out of the tree. The boys start to question gene of what happened during the time of the fall, and if he was the one who purposely caused Finny to lose his balance. The reason Gene is to play along and make up a story about his attempt to murder Finny was to hide the truth of his actions and to keep them from finding out “ Oh, you know about the tree, I tried to let my face fall guilty, but I felt instead as though it were being dragged toward. Yes, huh, yes there was a small, a little contretemps at the tree” (Knowles 90).

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

Through the thoughts and actions that Gene chooses to show in his flashback, this paper will draw the conclusion that Gene’s war with Finny was made up in his head in order to give himself a solid enemy to defeat. Because of this, he contributed to, if not caused, Finny’s injury. Once solidified, the concrete theory will allow a reader to more profoundly understand the incidents leading up to Finny’s “fall” off the tree limb and why this explains the ending of the book and Gene as a whole. Gene’s jealousy of Finny is evident in Gene’s reactions to Finny’s accomplishments. Finny is a natural athlete who performs exceptionally in school sports.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

Self-regarding and immaturely, this leads Gene to resent Finny for “…the deadly rivalry…” between them (46). Rashly, Gene assumes Finny keeps trying to cause him to fail his studies by encouraging him to jump off the tree limb or cut school to go to the beach. This seems to be true to Gene because anyone encouraging him to disobey the rules must wish him

Read More
2235 Words | 9 Pages

In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, Finny stays at home for a short time while the winter session at the Devon school begins. New characters are introduced into the novel, helping to provoke Gene as he is trying to figure out who he is as a person. Brinker Hadley is one of the new characters who is smart and well put together despite his age. Brinker is more focused on politics and government issues rather than sports. Brinker is is six feet tall

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

Gene’s relationship with his “best friend” Phineas describes how the relationship resulted in the killing of Gene's enemy, his own youth, and innocence. Gene is plainly described in the novel as envious of Finny, he is also depicted as the position of much hatred and dismay by his peers. Therefore, the fact that Gene kills his own youth is likely considering Finny’s success, Gene’s jealousy towards

Read More
1022 Words | 5 Pages

He feels guilty and he knows now that all along, Finny was never trying to sabaoage anything for Gene. He was trying to have fun and be a good friend. Now, Gene wants to do everything he can to be there for Finny, not only to help him, but to be his friend. They both needed each other at this

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

Creating these fake enemies affected his life throughout the story in a bad way. It caused him to live a life where he won’t accept reality. In the very end of chapter four you can tell Gene has developed hatred towards Finny. Gene believed that Finny was a rival towards him, Gene thinks he is not his friend. When Finny took

Read More
1239 Words | 5 Pages

In other words, for a brief moment, Gene felt relief from his guilt and loses his identity. He was physically trying to become Finny by trying to look like him. Another aspect that effects finding Gene’s identity

Read More
1701 Words | 7 Pages

Gene believes that Finny and he hate each other, until he realizes Finny’s pureness, which Gene can not stand. At first, Gene believes that Finny wants to exceed him, and that the two are rivals. Everyone at Devon likes Finny. The teachers adore him, the students look up to him, the athletes aspire

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Gene wanted Finny to get in trouble for what Finny had did, which had worn his tie as a belt. He hated that Finny got away with almost anything that he did wrong and wanted to go down someday. Another way their relationship is affected is through Gene’s lack of self-finding and liking. Gene hated that he never was like Finny, so he started to acting and do things that Finny did. That caused a lot of jealousy, guilt, and self-destruction from throughout the relationship that Gene and Finny had.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

One way their relationship is affected when Gene no longer trusts Finny .Gene remarked, “There was a swift chain of explosions in my brain, one certainty after another blasted- up like a denotation went the idea of any best friend, up went affection and partnership and sticking by someone absolutely in the jungle of boy’s school, up went the hope that there was anyone in school- in this world whom I could trust” (Knowles 28).Gene does not trust Finny because he thinks Finny is set out to destroy him and his studies. Gene is smart and has the chance of being top of his class, but he feels Finny do not want him to succeed. Another way Finny and Gene’s relationship is affected is when Gene jounced the tree causing Finny’s accident and lies but get caught in the process. Leper comments, “One of them was next to the trunk, holding the trunk of the tree. I’ll never forget that because the tree was a huge black shape too, and his hand touching the black trunk anchored him, if you see what I mean, to something solid in all the bright fire they were standing in up there .And

Read More
1155 Words | 5 Pages

The fictional novel A separate peace by John Knowles conveys the characteristics of the narrator through the shifts of the setting. Throughout the text, the narrator displays a lack of independence and leadership. The butt room,the tree,and time period are settings that reveal the characteristics of the narrator. Throughout the butt room, Gene revealed characteristics of denial. The Butt room was not only the dungeon, but it was the place where Gene was sent for confession.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

Finny used to ask Gene to go and do other things instead of studying. Gene normally did what Finny asked. Gene decided that Finny was trying to hurt him when they story states, “Suddenly he turned his fire against me, he betrayed several of his other friends,” and he was doing things on his own (102). The second stage of Finny and Gene’s friendship is betrayal and guilt.

Read More
889 Words | 4 Pages

Emotions were one of their biggest repelling forces in their relationship. Emotions such as jealousy tears at Gene and Finny’s relationship. Gene’s inability to cope with his envy and their lack to share emotions between one another fuels Gene’s anger towards Finny. His anger eventually leads himself to crazy conclusions and ultimately the death of his best friend. A few chapters in, right before the exams, Gene thinks that Finny is “deliberately sett[ing] out to wreck [his] studies” by distracting him with things like “blitzball”(45).

Read More
1024 Words | 5 Pages

The main purpose Gene had in the novel was to beat his fellow 's students, he went to extreme lengths to become the best. “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance was gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest…” (page 59-60). Gene and his jealousy towards Finny overtook Gene and he jolted Finny off the branch resulting in him breaking his leg and not being able to play sports.

Read More

More about Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

Related Topics

Open Document