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Difficulties In Friendships In A Separate Peace, By John Knowles

788 Words4 Pages

Difficulties in Friendships Gene and Phineas from A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, are best friends until they slowly realize they are not. Gene and Finny discover they secretly are not fond of each other because of Gene’s envy towards Phineas. The author uses the characters' differences and similarities throughout the novel to portray their broken relationship. Gene and Finny, being opposites, find who is the true friend from the beginning and who is only in the friendship to become the other. Gene is an intelligent, kind character at the beginning of the novel. However, as the novel progresses, he becomes bitter toward Finny. Gene begins by seeming like a good friend, but then he activates his envious side and begins to realize …show more content…

Finny and Gene are opposites in the way their brain works and the way they look but are also opposites in their respect towards authority figures. During the novel, Gene attempts to pay attention to his activities and not make any scenes, whereas, Finny is the polar opposite. Phineas pulls the attention to himself every chance he can find. He assumes he can avoid the consequences by using his own play on words to connect with the acts he does when describing them to the Headmasters. “‘Well, in case suitors begin clamoring at the door, you can tell them I’m wearing this as an emblem.’ He turned around to let me admire it. ‘I was reading in the paper that we bombed Central Europe for the first time the other day.’ Only someone who knew Phineas as well as I did could realize that he was not changing the subject.” (Knowles 25) Finny has a sly way with words, but Gene feels the need to constantly tell the truth. Slightly after Gene begins to feel guilty about shaking the tree limb, he attempts to explain his thoughts to Finny while he is in the infirmary. “‘Finny, I-; there was no controlling what I said, the words were instinctive, like the reactions of someone cornered. ‘What happened there at the tree? That goddam tree, I'm going to cut down that tree. Who cares who can jump out of it. What happened, what happened? How did you fall, how

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191 Words | 1 Pages

The friendship Gene and Finny have throughout the story slowly changes to envy that Gene portrays towards Finny as a result of his jealousy. Finny is only one of those sort of gentlemen that is extremely understood and individuals truly like. However, Finny is the kind of individual who is great at everything including sports and talking himself out of trouble. For example, Finny breaking the school swimming recorded lead to Gene being desirous. Gene predicts that Finny is attempting to show off his athletic ability.

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231 Words | 1 Pages

Finny is so hurt because he cannot believe that Gene would deliberately hurt him. Finny tells Gene that he understands that Gene acted without really thinking, and Finny forgives Gene. This shows the reader the true personality of Finny. He is kind, carefree, reckless, real, and loves unconditionally. He cannot accept that anyone close to

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871 Words | 4 Pages

John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace, uses both character development and setting to support his decision in selecting the title. He uses the main characters of Gene and Phineas (Finny) and their troubled yet deeply bonded friendship as a way to illustrate the separate peace that takes place both within the boys themselves and in the friendship that is built between the two. Knowles also uses the setting of the novel to demonstrate the vast difference between the peaceful Devon School grounds and the war raging outside of the school’s walls. The title, A Separate Peace, as chosen by the author is symbolic of the main characters, Finny and Gene’s, struggle to find peace within themselves and with each other while set in a place that significantly contrasts the events of the real world.

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998 Words | 4 Pages

Once Finny is thoroughly introduced, you begin to gain a better understanding of Gene’s feelings. Finny is perfect on paper he is athletic, naïve, charming, outgoing, the list goes on and on. He is an example of all the things Gene isn’t which makes him “competition”. In chapter 4 Gene says, “We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (54).

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507 Words | 3 Pages

Before the injury, Gene would scream at Finny,but now he feels like he owes Finny his kindness. This passive and emotional Gene is probably the greatest evidence to show that Gene is a dynamic character. Before the injury when Finny would try to explain anything Gene would reply in annoyed tone, “‘Oh, for God sake.’ I slammed close the french book”(57). After the injury however Gene felt like he constantly had a space to fill to make Phineas feel better.

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584 Words | 3 Pages

(Knowles 70).Gene’s jealousy got the best of him and he made Finny fall out of a tree and injure himself and it made them get into an argument. Gene being so jealous messed up a great relationship. Finny was never in competition but Gene was. “Phineas’ imaginary worlds create peace separate from the world at war, and he invites others, especially Gene into this peaceful sphere” (Alton). This piece of evidence explains how Gene’s envy got in control of him and that Finny never thought of their friendship as a competition.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Their relationship was affected due to FInny viewing Gene as a part of him. Knowles tells us, “ aid alone had never seemed to him in the category of help…Phineas had thought of me as an extension of himself” (Knowles 17). This shows that Phineas was close enough to Gene that any time Gene helped it was like his conscious. Gene envied Finny but later on in the novel we see the advancement of maturity in Gene. The relationship of Gene and Finny was affected by Gene conforming to Finny and Gene maturing.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

Since Finny cannot play sports anymore because of his broken leg, he tells Gene that he has to do it for him. Gene realizes that this is his destiny; to become an extension of Phineas. Another way he is affected is that he starts to lose his own ways by copying Finny. When Finny was in the hospital wing of the school, Gene put his clothes on and said “that I would never stumble through the confessions

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419 Words | 2 Pages

At the beginning of the story Gene is very envious of Finny. Gene quickly began to realize Finny’s ability to get good at everything. For example, “ I was beginning to see that phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him.

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521 Words | 3 Pages

Gene imitates Finny’s actions to keep a strong bond with him. “Otherwise I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would be terrible” (Knowles 34). Throughout the book, Gene constantly conform to Finny. This all roots from Gene’s characteristic of being easily influenced. He feels that if he does not do what his friend wants, that it could hurt their relationship.

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979 Words | 4 Pages

Gene becomes more and more jealous of Finny’s identity and therefore has to fight an internal battle against himself as his desire to be like Finny grows stronger and eventually leads to a tragedy. Gene is jealous of Finny because he can get away with anything. However, jealousy isn’t just a random feeling, it is a desire to obtain something that others have - sometimes no matter what the cost is. In the beginning of the novel, Finny decides to wear his pink shirt that his mom sent him, even though it was against school rules. Gene thinks that Finny is going to get in trouble for wearing a non-school uniform, but instead begins to understand that, “Phineas could get away with anything” (Knowles 25).

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888 Words | 4 Pages

He needed me” (Knowles 108). The evidence from this source proves that by Finny reacting the way he did once he found out about Gene’s idea, it caused a change within their relationship. Although it may seem as though it is Finny’s fault that their relationship is changing, Gene also encourages this change by acting out on his impulsive thoughts. This is due to his envy towards Finny. Another example from an online source states, “He recognizes his attraction to deadly things and, more significantly, he writes a narrative about his relationship with Phineas revealing the flaws in his own character which led to Phineas’s death” (Alton).

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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

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986 Words | 4 Pages

The Effects People Don’t See Perspective is something that many people view differently in this world, some people may never know what it's like being put through hard circumstances and different experiences. But sometimes people never get to share or tell their perspective. This is relevant to soldiers because people never see the bravery or courage it took them in war and out of war. However, Vietnam was a civil war where it came to the needs of American assistance also why it's called the “American war” Tim’ O'Brien the author of The Things They Carried is in this war physically and emotionally, the battles he and his platoon had to go through experienced many different emotions. Tim O’Brien illustrates how soldiers go through

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Finny and Gene’s Friendship Friendship is very important in this story. Friendship is very important for a person’s well-being. In this book titled A Separate Peace by John Knowles the reader learns a lot about friendship in this book.

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