ipl-logo

Internal Conflict In A Separate Peace

861 Words4 Pages

Sometimes internal wars can be fought just as vehemently and result in as many casualties as an external war. John Knowles shows us this in his novel, A Separate Peace. During the time of this story, WW2 rages on, whilst the main character, Gene Forrester, battles his own internal conflicts just as violently. From the beginning, you can see that the entire novel is revolved around the happenings of World War 2. As Gene explores his old school grounds, he reminisces on the events that happened at the tree by the creek. He recalls that “...this was the Summer Session, just established to keep up with the pace of the war...The class above, seniors, draft-bait, practically soldiers, rushed ahead of us toward the war. They were caught up …show more content…

Gene says that, “I was beginning to see that he could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him a little…” (Knowles 25). Gene then tries to justify his envious feelings towards Finny by explaining that, “There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.” However, this envy turns into more of a jealousy and Gene starts to see Finny as more of competition, rather than a friend. Everything Finny does, Genes starts to see as competition and rivalry. At one point Gene has a false realization that, “It was all cold trickery, it was all calculated, it was all enmity...We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (Knowles 54). However, Gene was wrong. He only realizes this later on when Finny is confused by Gene’s hostility towards him. After a short dispute Gene thinks to himself “Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he” (Knowles 59). He becomes aware, after some thought, that, “...I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me; there was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. And if it wasn’t there, as for example with Phineas, then I put it there myself” (Knowles 101). This unnecessary conflict causes tension and hostility between Finny and Gene, resulting in Gene knocking Finny out of the tree and breaking his

Show More
Related
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

Read More
110 Words | 1 Pages

Through these words, we know that Gene and Finny shared a close bond with each other. A little envy is not enough for someone to cause great harm to his closest

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Gene is secretly jealous of the charm that Finny possesses, and he wants something to go wrong for Finny. Throughout the novel he shows a range of emotions toward Finny and this effects their friendship. He is dynamic,

Read More
322 Words | 2 Pages

The relationship between Gene and Finny changes and evolves, influenced by actions and consequences and filtered by changing perceptions. The changes are frequently by-products of Gene's insecurity and his constant self-evaluation. At times, Gene and Finny are the best of friends, sharing adventures and feelings with complete openness and honesty. At other times, Gene considered Finny to be a rival and a detriment to Gene's ability to all that he could or hoped to accomplish at Devon. This quote helps support how their relationship.

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

A Separate Peace, Unit Test Hamza Eldohiri The story “A Separate Peace”, written by John Knowles, was written at the time and takes place during World War II when battles and conflicts amongst nations were evident. Each nation involved struggled and fought their hardest in order to satisfy the good of their nation. Not only is the setting in the story taking place during this time of quarrel, the story also demonstrates areas of self-conflict and an internal battle throughout. The characters in “A Separate Peace”, are described as experiencing this self-conflicting, internal battle. Gene (also the narrator) is specifically depicted as he goes through his battle in life.

Read More
1239 Words | 5 Pages

They are supposed to be best friends, but Gene envies him and thinks he is trying to make him look bad. After Finny’s accident, Gene struggled with guilt and his life was changed because of it. “I spent as much time as I could alone in our room, trying to empty my mind of every thought, to forget where I was, even who I was. One evening when I was dressing for dinner in this numbed frame of mind, an idea occurred to me, the first with any energy behind it since Finny fell from the tree. I decided to put on his clothes” (Knowles 29).

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
506 Words | 3 Pages

“Our minds are a battle ground between good and bad ideas; we are whatever side wins the battle” Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom. The struggle between good and evil is found universally. In the novel A Separate Peace, Gene Forrester struggles between his own inner good and evil. Gene's actions often reflect his feelings, leading him to trouble, giving the illusion that Gene is filled with more evil than good. However, Gene's goodness can be found even through dark times.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

One way Gene’s jealousy and imitation is an effect on his relationship with Finny is that it caused lots of jealousy towards Finny because of his abilities, appearance, and actions. An example of this is when Gene stated “He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it. " (Knowles).

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

He still encourages Gene to do the things that Finny no longer can because he wants to see someone else flourish, and most importantly: his friend. After Finny’s death, Gene even declares that “nothing … had broken [Finny’s] harmonious and natural unity” (Knowles 203). Since Gene exclaims this, the reader understands that Finny

Read More
1268 Words | 6 Pages

In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, the main character, Gene Forrester, undergoes a traumatic journey to develop the aspects necessary for coping through adulthood. This novel is a flashback to the year of 1942, when Gene attends his final year at Devon High School, in New Hampshire. Although Gene appears to be Finny’s best friend, he follows in Finny’s steps so that his personality clones to be like Finny’s. Finny exposes new experiences that provoke Gene’s development into adulthood. As Gene engages in new experiences, he soon realizes that he envies Finny’s abilities.

Read More
769 Words | 4 Pages

“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 thinks this after going to the beach with Finny and ruining his grade because of the lack of studying due to his time spent having fun. This is just one example of how Gene thinks there's some sort of ongoing competition between themselves, causing Gene to be extremely jealous, self concerning and over analyzing about every situation instead of just enjoying the fun the two have as Finny does. Even though Gene acts like this he is still very friendly and a good person.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

If Finny wants to jump out of a tree, Gene will jump out of a tree. If Finny wants to go to a beach, Gene goes to the beach. Finny is very good at talking around people and getting out of trouble. He does not ever get into much trouble. Their rivalry started when Gene thought that Finny was trying to sabotage his grades and his studies.

Read More
1024 Words | 5 Pages

Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he. “ (page 59). Gene wanted Finny to care about Gene and have a concern if Gene was going to beat him in sports, Gene had issues when facing Finny’s confidence.

Read More
522 Words | 3 Pages

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a fictional book about Gene Forrester, a student at Devon Private Boarding School. This story takes place during the 1940s when World War II was becoming more and more a part of daily life at Devon. The war encroaches and finally dominates the lives of the boys at Devon. Starting with the boys shoveling snow off of the train tracks, then their friend, Leper, enlists, and finally troops get permanently stationed at Devon.

Read More

More about Internal Conflict In A Separate Peace

Related Topics

Open Document