Summary Of Separate Peace By John Knowles

Have you ever heard the saying, “envy is ignorance, limitation is suicide” written by Ralph Emerson? The novel “Separate Peace” is written by the author John Knowles. The narrator of the story is, Gene Forrester who starts as a character of genuine dedication too his best friend Finny. The novel says explains the outcome of Gene and how his envious ways affect him and his best friend relationship; Gene proves and comes to peace within himself in the end. Gene limitation of Finny is affective because he notices he does not know who he wants to be. As if he does not know his character. Which then becomes a crisis that causes insecurities. In the story “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. These was no harm in envying your best friend a little” (Knowles 11). The more that Gene justified his feelings toward Phineas the more you can tell he is ashamed of his

Due to Gene “accidentally” pushing Finny off the branch. The trust between the two had to be reconsidered. In the novel, “You always win at sports. This “you” was creative. Everyone always won at sports. When you played a game you won, in the same way as when you sat down to a meal you just ate”(Knowles 76). The relationship at this point was toxic to both Finny and Gene. The hate eventually builds up until Finny is no longer able to do for himself. “In such a nonstop game he also had the natural advantage of a flow of energy which I never saw interrupted. I never saw him tired” (Knowles 77).Gene sees that Finny still possess the same energy he had beforehand. The reason behind Gene’s deepest envy of Phineas is not his accomplishments not his charm, it was his