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The Separate Peace Identity Analysis

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"Who am I?" One of the main themes in The Separate Peace is the search to find true identity. Sometime in life we will all try to answer the question "Who am I?" to determine our identity. Everyone looks for something or someone to find out who they are. Accordingly, some people think they are what they do, what they achieve, or even what others think of them. Everyone has an expectation for who he/she will become, but does that define who he/she is? Friends have a tremendous impact on our lives. Sometimes they are there to encourage us and still other times they are the very ones to break us down and leave us all alone. Gene and Finny had a love-hate relationship. Gene was constantly trying to change the way people saw him in order …show more content…

Continuously, Gene tried to find who he was in what he could do and in his accomplishments. Gene saw Finny's accomplishments and skills and he wanted to have what he had. He desired to be known for being great at something because he thought that was where part of his identity came from. Gene always looked up to his best friend, Finny, and his many athletic accomplishments and his popularity. He wanted to be just like him. Somehow, he thought that being better than Finny at something would give him an advantage over him. Since Finny was the best in athletics, Gene strived to be at the top of the class in school. Being good at something boosted his confidence and gave him more …show more content…

In order to find your true identity you have to open the ultimate Truth, God's Word. His Word tells us that we are children of God, a brand new creation in Him, a masterpiece, restored, and made right through Him. 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." So, who are you? And where do you find your identity? Everyone's asking the same question and looking for the same answer. How you answer this question, as can be seen through The Separate Peace, is how you will approach life. The only way to find the true answer is through the Truth that God has given us. As believers, we know that our true identity is found in Jesus Christ and God's Word. Galatians 3:26 tells us, "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through

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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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700 Words | 3 Pages

Knock him down!”. This continuous targeting of Gene, mainly by Finny, makes it sensible that Gene would become reliant/revengeful. Therefore, if Gene were to dangerously act upon his emotions, he would kill his own

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711 Words | 3 Pages

“A Separate Peace” portrays how Gene’s envy and imitation affects himself, his relationship with Finny, and how he finds his peace, or lack thereof, at the end of the book. Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affects him in many ways. He starts to believe he was meant to become a part of Finny. After Finny broke his leg from falling out of a tree, he tells Gene that he must play sports for him. Gene then thinks to himself “and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become part of Phineas,” (Knowles 85).

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822 Words | 4 Pages

He is basically, through rhetorical questions, saying that he does not want to do what Finny does, but it’s like he cannot help it. This is affecting who Gene is as a person because he is not thinking for himself. Is Gene really even himself if Finny is doing the thinking for him? If he is not thinking for himself, he is not being true to himself. Another way that Gene is affected is that he allows his imitation of Finny get in the way of his schooling.

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704 Words | 3 Pages

Someone 's identity defines who they are. There are no two identities that are the same. , Everyone is unique in different ways. Finding oneself may take time and might not be exactly what you are expecting. In the novel “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli, the protagonist Jack assumes many identities but ultimately does not know who he is.

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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).

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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.

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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).

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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

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Guilt is a funny concept, that has a different affects on different people. Guilt can cause some to confess and it releases the burden, but for those who take long to confess, it can turn into a negative reaction that can cripple your emotions. A Separate Peace is set in a boarding school in New England. Gene, a main character, is an incisive introvert whose best friend, Phineas, is a handsome athlete. When an accident occurs over the Summer, that leaves Gene and Finny hurt in some way, what comes next could take a toll on their friendship.

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1268 Words | 6 Pages

Because Finny refused to tell anyone, but Gene, about his record-breaking achievement, Gene is baffled as to why Finny would not want to. It seems as though Gene is imagining himself in Finny’s shoes as he mentions, “Was he trying to impress me or something? Not tell anybody? When he had broken a school record without a day of practice? I

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1178 Words | 5 Pages

By this action, Gene realized his immaturity, which helped him make wiser decisions. This not only introduced him to adulthood but also to responsibilities. But the greatest moment that gave Gene maturity was when he realized that his decisions and his immaturity caused Finny's death. Sometimes realizing your own mistakes is what causes the most change within you. “Levels of reality I had never suspected before, a kind of thronging and epic grandeur which my superficial eyes and cluttered mind had been blind to before.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

In John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace Identity is shown as what defines us and makes us be placed in other peoples perspectives. An author can use identity to place characters in the readers mind to portray them a certain way, just as John Knowles did in A Separate peace. An identity can be defined as who a person is inside and out.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

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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1024 Words | 5 Pages

Therefore, Gene always tried to make Finny jealous and that pushed him to hurt him in the

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