Buddha, founder of one of the world’s most renowned religions, simply and elegantly stated, “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves” (np). This quote encompasses one of the central themes in the book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. This award winning author challenges the idea of inner wars and addresses the notion in a compelling and satisfying method. Although Knowles’ book takes place during wartime, not a single shot is fired, and nobody dies in battle in this story. Instead, he focuses on inner wars within the human heart that we all face: jealousy, loss of self worth, and the transformation from adolescence into adulthood. According to the author, …show more content…
Finny’s behavior is unlike Gene’s quiet, intellectual ways. As Gene later states, “He could shine at many other things, with people for instance, the others in our dormitory, the faculty; in fact, if you stopped to think about it, Finny could shine with everyone, he attracted everyone he met” (32). This shows how Gene slowly becomes conscious of his resentment and envy towards his best friend. During the summer of 1942, Finny invites Gene to come with him to a beach that is hours away from Devon. After the trip, Gene fails a math test due to his lack of studying, and he believes that Finny had deliberately planned their venture to the beach with the intention of causing him to languish in his studies. Gene later realizes that Finny had no such intentions, thus ending any perceived jealousy between the friends. Jealousy is an inner war we all face, but we must learn to take control of our feelings and actions as Gene …show more content…
Once Gene realizes that he has made a terrible mistake of accusing Finny for trying to hurt his academic standing, they decide to continue their tradition of jumping off a tree known for its notoriety. Gene accidentally shakes a branch, causing Finny to fall and shatter his leg. Gene feels a loss of self worth and is overcome with guilt pangs. He feels that he should have been in Finny’s place and taken the fall. This can be seen when Gene starts to wear Finny’s clothes in order to be a part of him. In the following quote, Finny states, “‘Listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you're going to play them for me,”’ 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 a part of Phineas” (77). The act of putting on Finny’s clothes, and staring at himself in the mirror longingly symbolizes his desire to become a part of Finny. Another example of Gene losing himself to Finny can be seen when Finny admits that he cannot play sports anymore. Gene must participate on his behalf, thus beginning his training for the 1944 Olympics. Because of Gene’s adoration for Finny, he obliges and yet loses another part of himself to his best friend. An important message that we must all learn from Gene is that we should respect ourselves and not change who we are for
Rivalry and Its Positive Impact on Personal Growth Rivalry in all of its forms contributes to personal growth, even in extreme cases where the opposing party is debilitated or annihilated, where the consequences force the remaining party to overcome this loss and continue to adapt to the situation. Using the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles as the basis for the argument, Gene, the arguable antagonist is molded from an innocent schoolboy to an individual that begins to view the world outside of the confines of his academy of study. Starting from the beginning, Gene had misinterpreted his best friend, Finny’s friendly intentions as attempting to undermine him and begins this one-sided rivalry. Recognizing that he could not beat Finny in the realm of athletics, Gene seeks to improve his school marks, and raise himself up on a pillar of his own
A separate peace by John Knowles is book that takes place at a boarding school and a big part of it is looking at how tragedy can change a characters personality. Gene Forrester the protagonist and narrator of the novel is a great example of this. At the beginning of the book he is envious of his best friend Phineas and will do anything to be the best, but as the book goes on and tragedy strikes all he feels is guilt. Before the tragedy of Finny breaking his leg gene is envious of him.
After Finny’s leg is broken and he is in the hospital Gene comes over and they are talking about how Finny could have fallen. Finny considered that it could have been Gene’s fault but thinks he is crazy for thinking that. The people at school don't suspect a thing and think that Gene was just a bystander. Gene and Finny’s relationship isn't real but Finny thinks it is and doesn't think that Gene is bad at all or that he is jealous of him.
Gene breaks that vow when he causes Finny's fall that results in life altering injuries “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the
Gene Forrester’s Character Development The quote “Envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide,” (Emerson 370) accurately describes Gene Forrester from “A Separate Peace”. John Knowles is the author of “A Separate Peace” and it is set in New Hampshire at Devon High. Gene Forrester is not your normal protagonist; he thinks his best friend Phineas is “out to get him” and he eventually grows to envy him. He used to conform to Finny in the beginning, but he later grows into his own character.
Gene first begins with a simple jealousy for his friend. That jealousy leads him to yearn to become like Finny, which in Gene’s eyes is considered godlike. Later, Gene’s desire becomes so strong that he ruins Finny’s life in order to take his identity, but at the end realizes, that he destroyed Finny’s life for nothing. Therefore, beware of desires, since they could lead to catastrophic events that might change the life of everyone
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
Part of friendship consists of accepting a friend's shortcomings. This theme, generally associated with A Separate Peace, means that friends should embrace each other's imperfections. Some people seem perfect with no flaws at all while others seem hopelessly imperfect with many flaws, but the truth is everyone makes mistakes. Friends should accept each other's shortcomings because unrealistic expectations can damage a relationship. In A Separate Peace, both Finny and Gene had difficulty accepting a friend's shortcomings.
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.
Finny not being able to play sports anymore that meant Gene was next in line for the top athlete at Devon. In addition, this incident leads to Finny having several health issues and dying towards the end of the novel. Gene knew that Finny had no admirations towards him and that made him angered. Gene was hurt when Finn died but he still didn’t change once he went to war or when he came back to visit Devon in his elder years. “He had never been jealous of me for a second.
After Finny shatters his leg, Gene goes back to his room and tries on Finny’s clothes. As he studies himself in the mirror, Gene notices he looks similar to Finny and states, “I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again” (62). At this moment, Gene
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.
Gene’s survival was dependent on Finny’s death. When Gene jounces the limb he shatters Finny’s leg, as well as his heart. Finny knows that Gene purposely caused his fall, but can’t let his “best pal” be exposed. Finny will do anything to save Gene from Leprosy. Finny realizes that Gene “just didn’t know” what he had done, and forgives his sin, which saves Gene.
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).
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.