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A Separate Peace By John Knowles: A Character Analysis

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Insecurity is the uncertainty or anxiety of oneself which an abundance of teenagers have

been found to struggle from. Sometimes, a person's insecurities can cause them to be someone

who they are not. However insecurities are usually caused by someone mocking you of your

differences, which eventually causes themselves to try to exemplify someone they believe is

better than them self, instead of expressing their differences. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles

exhibits a teenage boy, Gene who is strained with insecurity because of jealousy and a lost

Identity. In result of Gene’s insecurities, he is unable to express himself fully which leads him to

steal someone else's that he is envy of. Gene starts to realize that Finny’s personality …show more content…

I couldn't help envying him that a little, which

was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little” (knowles 18).

Finny depicts the theme of jealousy throughout this quote by expressing his “envy” for Finny.

Moments later he explains how “there was no harm in envying your best friend a little” which is

obviously incorrect because if you are so close to someone you shouldn't envy there life, because

you are one of the biggest parts about it. Finny’s whole life consists of Devon, sports, and Gene.

Yet Gene believes that Finny is unblemished and will never make a mistake if he didn't want too.

When Gene is playing Blitzball with Finny he is struck with a realization “ 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, never really winded, never overcharged and never restless. At dawn, all day

long, and at midnight, Phineas always had a steady and formidable flow of usable energy”

(Knowles 39-40). This quote represent how Finny is perfect in the mind of Gene. Gene’s state

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