“Don’t fear the enemy that attacks you, but the fake friend that hugs you” -PravineeHurbungs. It is still undecided weather Finny realized this about Gene or not but, even withWWII going on, the cruelest enemy was right next to him. A Separate Peace is a novel by JohnKnowles, based in New Hampshire, 1942. The novel showcases, coming-of-age, jealousy , andloss of innocence through the main character Gene.Gene and Finny became roommates at the prestige Devon School for boys. Finny being anaturally born athlete, and Gene being more academically based.
When Finny tries to tell Gene that he studies too much he immediately thinks it’s to sabotage him because Gene is a very paranoid. Gene starts to diminish himself and think of himself as a lesser person than Finny. “Any fear I had ever had of the tree was nothing beside this. It wasn 't my neck, but my understanding which was menaced. He had never been jealous of me for a second.
Gene is less valued than Finny because of his Athletic skill is not as good as Finney because finny broke the school swimming record within one try. This urged Gene to try to prove his academic skills by trying to becoming valedictorian, but he has to face Chet Douglass a very smart person(chapter 4). Because of Gene has to struggle in order
In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, we are introduced to a character named Gene Forrester. Throughout the novel Gene experiences obstacles all the way from being reticent to discovering an uncontrollable amount of anger within himself and against others. Growing up is not easy in most cases. Although Gene went through bumps and rough patches on the road to reaching maturity, such as Love/ Hating his best friend, and feeling the need for revenge he eventually got to the point, finding true inner peace and adulthood. Throughout the book we are made aware of the obstacle that Gene Forrester faced and the the directions he took on his path to his coming of age and inner peace.
Beware of Desires “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else 's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation,” observed Oscar Wilde. In the fictional novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles two best friends, Gene and Finny, both go to an elite boys ' private school in New Hampshire. Finny is a natural born leader and an athlete that easily succeeds in everything he does. Meanwhile, Gene is a bookworm that tries his best to be as successful as Finny.
When an individual excels at something others usually tend to be jealous of that individual. Greatness causes others to feel incompetent and affects the way that they think. In the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, two school boys exhibit this. The boys attend a private school, Devon School, during World War II. Gene Forrester and his friend Phineas (Finny) battle through their hardships throughout the book and go against each other.
Gene’s spite and imitation affect him on both a mental and emotional level. Gene is so ensnared with Finny that it makes him impulsively courageous. An example of Gene’s courage is, “every time, when I get myself into position to jump, I felt a rush of
Finny does not have the will or work ethic to be an intelligent student like Gene is. His lack of work ethic is part of the reason why Gene becomes jealous of Finny because Finny is happy with not being a good student because he is a good athlete and has a charismatic attitude that makes him very likable. This helps emphasize Gene’s jealousy and insecurities. When Gene and Finny go to the beach, and Finny expresses that Gene is his best friend. This expression of friendship is too much for Gene.
To start, Gene’s envy and imitation of Phineas affect him in many different ways. One example of this is when Gene decides to play sports for Finny because Finny told him to. After this, Gene explains that he “lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring
His anger eventually leads himself to crazy conclusions and ultimately the death of his best friend. A few chapters in, right before the exams, Gene thinks that Finny is “deliberately sett[ing] out to wreck [his] studies” by distracting him with things like “blitzball”(45). This is a sign to Gene that there is “a deadly rivalry on both sides”(46) In reality, Finny “doesn’t know [Gene] need[s] to study” and thought “it just [comes] to [him]”(50), because after all Gene doesn’t share with Finny his