ipl-logo

A Separate Peace Essay About Friendship

984 Words4 Pages

Friendship is something that has to be worked on in order to thrive. It has its ups and downs and can be defined as a mix of envy, control, respect, and love. In the novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the struggles and stages of friendship is highlighted. Throughout the novel, Gene constantly feels the need to compete with Finny due to jealousy, Gene is easily persuaded by Finny, and yet Finny sees their friendship as simply friendly, therefore these ideas illustrate the complexity of a friendship.
Competition is a natural aspect of any relationship. It can be seen in sibling rivalries and even among best friends. When Finny was about to get into trouble for the first time, Gene explained, “This time he wasn’t going to get away with it. I could feel myself …show more content…

One of the other main points in the novel when rivalry was expressed, was when Gene shook the branch to make Finny fall off the tree. Gene was fed up with Finny succeeding at everything for once. He knew that if Finny were to be injured or hurt by the fall it would allow himself to have an edge on finny. Also, if Finny was crippled, Gene would have nothing to be jealous of anymore because Finny would become jealous of him. This would make Gene feel like the superior one in the relationship. His feelings of jealousy and rivalry are what compelled him to make Finny suffer by falling off the branch in the first place. Gene also admits, “There were few relationships amoung us at Devon not based on rivalry,” (pg.156). This quotation shows that among all friendships at the schools each one of them has to do with competing with others. Gene understands this concept, which is why his relationship with Finny is very competitive. It also confirms the idea that rivalry is a prominent feature in many friendships and relationships, not just the one in the novel. In addition, when Gene is in his room studying, he realizes that when

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    436 Words  | 2 Pages

    He gets easily jealous by Finny’s each and every move. Insecurities have taken control of him and he has greater fears about himself. Friendship, for Gene, was a very natural thing and he had a perfect friendship with Finny until his thoughts on friendship had been destroyed by jealousy within himself. “I couldn’t say anything to this sincere, drugged apology for having suspected the truth. He was never going to accuse me.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Microcosm In A Separate Peace

    792 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alex Amir Ms.Lau English 10R Sunday January 22 The Microcosm of Injustice: Examining Man's Inhumanity in John Knowles' A Separate Peace We often hurt those closest to us in our attempts to assert our own power and superiority. Knowles delves into the toxic dynamics that can arise in friendships, particularly when one person is striving to be the dominant force. John Knowles utilizes the literary device of symbolism in order to show the theme of man’s inhumanity to others by portraying humans looking to dominate over others for self benefit.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflict In A Separate Peace

    700 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gene’s relationship with his “best friend” Phineas describes how the relationship resulted in the killing of Gene's enemy, his own youth, and innocence. Gene is plainly described in the novel as envious of Finny, he is also depicted as the position of much hatred and dismay by his peers. Therefore, the fact that Gene kills his own youth is likely considering Finny’s success, Gene’s jealousy towards

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace Strengths And Weaknesses

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Finny And Gene's Friendship In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    582 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finny used to ask Gene to go and do other things instead of studying. Gene normally did what Finny asked. Gene decided that Finny was trying to hurt him when they story states, “Suddenly he turned his fire against me, he betrayed several of his other friends,” and he was doing things on his own (102). The second stage of Finny and Gene’s friendship is betrayal and guilt.

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace Character Analysis Essay

    769 Words  | 4 Pages

    A loving friend turns murderer after his retched jealousness and overanalyzing pushes him to new lows. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the true character of Gene Forrester is shown as he narrates his point of view of the story. Gene Forrester is a relatable ever changing, humanistic, and someone who is always in contention. Although at points Gene seems mentally unstable, he is a round, dynamic character that adapts and is generally mentally sound. Gene being the narrator of his own story shows from his perspective just how he views people and their interactions.

    Read More

  • Gene's Jealousy In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    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).

    Read More

  • Jealousy In A Separate Peace

    1024 Words  | 5 Pages

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

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace Guilt Analysis

    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.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflict In A Separate Peace

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gene says that, “I was beginning to see that he could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him a little…” (Knowles 25). Gene then tries to justify his envious feelings towards Finny by explaining that, “There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.” However, this envy turns into more of a jealousy and Gene starts to see Finny as more of competition, rather than a friend.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    1701 Words  | 7 Pages

    Gene believes that Finny and he hate each other, until he realizes Finny’s pureness, which Gene can not stand. At first, Gene believes that Finny wants to exceed him, and that the two are rivals. Everyone at Devon likes Finny. The teachers adore him, the students look up to him, the athletes aspire

    Read More

  • Examples Of Friendship In A Separate Peace

    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).

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace: Character Analysis

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that, “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide.” (370). John Knowles’ A Separate Peace is set during World War I at Devon School, a boarding school for boys. The book centers on Gene Forrester, a student at Devon, who could be described as an intelligent, but jealous, conformist. A Separate Peace illustrates Gene’s envy and imitation of his friend, Finny, and how it affects himself and his relationship with Finny, and also how Gene eventually finds peace.

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace Identity Essay

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since Gene was the one to jounce the limb of the tree and put Finny off balance he takes the responsibility for the accident. This proves that gene has the identity for being the worrier and the responsible one. Each time something bad happens Gene feels like he is responsible and doesn't want anyone to know that he is. Since he is known to be the nerd he doesn't want his identity to his friends to become worse.

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace Character Analysis

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about A Separate Peace Essay About Friendship

Open Document