A Separate Peace Essay On Friendship

In A Separate Peace John Knowles makes a compelling story about two teenagers, Gene and Phineas, living life through war. They were best of friends at their high school Devon and they brought out the worst and the best in each other, yet they both added something more important to humanity during a time where friendships and humanity were betrayed by war. Gene took wrong ways in his friendship with Phineas and learned in a difficult way that there was no harsh competition between them. Phineas not believing in war needed someone that could understand what madness they were living in. The defining moment in Gene that brought out his rogue more violent self was that moment Phineas said, “Let’s go, you and me” so they both climbed the tree (P. 59). While they both were standing on the limb fixing to get ready to jump this somehow made Gene go into an instinctive mode that many people in war had to do to survive. Gene saw Phineas as a competitor in his mount of rage and the prize of being the best in class

Gene found that evil inside of him that changed his perspective about himself and about his friendships then and in the future. Phineas gained something that many never will have willingly, someone that came to him and let him speak his own mind without any worry of hostility that might arise. Gene gave Phineas one of the best gifts of all during a time of war, a voice that he would listen to, and in return Phineas gave Gene one of the best gifts also, he was able to find that flaw hidden deep inside of Gene and showed Gene that it would be possible for Gene to change. The friendship that arose from a war turned into a lesson for many others to learn that life can sometimes be short and if you hold any anger against someone it will eventually consume you. Phineas sadly died far too young but those moments that Gene had with him filled both their lives with joy and most of all