Analysis Of Gene's Jealousy In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

At Devon, Leper is an outcast who Gene befriends again because no one else seems to understand him but gene. This shows how although Gene has swayed emotions, underneath all he is a good person who doesn't mind taking another friend even if it means he is viewed differently for being around Leper. Along with that after braking Finny’s leg and finding out Finny will never play sports again, Gene wishes he had been the one to break his leg. Further showing how at heart Gene is a good friend. Gene’s widespread personality lead to him acquiring a diverse description, including jealousy, self preservation, over analysing, but friendly

Finally, that pride takes over the narrator completely, causing him to run when “Doodle’s and [his] plan [comes to] naught, and that streak of cruelty within [him] [awakens]” (Hurst 353). The narrator is so prideful that the thought of Doodle and him failing stings more than ever. Pride controls the narrator’s actions; Doodle’s death is a result of those actions. The pride is beneficial when it is controlled, but it quickly leads to Doodle’s downfall when it goes too far, pushing Doodle past his

In the beginning, the two have a strong hatred towards one another, but as the series of events unfold, the two come to see the stupidity in the feud that has lasted for so long. They make the verdict to change because they realize that they should’ve been friends all along. Once they have agreed to become associates, they work together to try to get out of the forest by calling their men loudly. In desperate times, the two old enemies found their good side and were able to help one another out in the best way

Another reason why a Separate Peace is a pessimistic novel is because it tells of a character who maliciously expressed his pettiness and jealousy to his friend through harm. During the entire novel Gene is rude to Finny for an unreasonable and unrealistic reason and “jounces the limb” to prove it. Gene’s jealousy of Finny’s natural talent drove their friendship to the point where it slowly disintegrates into anarchy and denial. All of these roots stemmed off from the moment when Gene- in his moment of hesitancy- shook the limb so that Finny would fall and shatter his leg ultimately crippling him from playing any physical sport ever again. Throughout the entire novel, Finny was completely unaware that his best friend would ever hurt him in such a way.

118),” not at the fact that he had just killed two people. Blaine’s response really speaks to his callousness and self-centered personality, because even upon seeing the death and destruction he caused, all he can think about is making a name for himself in the art world, and how the crash would affect his image. He is so hyper focused on his own success that he is blind to anything beyond his own priorities. This selfishness makes him stand out as a character, and later costs him his marriage to Lara. The question of compassion in the chapter “A Fear of Love” suggests that compassion and empathy are the pillars of human connection and unity.

Swiss poet Johann Kasper Lavater said, “When pride begins, love ceases.” Pride is a dangerous road, it can either lead to danger, or it can lead to a positive life. For instance, Doodle from ‘The Scarlet Ibis” and this quote are interconnected because his older brother’s pride impacted Doodle both positively and negatively. Doodle always wanted to be around him , so he kept pushing himself which resulted in his tragic demise. Though it benefitted Doodle, it caused him to meet his untimely demise. Beknownst to the older brother, Doodle was a good brother.

This jealousy leads him to do harmful things and leads to the climax. Gene feels now he can take Finny's place. At the end of the novel, Gene has lost his true identity and acts like someone else. (137 words) Finny is the main character's roommate. Finny is very hyper, athletic, and spontaneous.

In Gene’s case, disloyalty and cowardice appears through his metaphorical bad heart. Gene’s insecurities got in the way of his friendship with Phineas. He was jealous that Finny could never get in trouble, and that he appeared to be perfect in almost every way. When Gene began to believe that Phineas wanted to surpass him academically, he felt threatened. This mixed with his jealousy, and caused him to impulsively shake the tree limb that Phineas was standing on, making him fall and shatter his leg.

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. Everything Finny does, Genes starts to see as competition and rivalry. At one point Gene has a false realization that, “It was all cold trickery, it was all calculated, it was all enmity...We were even after all, even in enmity.

It is shown later in the book that Daisy is very fond of Gatsby, and Gatsby is more than fond of Daisy. Tom was the barrier that prevented the happily-ever-after. Tom’s objections to their relationship caused conflict that resulted in two deaths. It was Tom’s fault, after all, that Wilson found out about Gatsby. Conspiring to have someone murdered is immoral and caused conflict but like Gatsby, it was justified.