Analysis Of John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

To be ignorant and naïve to the impure characteristics that plague the world is to live a life in a fictional bliss. The bliss will evaporate during the inevitable transition each individual undergoes from youth to adulthood. John Knowles’ characters in A Separate Peace make this natural progression towards adulthood by experiencing a series of internal changes. These characters show that becoming an adult requires growth and development as an individual, as well as broadening one’s self-acceptance. Becoming an adult entails a movement away from naivety toward a heightened sense of reality towards the world.

They unrolled away impervious to me as though I were a roaming ghost,” (193). Through Gene’s experiences he had lost his ignorant ways of living and instead it opened his eyes to the harsh realities the world has to

Self-acceptance requires one to look deep inside them and accept their true motives and actions. Although there was a literal war raging on outside the walls of the Devon campus, Gene was consumed by the war occurring within. Before Gene could even think about helping the war efforts he first had his own internal battle he had to defeat. Gene and Finny had a codependent relationship, in the way that they thrived off of one another. Gene struggled to establish his own identity because he was always under the influence of Finny. Even when the relationship became toxic and Gene had an underlying jealousy for Finn, he lacked the confidence to break out of his comfort zone and be an independent person. Gene always believed he was in the shadow of his counterpart Finny; there was always an underlying feeling of jealousy which ultimately was the cause behind Gene making Finny fall out of the tree. His actions on the tree was even a shock to him, it made him aware for the first time of his own inner feelings towards Finny. “That level of feelings, deeper than thought which contains the truth,” (140) for actions speak louder than words and on that particular day Gene’s actions portrayed a side of himself that he refused to believe existed prior to the accident. After that incident Gene was constantly haunted by his actions and was unable to grow and develop as an