Analysis Of The Novel 'A Separate Peace' By John Knowles

Anderson Lopez

Mrs. Trelease-Gordon

Honors English 1

22 December 2022

Impacts of War: The Emotional Struggles

War: the internal and external conflict one faces every day. Shown in the coming-of-age novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles tells the story of two boys: Gene and Finny. The two attend Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II. Their friendship is a strong bond until the day Gene jounced the limb of a tree and Finny falls out. This results in his arm being broken, causing their relationship to change forever. Throughout the story, many of the characters experience the hardships of war in one way or another, whether it is a direct or secondhand impact. The maturity the boys develop throughout the novel demonstrates the way war can negatively impact one’s mental health.

Before his maturity, Finny explains that “there is no war” and that “it is all just a conspiracy” (Knowles 115). This quote shows that at the beginning of the novel, Finny does not believe that there is a war and thinks that people made it up. After experiencing the war at Devon and hearing about all the frightful deaths, his mindset completely changes throughout the story. Finny is adamantly against the idea of the war and explains in the early chapters how “he would never enlist in such a foolish thing” (Knowles 108). This quote connects to how Finny’s attitude toward the war changes from the beginning to the end of the novel. He goes from never intending to enlist in the war, which he considers a fluke, to sending enlistment letters to all branches of the military. Although his mindset about the war dramatically changes, we learn later in the novel, he says these things in part to dissuade Gene from enlisting in the war. This shows how young adults may not understand things at first, and sometimes require time to cultivate and refine their thoughts about complex