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Theme Of John Knowles A Separate Peace

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Theme of a Separate Peace Acting before thinking is regret. The author John Knowles of A Separate Peace book is a passionate person who wrote an incredible and a very emotional novel. After 15 years, Gene came back to Devon School to visit his two fearful sites; the tree by the river and the marble stairs. In A Separate Peace, Gene tells the story regarding how he spent his best and worst days in Devon with his best friend and roommate, Finny. The major theme of the novel A Separate Peace is that the choices Gene made had him guilty in the end. Despite the choices that Gene made, he could never go back and fix what he’d done. Gene being jealous from Finny was a choice he had made that had him to live with guilt throughout his life. …show more content…

After Finny fell from the marble stairs during the mock trial, Gene went to visit Finny and apologized once again. “I’m sorry…I said blindly…I’m sorry…I am sorry.” (Knowles, 177) Gene apologizes because he knew that Finny’s life may be in danger because of him. Gene then asks forgiveness from Finny. “No I don’t know how to show you, how can I show you, Finny...tell me how to show you…it was just some ignorance inside me, some crazy thing inside me, something blind, that’s all it was.”(Knowles, 183) Regardless of what Gene did to Phineas, he felt guilt and tried to apologize to him and Phineas did forgive him. “I believe you…it’s okay because I understand and I believe you…you’ve already shown me and I believe you.” (Knowles, 183) Finny accepts Gene’s apology allowing him to achieve peace and showed him that he was all right with Gene’s actions. Even though Finny allowed Gene to achieve peace, Gene will never forgive himself. After Gene finished attending his lessons he went to the infirmary where Dr. Stanpole had news for him. It was Finny, he died. “This at last penetrated my mind…Phineas had died from the narrow of his bone flowing down his blood stream to his heart.” (Knowles, 186) This had Gene guilty because

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