FREE ESSAY ON A SEPARATE PEACE

A SEPARATE PEACE

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a complex novel that portrays war in many different
forms. Gene Forrester was attending Devon School during World War II. This was a
representation of different wars he was having within himself. Gene was feeling a kind of
jealousy toward his friend Finny. He also felt like Finny was trying to sabotage him with
relation to his schoolwork. Lastly Gene felt guilt, guilt from what was described by him
as a "blind impulse" and also from having the truth revealed to him resulting in a fatal
accident. 
Gene fought with his fears throughout the story. He thought that he was a complete
person, full of what a man should be, but when he got to Devon and met Finny, he felt he
was incomplete, as though he lacked something. He tried to find ways to fill the void by
associating with all that Finny did. As a result he did become more well-rounded but he
also felt guilt for the consequences. Guilt was also an internal war or conflict Gene had
with himself. After "jouncing the limb" while Finny was on it, Gene sensed he was wrong
in doing so but he was not fully regretful. After the truth came out though, and Finny
once again broke his leg, Gene did feel complete remorse. At Finny's funeral Gene didn't
cry but it's not that he was not sad or that he was not sorrowful, but he felt like it
was his own funeral and he knew that you don't cry at your own funeral. Gene also thought
that Finny was trying to sabotage his schoolwork by taking him places and convincing him
to do things that were illogical and impulsive. Although this was not the case Gene
really fought with himself, over-analyzing all of Finny's shenanigans and deciding
whether or not they seemed to be plots against him. 
As Gene went through life he was still not settled by the events that had happened in
Devon those years. But in his return to the school he realized that he was coming to
terms with what had happened and that he was able to get over the events in his teenage
years. Gene had also come to accept himself the way he was and was not try to change. The
things that used to scare him in his earlier years now seemed less threatening. Therefore
he eventually overcame all of his internal wars.