Identity In John Knowles A Separate Peace

Identity, as defined by Shahram Heshmat, “relates to our basic values that dictate the choices we make.” It defines who a person is and reflects who they are and what they value. Everybody has their own identity, yet discovering it is a seemingly impossible task. John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace, allows the reader to embark with four adolescent boys with the names of Gene, Finny, Brinker, and Leper on a journey to find their individual identities. Since “fulfilled people are able to live a life true to their values and pursue meaningful goals,” as written by Heshmat, the boys have to overcome those obstacles in order to achieve this fulfillment along with a sense of individuality. Throughout the novel, these adolescents face many conflicts

“Not every adolescent goes through an identity crisis at all but instead accepts the roles and values handed down by his or her parents” (Whitbourne). This was extremely true for Brinker, for his father had tremendous influence on him. Brinker never developed his own identity as a child as Finny did, for “children come to define themselves in terms of how they think their parents see them” (Heshmat). As a result, Brinker’s perception of success is the same as his father’s: It is defined by how involved a person is in the war. Mr. Hadley states that “if you can say that you were up front where there was some real shooting going on, then that will mean a whole lot to you in years to come” (Knowles 199). Brinker exemplifies this idea by signing up for the Navy, for it is “not only the dirtiest but also the most dangerous branch of all, the worst branch of all” (Knowles 199). Although Brinker keeps family values close at heart, his frustration towards them gets bigger as the novel progresses. He allowed this frustration to build up, and eventually starts resenting the war, which is what every student was training for. When told that his father most likely feels left out from the war, he exclaims: “Left out! He and his crowd are responsible for it! And we’re going to fight it!” (Knowles 201). His family pressured him, and this caused him to lose his temper towards the end of the