Theme Of Friendship In A Separate Peace

The Barrier of Friendship In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, two boys named Gene and Finny attend a New England boarding school, the Devon School, where they learn to overcome challenging obstacles and make life-changing decisions as they come of age. The boys live in a microcosm of World War II, with loyalty and deception being major elements of Devon. Gene is an introverted, hard working intellectual and his friend, Phineas, is an outgoing, daring athlete. When jealousy and competition start to come into play, tensions begin to rise. Through Gene and Finny’s perspectives on jealousy and the competition between them, John Knowles illustrates their rivalry as the barrier dividing the boys and their friendship. Gene’s perspective

When Gene comes to terms with the accident causing Finny’s injury and leading to his death, Gene finds his separate peace. As Gene walks around the Devon School fifteen years after being a student, he says, “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (204). Here Gene’s recognized confession demonstrates that he has removed himself from his innocence, thus allowing him to acknowledge accountability for Finny’s injury and reach his separate peace. Gene also takes away with him an understanding of how Finny never faces an enemy and completely loses his image of innocence. After his confession, Gene points out, “Only Phineas never was afraid, only Phineas never hated anyone. Other people experienced this fearful shock somewhere, this sighting of the enemy, and so began an obsessive labor of defense, began to parry the menace they saw facing them by developing a particular frame of mind” (204). This valuable comprehension impacts Gene and his separate peace, because he knows one who has no hatred is not afraid of any enemy. Although symbolizing an image of peace, Finny finds his separate peace once he accepts the presences of the time period’s events, specifically World War II. At the hospital, Finny was looking over the things that Gene had packed in his suitcase, because he broke his leg once again. While doing so, Finny tells Gene, “I wish to God there wasn’t any war. . . I don’t know if I can take this with a war on. . . What good are you in a war with a busted leg!” (189-190). Continuing to look through his suitcase, Finny goes on to Gene and says, “I’ve been writing to the Army and the Navy and the Marines and the Canadians and everybody else all winter. . .They all gave me the same answer