Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

Theodora Dini
Dr. Kogon
Elements of Literature
September 15, 2015
Gene vs. Finny: Modern World Edition In the novel, A Separate Peace, the characters Finny and Gene are pretty much complete opposites, yet they are great friends. In general, Finny has the upper hand, because of his ability to socialize and work well with other people. Gene even says, “He possessed an extra vigor, a heightened confidence in himself, a serene capacity for affection which saved him. Nothing as he was growing up at home, nothing at Devon, nothing even about the war had broken his harmonious and natural unity. So at last I had.” (John Knowles, page 194-195) Gene clearly states that Finny is “unlike other young man, and that nothing could cause a disturbance in

Even though he is the weaker character, there are still some strengths that he possesses. Gene prefers to study in his free time, as he knows this is going to help him get a better job in the future. He prefers to focus on logic and rules in life, rather than to go with his “gut feeling”. He is very determined to getting good grades when it comes to school, but these few examples are the only few strengths that Gene has. His list of weaknesses, however, is longer than his list of strengths. Gene is very introverted, and he prefers to work alone. His reason for focusing on his studies is mostly because he wants a good job, but also because he is not very social. If Gene were to work in a group in the modern world, he would not be very cooperative because he is unable to voice his opinion. If, perhaps, someone like Finny were to work with Gene, Gene would just do the work, and Finny would be the one to voice his opinions. Even if Gene disagreed, he would not say anything, as he is too easily influenced. In addition, Gene is a strict rule follower. He does not even think to try and bend the rules, unlike Finny. Katharine Hepburn once said “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun,”, which may explain why Finny has a lot more fun at Devon than Gene does. All in all, even if Gene is

Finny has no problem talking to people, even if it seemed as though he was going to get into trouble. For example, when Gene and Finny bump into the headmaster, he asks Finny why he is wearing pink shirt. Without breaking a sweat, Finny plunges straight into his response, not stopping to think or to stutter on words. He explains that he’s wearing the shirt as “an emblem” because he learned that the Allied Powers "bombed Central Europe for the first time the other day". Finny said he needed to do something to celebrate. Mr. Patch-Withers did nothing but laugh at what Finny had said, and he did not even punish him. Gene was upset, as he wanted Finny to get in trouble so “something interesting would happen”. In short, Finny can get out of any situation by simply talking. As the author said, “He rambled on, his voice soaring and plunging in its vibrant sound box, his eyes now and then widening to fire a flash of green across the room.”