Gene's Jealousy in A Separate Peace by John Knowles

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In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the protagonist Gene Forrester constantly battles within himself to find the true emotion towards his friend Phineas and to find out who he really is. Gene and Phineas formed an illusion of companionship, but there was always a silent rivalry between them in Gene’s mind. In the beginning, Gene thought his feeling towards Phineas was completely normal and it will go away in time. However, as the time went on and Gene matured he found out that his feeling was much more than little jealousy but it has turned into hate. Gene Forrester develops into a mature adult when he finally accepts his feeling and faces reality.

When the novel starts Gene is lost and confused about his feeling towards Phineas, he is not sure if he is jealous or just looking up to Phineas. However, the moment he causes Phineas to fall off the tree he realizes his inner-self and realizes his true feelings. He realizes that it was not a little jealousy or anything else but it was hate that was building up inside him. He first realized what his true emotion was when he...

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