Rebellion In A Separate Peace

Is rebellion a childish act, or one that shows maturity? Many would argue the former, but others could claim that rebelling shows a person’s individuality, that they have grown as a person and are not afraid to show it off to the world. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles shows how rebelling can lead to learning from prior mistakes and how breaking free from the crowd can lead to learning who someone truly is. Gene is shown in the novel as a character that follows the rules and does what is expected of him. Finny, on the other hand, rarely follows the rules and is always going against what is expected of him. With the characters and events in A Separate Peace, Knowles shows how he supports the idea of rebellion by having unfortunate events

One way this is shown is again with who the teachers seem to prefer. Finny rarely follows the rules put in place at Devon and he gets subpar grades, yet the teachers seem to love him. They are usually kind to him and are much more forgiving when he breaks the rules (Knowles 16, 21, 45). This reveals how rebellion can be rewarded, further strengthening Knowles’ argument. During the Summer Session, many of the boys didn’t follow any of the rules. This is exemplified when Gene says “Ours had been a wayward gypsy music, leading us down all kinds of foolish gypsy ways, unforgiven. I was glad of it, I had almost caught the rhythm of it, the dancing, clicking jangle of it during the summer” (Knowles 65). For these boys, the summer at Devon was a time of joy and innocence, full of rebellion, rule-breaking, and amusement. The most evident way rebellion is shown as a good thing is with the Winter Carnival. Finny created the Carnival as a way to rebel against the strict rules of the Winter Session. Everyone who participated enjoyed this celebration, and they found a peace they had never before had in the Winter Session (Knowles 120-129). This displays how defiance can benefit those who defy the