From John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, the reader learns that while ignorance is bliss, it is short lived and can be devastating. While Finny wants to remain innocent, he has too much knowledge to convince himself that he is still ignorant. In his hopeless attempts to fight life itself, he fails to adapt before it is too late. In his feeble battle, Finny begins with denial. This refusal leads to anger, and finally acceptance. While Finny ultimately allows himself to believe what Gene did, it is too late. His careless actions brought about by his emotions cause him to re-break his leg, and he dies during the surgery. Finny’s struggle against the truth allows the reader to see the power of ignorance, the devastation of repudiation, and the coldness
