Readers learn that interpersonal wars can exist without either person actually recognizing that a war exists between them. Similarly, Gene has an internal war against himself. This war stems from his immense guilt after he knocked Finny out of the tree. He is brought to the Butt Room by Brinker where he is forced to confess. Upon his attempt to confess, he gets caught up on, “‘then I...’ I only had to add, ‘pushed him out of the tree’ and the chain of implausibility would be complete… But I could feel my throat closing on them, I could never say them, never ”(Pg 90). Gene demonstrates the level of internal war in the quote through his inability to take responsibility for his actions. He battles his guilt, but his guilt is so severe that he cannot admit to his wrongdoing. Gene’s character is overwhelmingly driven by his guilt, as evident throughout A Separate Peace by his decreasing emotional stability. He is distraught and unable to reconcile his actions. Readers learn from Gene’s experiences with internal war, that immense amounts of guilt can cause a person to break down into
Readers learn that interpersonal wars can exist without either person actually recognizing that a war exists between them. Similarly, Gene has an internal war against himself. This war stems from his immense guilt after he knocked Finny out of the tree. He is brought to the Butt Room by Brinker where he is forced to confess. Upon his attempt to confess, he gets caught up on, “‘then I...’ I only had to add, ‘pushed him out of the tree’ and the chain of implausibility would be complete… But I could feel my throat closing on them, I could never say them, never ”(Pg 90). Gene demonstrates the level of internal war in the quote through his inability to take responsibility for his actions. He battles his guilt, but his guilt is so severe that he cannot admit to his wrongdoing. Gene’s character is overwhelmingly driven by his guilt, as evident throughout A Separate Peace by his decreasing emotional stability. He is distraught and unable to reconcile his actions. Readers learn from Gene’s experiences with internal war, that immense amounts of guilt can cause a person to break down into