Theme Of Friendship In John Knowles A Separate Peace

Good friends are like stars, you don 't always see them but you know they are there. As cheesy as it may sound, it’s true, a good friendship is a complex thing that includes respect, admiration, jealousy, conflict, and resentment towards each other. Although friends may break off from each other, best friends will always stick together through thick and thin. In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the protagonist Gene, displays these qualities with his best friend Phineas which makes their friendship all the more worthwhile. At the beginning of the novel, Gene pays a visit to the Devon School and recalls the events in which Gene and Phineas (Finny) have a very strong bond between them. As the story progresses, their friendship moves …show more content…
Despite the bumps in the road, it is forgiveness and an unbreakable bond that keeps them together and builds an even stronger relationship on their friendship. John Knowles uses symbolism and personification to demonstrate that friendship is a rocky road but in the end forgiveness ties everything together. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Knowles uses symbolism to strengthen the bond between Gene and Phineas (Finny’s) friendship. After Gene finds out that Finny broke his leg from falling out of the tree, Finny says, "Isn 't the bone supposed to be stronger when it grows together over a place where it 's been broken once?" This strikes Gene and he responds, "Yes, I think it is." Finny then responds with something that comforts Gene, and says, "I think so too. In fact I think I can feel it getting stronger" (Knowles 155). Although Gene and Finny are talking about the bone in his leg, the bone represents something much deeper, …show more content…
In using symbolism and personification to demonstrate that friendship is a rocky road, the reader discovers that the only key to building a stronger bond on top of the friendship is forgiveness. When Gene and Finny forgive and forget each other 's downfalls, they have the ability to strengthen and tighten their relationship. When one finds himself in a battle with a friend where losing a friend seems like the better option, it is important to always to take the high road in life and forgive and forget, because it will bring one farther than they