“Envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide” (Emerson 370-372). In the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is set during World War II at a boy’s school in New Hampshire. Gene, the main character and a student at the school, is a jealous-conformist that thrives academically. A Separate Peace demonstrates how Gene’s envy and imitation affects Gene and their friendship, but also shows Gene’s achievement of peace. Gene’s imitation of Finny affects him internally and externally. For example, Gene begins to put his academics at risk. This can be seen in the story when it reads, “Going there risked expulsion, destroyed the studying I was going to do for an important test the next morning, blasted the reasonable amount of order I wanted
