To reach a peaceful reconciliation, one must learn to embrace two distinct elements of their personality, the "Persona" and "Shadow." Likewise, in the bildungsroman A Separate Peace, author John Knowles depicts the common rivalry between young adolescents, and how they struggle to accept their identity and the relationship between their unconscious self. Gene, a Devon High student, becomes best friends with Finny and grows jealous of his ostensibly flawless friend, leading him to make a life-changing decision. He struggles to reach an inner balance between his “Persona” and “Shadow”, leading to the ultimate death of Finny. Gene’s transformation involves the changes of his mask and “Shadow” --- from guilt and jealousy to sophisticated and capable
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Jealousy is a part of Gene’s “Shadow” and it soon takes over his logic. When he realizes the things he had done out of envy, Gene is ashamed. Gene realizes that Finny is innocent and genuine, and that he never wanted to be better than him. Gene recalls, “He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he” (59). Finny was never jealous or envious of Gene’s academic achievements, yet Gene is doubtful of his loyalty. When he recognizes the innocent naive characteristic of Finny, he knows that he will never be the same as him. Staying at Devon allows Gene to see through others persona andmask. He notices that every student is different depending on their situation; for example, “Everyone in Devon had many public faces, in class we looked, if not exactly scholarly, at least respectably alert; on the playing fields we looked like innocent extroverts; and in the Butt Room we looked, very strongly, like criminals” (88). Everyone has their own persona and shadow; the part they show others and the part they hide. The situation determines which mask they put on, and Gene is no exception. Inside Gene, he is hiding his unrestrained self. As time passes, Gene slowly discovers his true identity, both his persona and parts of his shadow. He feels more confident and powerful. Gene decides to get rid of his mask, and realizes that “by now I no longer needed this vivid false identity, now I was acquiring, I felt, a sense of my own real authority and worth, I had had many new experiences and I was growing up” (156). Gene realizes that his original self is the best identity and he can also acquire a sense of worth and authority without being an exact replica of Finny. After all of these events, Gene
Jealousy is a part of Gene’s “Shadow” and it soon takes over his logic. When he realizes the things he had done out of envy, Gene is ashamed. Gene realizes that Finny is innocent and genuine, and that he never wanted to be better than him. Gene recalls, “He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he” (59). Finny was never jealous or envious of Gene’s academic achievements, yet Gene is doubtful of his loyalty. When he recognizes the innocent naive characteristic of Finny, he knows that he will never be the same as him. Staying at Devon allows Gene to see through others persona andmask. He notices that every student is different depending on their situation; for example, “Everyone in Devon had many public faces, in class we looked, if not exactly scholarly, at least respectably alert; on the playing fields we looked like innocent extroverts; and in the Butt Room we looked, very strongly, like criminals” (88). Everyone has their own persona and shadow; the part they show others and the part they hide. The situation determines which mask they put on, and Gene is no exception. Inside Gene, he is hiding his unrestrained self. As time passes, Gene slowly discovers his true identity, both his persona and parts of his shadow. He feels more confident and powerful. Gene decides to get rid of his mask, and realizes that “by now I no longer needed this vivid false identity, now I was acquiring, I felt, a sense of my own real authority and worth, I had had many new experiences and I was growing up” (156). Gene realizes that his original self is the best identity and he can also acquire a sense of worth and authority without being an exact replica of Finny. After all of these events, Gene