As Gene Forrester revels in his youthful life at Devon, the war becomes a constant reminder of maturity and adulthood, evincing the transformation that immerses Gene in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. First, Gene’s recollection of the mythical tree in his childhood, now seemingly insignificant after fifteen years, elicits a musing conviction with the stark change in perspective. Insisting that "nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence,” Gene implies that the crime of his past involving the death of Phineas is no longer an antagonizing regret to him, as he is able to attain a state of peace which is only achievable through the confrontation of the past (14). In addition to Gene’s encounter with the past, Gene is able
