A Separate Peace is a coming of age novel by John Knowles and was originally published in 1960 by Macmillan Publishing in New York, New York. The novel is set in the 1940s at an all boy's preparatory school in New Hampshire. It tells the story of two friends, Gene and Phineas, as their lives begin to change while forming into men.
The story begins in summer of 1942 at the Devon school, where we meet the procrastinator, Gene Forrester, and his wild roommate Phineas, or as everyone calls him, Finny. Gene expresses his jealously and almost hatred of Finny because of his athletic abilities. He believes that Finny has devised a plan to keep Gene away from his studies, but Gene realizes his hatred for Finny isn't valid because one day while the …show more content…
Finny refuses to believe him, and Gene, not knowing what to do, takes it back. Back at school, World War II begins to take students. Gene and his friend, Brinker agree to enlist together, but abandon their plans when they discover Finny has returned. When Finny tells Gene he expects him to take his place as the star athlete, Gene tells him the war is more important. Finny tells him that the war is all a big conspiracy to keep the old men in their seats. Later, a boy named Lepellier, or as the boys call him Leper, is the first in the class to enlist. The boys are surprised by this, for Leper was the gentlest boy in the class. Months later as Gene and Finny are setting up for a carnival Finny organized, Gene receives a telegram from Leper saying he has escaped and needs help. Gene geos to Vermont to find that Leper is not himself. He has gone a little crazy, spouting off things that don't make sense. He even brings up Finny's accident and how he knows Gene caused him to fall. This scares Gene, for who knows how he would react when he joined the military. When Gene returns home, Brinker begins to spread rekindle thoughts about Finny's fall. He conducts a meeting in which he brings everyone who was there for the event in order to find out what happened once and for all. Both Finny and Gene were bantered with questions. Finny barely remembers any of it, and Gene just answers as he knows nothing. Then, they bring in Leper, …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel, Gene was a kid, mad at his friend for no good reason other than selfishness. By the end of the novel, Gene had to bury that friend and enlist in a war in which he would put his life on the line for a reason that none of us can understand. So many events happened in this year that could have affected him so negatively, and yet, they didn't. Gene rose to the occasion and grew up. I very much understood and connected with this piece because as a teenager who is trying to figure out life all the while dodging obstacles that could throw me off course, it gave me hope. My complaint about this novel is that the language that is used makes it rather boring to read. It felt as if the book dragged on. If you are looking for a book for inspiration, this is a great one, but if you are reading for pleasure, I would try to find something more interesting. Ultimately, I am glad I read this book. It helped give me courage in a time I needed
The story begins in summer of 1942 at the Devon school, where we meet the procrastinator, Gene Forrester, and his wild roommate Phineas, or as everyone calls him, Finny. Gene expresses his jealously and almost hatred of Finny because of his athletic abilities. He believes that Finny has devised a plan to keep Gene away from his studies, but Gene realizes his hatred for Finny isn't valid because one day while the …show more content…
Finny refuses to believe him, and Gene, not knowing what to do, takes it back. Back at school, World War II begins to take students. Gene and his friend, Brinker agree to enlist together, but abandon their plans when they discover Finny has returned. When Finny tells Gene he expects him to take his place as the star athlete, Gene tells him the war is more important. Finny tells him that the war is all a big conspiracy to keep the old men in their seats. Later, a boy named Lepellier, or as the boys call him Leper, is the first in the class to enlist. The boys are surprised by this, for Leper was the gentlest boy in the class. Months later as Gene and Finny are setting up for a carnival Finny organized, Gene receives a telegram from Leper saying he has escaped and needs help. Gene geos to Vermont to find that Leper is not himself. He has gone a little crazy, spouting off things that don't make sense. He even brings up Finny's accident and how he knows Gene caused him to fall. This scares Gene, for who knows how he would react when he joined the military. When Gene returns home, Brinker begins to spread rekindle thoughts about Finny's fall. He conducts a meeting in which he brings everyone who was there for the event in order to find out what happened once and for all. Both Finny and Gene were bantered with questions. Finny barely remembers any of it, and Gene just answers as he knows nothing. Then, they bring in Leper, …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel, Gene was a kid, mad at his friend for no good reason other than selfishness. By the end of the novel, Gene had to bury that friend and enlist in a war in which he would put his life on the line for a reason that none of us can understand. So many events happened in this year that could have affected him so negatively, and yet, they didn't. Gene rose to the occasion and grew up. I very much understood and connected with this piece because as a teenager who is trying to figure out life all the while dodging obstacles that could throw me off course, it gave me hope. My complaint about this novel is that the language that is used makes it rather boring to read. It felt as if the book dragged on. If you are looking for a book for inspiration, this is a great one, but if you are reading for pleasure, I would try to find something more interesting. Ultimately, I am glad I read this book. It helped give me courage in a time I needed