Denial of Reality in a Separate Peace One large recurring theme in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace is the idea that refusing to confront reality causes people to suffer. With World War II as the backdrop for the novel, A Separate Peace pushes this ideology through a once innocent group of boys at a boarding school.In the novel, there are three dynmaic chracters: Gene Forrester, Elwin (Leper) Lepellier, and Phineas. Gene ends up accepting the realities of war, and grows and develops because of it. However, tragedy befalls both Phineas and Leper when they don’t come to terms with the world.. Overall, in A Separate Peace, those who choose to deny reality like Leper and Finny end up suffering. Leper starts off as reticent and well-mannered boy who loves nature and
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His passivity is highly apparent during the boy’s game of blitzball. As they play Finny’s new game, Gene attempts to pass the ball to Leper. “Taken by surprise, Leper looked up in anguish, shrunk away from the ball, and voiced his first thought, a typical one. ‘I don’t want it!’” (39). This reclusive and scared behaviour during the game outlines Elwin Lepellier’s character. He is also very innocent and is shown to have an interest in nature. While Gene and some other students are shoveling out the railway tracks as part of the war effort, Leper decides to go skiing on his own. Leper explains that he’s “touring” (94) to Gene, and leaves to enjoy himself amidst the manual labour. While this behaviour earns him the derision of Brinker, Leper finds this activity incredibly enjoyable. This is what allows the military to inveigle Lepellier to enlist. After seeing a promotional video, Leper announces “I’m going to enlist in these ski troops” (125). Leper’s love of skiing causes him to enroll in the patrol not out of a sense of duty or dreams of glory like most boys. Leper enlists for the wrong reason; he thinks it will be an enjoyable time skiing. This skewed and
His passivity is highly apparent during the boy’s game of blitzball. As they play Finny’s new game, Gene attempts to pass the ball to Leper. “Taken by surprise, Leper looked up in anguish, shrunk away from the ball, and voiced his first thought, a typical one. ‘I don’t want it!’” (39). This reclusive and scared behaviour during the game outlines Elwin Lepellier’s character. He is also very innocent and is shown to have an interest in nature. While Gene and some other students are shoveling out the railway tracks as part of the war effort, Leper decides to go skiing on his own. Leper explains that he’s “touring” (94) to Gene, and leaves to enjoy himself amidst the manual labour. While this behaviour earns him the derision of Brinker, Leper finds this activity incredibly enjoyable. This is what allows the military to inveigle Lepellier to enlist. After seeing a promotional video, Leper announces “I’m going to enlist in these ski troops” (125). Leper’s love of skiing causes him to enroll in the patrol not out of a sense of duty or dreams of glory like most boys. Leper enlists for the wrong reason; he thinks it will be an enjoyable time skiing. This skewed and