A Separate Peace by John Knowles follows Gene, a junior at a boarding school, around the time of WWII, who meets a great friend, Phineas. But Gene has the desire to be like Finny. Jealousy gets in the way of their friendship. The feeling of envy becomes difficult when it’s mixed with love. The bond between Gene and Phineas is a weird one. Jealousy drives people to do the unthinkable. The envy Gene has for Finny turned into hate which causes big consequences. The predominant theme in this book is the jealousy between peers and the aftermath of it.
Gene admires Phineas to a great distance this is because Finny was socially stable and was very athletic. This made Gene envy him and try to be more like him. “[Gene] was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. [He] couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was …show more content…
Finny was very hurt from this ‘accident’ and he was getting better but got rehurt and had to get surgery. But then, the worst thing happened. “Dr. Stanpole sat down next to [Gene] and put his capable looking hand on [his] leg. “This is something I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of,” he said quietly, “and I will have to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead”’ (185). The bone marrow from his leg got into his bloodstream and it got to his heart during the surgery. This is the point where Gene realized that he messed up big time. He lost his dear friend due to him envying him too much. When Gene goes into the war and he remains unscarred because of what happened while he was at boarding school. “[He] was on active duty all [his] time at school; [Gene] killed [his] enemy there” (196). His enemy was himself, and how he felt about himself. Gene became a better person through this and learned how to feel good about himself. When he was in the army, he know nothing could affect him because this huge thing already happened in his
Gene admires Phineas to a great distance this is because Finny was socially stable and was very athletic. This made Gene envy him and try to be more like him. “[Gene] was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. [He] couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was …show more content…
Finny was very hurt from this ‘accident’ and he was getting better but got rehurt and had to get surgery. But then, the worst thing happened. “Dr. Stanpole sat down next to [Gene] and put his capable looking hand on [his] leg. “This is something I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of,” he said quietly, “and I will have to tell you about it now. Your friend is dead”’ (185). The bone marrow from his leg got into his bloodstream and it got to his heart during the surgery. This is the point where Gene realized that he messed up big time. He lost his dear friend due to him envying him too much. When Gene goes into the war and he remains unscarred because of what happened while he was at boarding school. “[He] was on active duty all [his] time at school; [Gene] killed [his] enemy there” (196). His enemy was himself, and how he felt about himself. Gene became a better person through this and learned how to feel good about himself. When he was in the army, he know nothing could affect him because this huge thing already happened in his