A Separate Peace written by John Knowles focuses on the story of the friendship of Gene Forrester and Phineas “Finny”, and emphasizes how their constant friendship/rivalry causes a feeling of envy leading to an ultimately hurtful relationship.
In Chapter 2, readers see yet another example of how quickly Finny can get out of almost any situation due to his charismatic demeanor. When he talks his way out of getting in trouble for skipping dinner with Mr. Prud’homme, this can be seen as the moment when Gene’s envy grew to an almost insurmountable level. Gene, much like any other human, was constantly jealous of Phineas. Finny had everything everyone wanted. Phineas was captivating, charming, charismatic, and, of course, very athletic. Gene, on the …show more content…
Much like any other teenager, Gene grew jealous of never getting the same time in the spotlight just because he couldn’t break records or hit homeruns. This serves as the reason why Phineas’ charming characteristics lead to Gene Forrester’s jealousy. Gene sees at that moment when Finny gets out of trouble once again that he can never be like Phineas in that way. No matter how hard Gene tries or what he does he can never amount to Finny. Gene tries to justify the fact that it’s natural to envy your friends in chapter two. Gene says, “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little (Chapter 2: page 12).” Gene tries to accept the fact that it’s natural he’s jealous of Finny, but he also realizes that Phineas is his best friend. Phineas has a certain demeanor about himself, and he can get away with things other boys at Devon couldn’t. For example, Finny wore a light colored shirt that many could consider effeminate, but since he has such a charming persona it goes almost unnoticed.
In Chapter 2, readers see yet another example of how quickly Finny can get out of almost any situation due to his charismatic demeanor. When he talks his way out of getting in trouble for skipping dinner with Mr. Prud’homme, this can be seen as the moment when Gene’s envy grew to an almost insurmountable level. Gene, much like any other human, was constantly jealous of Phineas. Finny had everything everyone wanted. Phineas was captivating, charming, charismatic, and, of course, very athletic. Gene, on the …show more content…
Much like any other teenager, Gene grew jealous of never getting the same time in the spotlight just because he couldn’t break records or hit homeruns. This serves as the reason why Phineas’ charming characteristics lead to Gene Forrester’s jealousy. Gene sees at that moment when Finny gets out of trouble once again that he can never be like Phineas in that way. No matter how hard Gene tries or what he does he can never amount to Finny. Gene tries to justify the fact that it’s natural to envy your friends in chapter two. Gene says, “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little (Chapter 2: page 12).” Gene tries to accept the fact that it’s natural he’s jealous of Finny, but he also realizes that Phineas is his best friend. Phineas has a certain demeanor about himself, and he can get away with things other boys at Devon couldn’t. For example, Finny wore a light colored shirt that many could consider effeminate, but since he has such a charming persona it goes almost unnoticed.