Short Summary Of A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace begins in the summer of 1942, set at the Devon School in New Hampshire. It is told from the point of view of Gene Forrester. During the summer session of 1942, he becomes friends with his reckless roommate Finny, or Phineas. Finny persuades Gene into jumping out of a tree into a river, and the two friends start a secret society based on this ritual. After Finny broke a school swimming record on his first try, Gene becomes jealous of his athletic abilities. Gene suspects that Finny envies his academic achievements and has been trying to distract him from studying. Gene’s suspicions turn into hatred, but he carefully keeps an appearance of friendship. Gene realizes that he has been very wrong about any rivalry between them when …show more content…
Finny refuses to listen to him, and Gene takes back his confession and continues on his way to school. There, Gene attempts to avoid athletic activity by becoming assistant manager of the crew team, but he argues with the manager and quits. One day, Brinker Hadley suggests to Gene that they enlist in the military together, and Gene agrees. That night Gene discovers that Finny has returned to school, and both Gene and Brinker abandon their plans to enlist. Finny expects Gene to replace him as the school's sports star, but when Gene protests that sports are unimportant in the midst of the war, Finny says that the war is merely a conspiracy to keep young men from surpassing their elders. Finny tells Gene that he once wished to go to the Olympics, and Gene begins training for the 1944 Olympics in his place. All the boys are astonished when the first one in their class to enlist is Leper Lepellier, a gentle, nature-loving boy. Gene and Finny begin training, hidden from the truth of the war. During a winter carnival, which Finny has organized, a message arrives for Gene from Leper, saying that he has “escaped” and requires Gene to come to his home in