In the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles utilizes the three levels of war, interpersonal, internal, and international, to influence and develop the protagonist’s character. Gene, the main protagonist, has internal conflicts as well as interpersonal conflicts with his best friend Finny during their stay at the Devon School. Firstly, John Knowles uses the interpersonal war of jealousy between Finny and Gene to drive Gene’s character development. When Finny has dressed in a bright pink shirt and the Devon school tie as a belt, Gene comes to a realization about Finny, stating that, “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 your best friend a
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Readers learn that interpersonal wars can exist without either person actually recognizing that a war exists between them. Similarly, Gene has an internal war against himself. This war stems from his immense guilt after he knocked Finny out of the tree. He is brought to the Butt Room by Brinker where he is forced to confess. Upon his attempt to confess, he gets caught up on, “‘then I...’ I only had to add, ‘pushed him out of the tree’ and the chain of implausibility would be complete… But I could feel my throat closing on them, I could never say them, never ”(Pg 90). Gene demonstrates the level of internal war in the quote through his inability to take responsibility for his actions. He battles his guilt, but his guilt is so severe that he cannot admit to his wrongdoing. Gene’s character is overwhelmingly driven by his guilt, as evident throughout A Separate Peace by his decreasing emotional stability. He is distraught and unable to reconcile his actions. Readers learn from Gene’s experiences with internal war, that immense amounts of guilt can cause a person to break down into
Readers learn that interpersonal wars can exist without either person actually recognizing that a war exists between them. Similarly, Gene has an internal war against himself. This war stems from his immense guilt after he knocked Finny out of the tree. He is brought to the Butt Room by Brinker where he is forced to confess. Upon his attempt to confess, he gets caught up on, “‘then I...’ I only had to add, ‘pushed him out of the tree’ and the chain of implausibility would be complete… But I could feel my throat closing on them, I could never say them, never ”(Pg 90). Gene demonstrates the level of internal war in the quote through his inability to take responsibility for his actions. He battles his guilt, but his guilt is so severe that he cannot admit to his wrongdoing. Gene’s character is overwhelmingly driven by his guilt, as evident throughout A Separate Peace by his decreasing emotional stability. He is distraught and unable to reconcile his actions. Readers learn from Gene’s experiences with internal war, that immense amounts of guilt can cause a person to break down into