Summary Of John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

Imagine having a best friend who’s life and future was ruined because of you. This is similar to what happened to Gene and Finny in, “A Separate Peace,” by John Knowles, but others were also involved. Finny’s life, in fact, was lost during an accident in this novel when he fell down stairs. The incident can be traced back when the super suicide society would jump off the tree limb over the summer. This tragic accident can be blamed on Gene since he was the person who shattered Finny’s legs in the first place; however, the fault can be branched out to Brinker and the actual victim, Finny, as well. The blame for the death of Finny falls onto the accusations of Brinker, Gene’s actions at the famous tree, and Finny’s own decisions and inability to cope with his feelings. First of all, …show more content…
Brinker was in charge of the makeshift trial in the assembly room and was responsible for the outcomes. He began by brutally breaking it to Finny and Gene that they were having a trial to reveal the truth of what happened the day Finny shattered his legs. In chapter 11, Brinker explained to Gene and Finny that, “‘Tonight we’re investigating you [Finny].’ ‘What the hell are you talking about!’ I [Gene] cut in suddenly. ‘Investigating Finny’s accident!’ He spoke as though this was the most natural and self-evident and inevitable thing we could be doing (Knowles, 201).” Brinker failed to ease into the topic, but just made everything seem like a crime or an act of betrayal on Gene’s fault. This made both Finny and Gene anxious and nervous, which automatically negatively affected their decisions. It was also evident Finny was feeling uncomfortable since he stammered while saying, “‘of