Separate Peace Characters

In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, Gene is forced to befriend new people when Phineas cannot return to Devon for the beginning of the Winter Session, due to his leg injury. One of the friends he makes is a boy named Brinker Hadley, who seems to be the temporary replacement for Phineas. This is because he is well-liked, funny, and known around the school, much like Finny. Gene likes Hadley and explains, “...almost everyone liked Brinker...He never let a dull spot appear in conversation if he could help it” (Knowles 87). This shows that Gene is trying to fill the hole that was once his and Finny’s close friendship by liking and befriending a new boy. I predict that, when Phineas returns, he will become very jealous of the new bond that …show more content…
This simile refers to the different expressions that the students give, based on where they are in that moment. Teenagers, today, tend to be the same way and portray different version of themselves with certain peers in certain settings. I can expect that Gene recognizes these behaviors and most certainly falls in line with them, meaning that he may act differently in certain places with different people. He probably feels the need to fit in and therefore forces himself to change based on where he is, while others just naturally do it. To add, he may feel that, by intentionally hurting his friend, he has done something “criminal”, which is why he goes down to the Butt Room and does not even smoke, like the other boys. I predict that Gene will act a certain, more carefree way with his new group of friends including Brinker Hadley, which will make Phineas jealous and cause a dent in the relationship, once