A Separate Peace Essay
In chapters 1-3 of John Knowles’ book A Separate Peace, the characters Gene and Finny appear to be the best of friends. The two boys are 16-year-olds attending Devon School during World War II. Finny is an exceptional athlete who never seems to run out of energy, while Gene is a hard working student with great grades. Wherever Finny, the daredevil, goes, Gene, the quiet boy, appears to willingly accompany him. However, Gene’s resentment at feeling forced to engage in activities of Finny’s devising, Gene’s responses when he thinks Finny is getting into trouble, and Gene’s comments about their friendship reveal his growing discontent. Finny, being the adventurous boy he is, creates games that are exciting to him, but when Gene feels forced into participating, Gene begins to feel a discontent toward Finny. The story begins with Finny pressuring Gene to jump off the limb of a tall tree in the Devon school grounds. If Gene jumps far enough off the tree, he will fall safely into the river. However, if Gene accidentally slips off the limb, then he will fall from many feet onto the ground and get seriously injured or even die. Although this is a life-threatening game, it does not deter Finny from jumping anyway. In fact, taking risks always excites him, so he “[sees] nothing the slightest bit intimidating about [the tree]” (6). So after Finny jumps from the tree, he insists that Gene jump as well. While Gene is standing on the limb, frightened, he wonders to himself, “Why [do] I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? [Is] he getting some kind of hold over me?” (9). This is the first hint of discontent Gene has about having to jump off the tree. However, Gene jumps out of the tree anyway and lands in the water feeling “fine” (9).