A Separate Peace Character Analysis

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Tim Shen Mr. Pulsifer Intro to Genres 13 April 2015 A Separate Peace: Friendship A Separate Peace was the first novel of John Knowles that was first published in 1959, and it brought undebatable classic status in America and huge reputation to him. Shortly after the United States enters the WWII, Gene Forrester, our narrator and protagonist, is returning and attending Devon which is a New Hampshire boarding school. Gene is a calm, thoughtful young man. Gene’s close friend and roommate Finny has great athletic talent and an honest heart, and he also is self-confident and buried jealousy of Gene. A good example of Finny’s talent is when he wins the best school’s swimming record on his first try. Finny’s success makes Gene get more and more jealous. Gene also thinks Finny distracts him from studying. However, Gene still hides his envy and tries to keep a good relationship with Finny. The story turns to a violence scene when Gene knocks down Finny off a tree and Finny’s leg is shattered. Finny loses his athletic talent forever, but Finny and most people think this is an accident and they do not blame it on Gene. After a brief vacation, Gene feels guilty and tells Finny the truth that he caused the fall, but Finny refuses to believe the confession. Eventually,…show more content…
(I) Finny and Gene do have a happy time together and their relationship is strong. They used to have healthy competition, such as wrestling together. (Q)” I threw my hip against his, catching him by surprise, and he was instantly down, definitely pleased. This was why he liked me so much. When I jumped on top of him, my knees on his chest, he couldn't ask for anything better. We struggled in some equality for a while, and then when we were sure we were too late for dinner, we broke off” (19). (A) In this moment, two boys’ friendship is filled with joy and support. In fact, Finny doesn’t worry about the competition between

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