A Separate Peace Coming Of Age Analysis

One of the major themes in A Separate Peace is the coming of age. The theme of maturity can be viewed as a growing realization of the war in the school (in which the students realize that they have to enlist into the war "as men"), or the private and interior crisis one goes through (such as Gene discovering his identity as the novel progresses). The training and the sudden labors that the Devon students engage in attempt to prepare the boys for their future at the war; this can be seen as the external view of maturity in the novel, whereas the "internal" view of maturity can be seen in Gene's thoughts as he searches for his personal identity. Throughout the novel, both Gene and Finny experience important yet damaging issues in their life
This is the moment when the teachers of Devon realize that the students are just on their way of serving the army. The students begin to participate in drills and trips to the railroad and orchard to help out in every way they can. In contrast to the summer of Devon, the winter represents the burdens of maturity and adulthood, and a time where preparation of the war replaces the joyful atmosphere that was present in the summer. The boys of Devon suddenly feel that they must be responsible and "established" in order to face whatever their future brings them in the war. They all realize that they must smarten up and become men, because it is time to face the reality of what is going on behind Devon's peaceful barriers.

The phrase "Innocence must be killed to give birth to experience" says a lot about this time in the novel. Though the teachers had given the students more freedom during the summer and allowed several rule-breakings to take place, they understand that in order for the students to be ready and prepared for the coming conflicts in the army they must stop acting like children and sacrifice their state of immaturity to gain knowledge as adults. They understand that children cannot survive in wars, but men
However, Gene begins to feel a bit envious of Finny, and sees his way of thinking as the truth. This then lead to an inner conflict in Gene, in which he begins to compare himself with Finny in a "Win-Lose" way of thinking. As his thinking of "competition" continues, Gene begins to see certain "flaws" within himself that leads to his insecurity, though these "missing traits" are not really flaws. He does tend to "hold himself back" several times by repeatedly telling himself how lucky he is to have Finny as a best friend, but this excuse soon shatters because he remains selfish. This selfishness of him reveals itself in chapter three, where Finny practically saves Gene from falling, but Gene tries to protect his beliefs of "Finny being the enemy" by telling himself that it was Finny's fault for getting him into the mess in the first place. At the same time, Gene's admiration for Finny's personality prevents him from refusing to go out with Finny; it is in this state that Gene is actually a confused young man, who does not know the true value of friendship, and cannot correct the jealousy that he feels for Finny. The jealousy continues to grow, and soon enough Gene jounces the limb in chapter five, resulting in Finny's fall. As I have said before, Gene is then forced to review what he has done to Finny and take a good look at himself; his mind, feeling extremely guilty for his actions,