Comparing Gene's 'Jealousy In A Separate Peace'
Innocent death caused by bleeding green with envy
Wars begin when countries compete to be the unsurpassed leaders of the world. It all starts with a good country that has the finest resources and the top technology. This country does not have to try to be the best; it is born to be, and it lives angelically with other countries. Consequently, the immeasurable greatness of this nation is never loved by all. The weaker countries develop evil jealousy, and hatred for the dominant empire. Soon the wickedness of the county starts creeping out. Mournfully, the powerful country lacks the ability to see the hatred flowing through the veins of the weaker country. As a result of the jealously, a massacre of the superpower takes place, and the once weaker country over takes the superpower. In the same way that envy leads to the termination of a country, if affects people also. People, who do well for themselves in life, are envied by people who do not accomplish the same. This leads to obsessive jealously …show more content…
by evil characters, therefore resulting in the end to the once prosperous individual. John Knowles uses two allegorical characters in his novel A Separate Peace, to represent how Gene 's evil personality and the innocent charisma of Phineas affect each other. Finny 's death is caused by Gene containing envy for Finny 's attitude, personality, nature and talents.
Gene was doomed to be wicked well before his teenage years when he caused the death of his best friend Finny, his parents were the initiators of his fate. When a mother and father pick a name for their offspring, they pick names that will represent what their child will become. According to critic Anne Alton, Gene 's complete given name is Eugene, which means well-born when translated into Greek meaning (250). His name alone shows that when he was brought into this cruel world, he had high expectations that his parents set. Throughout the novel, Gene feels there are certain standards he has to meet with sports, grades, goals, and status. Gene declares to Finny that he has to study for his French test, rather than watch Leper Lepellier jump out of the tree. He wants to do well on the test so that he can compete with Chet Douglass, who is Gene 's main opponent for the position of class valedictorian (Knowles 58). Gene fells that being the smartest teen in his graduating class is a good way to prove to his parents that he is worthy of his high ranking name. Gene feeling unable to live up to the standards that his parents created causes him to have mental jealousy issues. Finny is living up to his principles of sports without practice or help.
Caused by Gene craving to meet his parents ' high expectations, Gene 's mental war against Finny thrives. Gene 's jealousy multiplies day after day, and within his evil mind, Gene sees Finny on a pedestal. Causing Gene 's rage is feeling like the teachers would let Finny get away with anything due to his sweet talk. An example of this is when Finny rushes to get dressed for his school day; he mistakenly put on his Devon school tie on as a belt. Unlucky for him, one of the teachers notices during tea time. Due to Finny 's angelic and witty nature, he tries to quickly convince the teachers that his replacement for a belt does is purposeful. As Gene sits through Finny 's harangue, he silently thinks to himself, "this time he wasn 't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that" (Knowles 27). Gene getting excited about Finny possibly getting in trouble shows that he is so desirous of Finny 's wit, that he sickly gets amused by the thought of his mental enemy possibly getting into trouble. The final outbreak of Finny 's converse results in the teachers believing that the belt is a wonderful tribute to the school, and is a great idea. Once again, this causes Gene feels as if he is inferior to Finny.
In addition to Finny 's charisma, Gene is also resentful due to Finny 's rare angelic attitude. According to Bryant, the name Phineas alone shows that he is a rare breed. This shows that Finny was created to be the rare personality in a cruel society. Alton explains that Finny is angelic because he always does what he is told to do (252). Finny does not need to brag about succeeding at sports. Once, while the two of them are swimming in the pool, Finny notices that A. Hopkins Parker held the swimming record, and he then feels the need to break it. After Gene gets a stop watch, Finny swims fast enough to break it in one try; what disturbs Gene is that Finny refused to tell anyone that he had broken it (Knowles 44). This makes Gene feel as if Finny is a better person than he, causing Gene 's evil obsession with the innocent to grow. Finny 's everyday personality glows with virtue and he always tries to be the best that he can be. Showing his envy, Gene declares "You had to be rude at least sometimes and edgy often to be credited with "personality," and no one at Devon could be anyone. No one, with the exception of course Phineas" (Knowles 133). The average student at Devon loves Phineas, but they expected more of the lower ranking students to be edgy. The lower ranking students accomplished less at Devon. Finny 's personality makes him an authoritative figure at Devon, because he did not need to be rude to be liked. Expectations like this shot Gene 's mental state, causing him to be resentful.
Subsequently, Finny does numerous deeds that show that he is an excellent person. Gene sickly twists the good deeds in his mind against him. One afternoon, before their daily jump Gene stands with Finny on the limb talking. Finny demonstrates that he loves Gene by saving his life. "I turned to say something else...and I realized that in turning I had begun to lose my balance. There was a total, impersonal panic, and then Finny 's hand shot up and grabbed my arm, and with my balance restored, my panic immediately disappeared" (Knowles 31). After Gene is saved from falling, he twists the rescue around. He states to himself that he would not have been at risk in the tree if Finny had not made him climb up there (Knowles 32). This mental distortion of Finny being evil in Gene 's mind increases the extreme hatred that Gene feels. Sadly, Gene is so caught up in hating Finny 's actions and personality that he is too blinded to see his own true faults (McDonald 75). If Gene was able to see that Finny was not the evil one, then Gene would not twist the good deeds in his mind.
Although Gene is distinguished as an evil character, it is also extremely apparent that Finny is an innocent character. For one boy to confess the secret emotion of friendship to another is a chancy statement but Finny is willing to take this risk. One day, Finny and Gene decide to take a trip to the beach, and while there Finny confesses to Gene that feels that Gene is his best friend. Gene confesses to himself that he is too overwhelmed with envy to admit the same emotion to Finny (Knowles 48). This shows that Finny is unable to see that Gene hates him, and Gene keeps him in the dark. Alton states that "when reading the novel, you can look at it for a transition from Gene as angle like, to his evil activities" (252). Gene often pretends to be a good friend, but transforms into an evil person within seconds. The transformation is always caused when he feels that Finny is beating him at life. An example of the conversion between Gene 's evil and righteousness is when he first realizes Finny wanted him to do well in school. "He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not the same quality as he" (Knowles 59). This realization causes the peak of Genes rage, because it proves to him that Finny is truly a greater person than he.
On top of Finny being humble, friendly, witty and athletic, he shows that he is too innocent to see that Gene is after him.
He is unwilling to admit that Gene would try to hurt him, because he feels Gene is his best friend. "Finny cannot even entertain the idea that Gene would want to hurt him" (McDonald 75). At the end of the novel, a few months after Gene jounces the tree limb that causes Finny to fall, Brinker tries to put Gene on the spot. Brinker tries to pry Leper open for facts on what happened the day that Finny fell. Leper hints that Gene caused the fall. Trying to avoid hearing the truth, Finny tries to run upstairs. But he falls running up the stairs, ultimately resulting in his death (Knowles 177). Various people feel that Finny was in denial and didn 't want to believe his best friend purposely hurt him to save his own innocence (McDonald 73). This is caused by Finny being in total distress when he is forced to admit to himself what the true Gene is like,
evil.
Hence, the devilish emotions running through Gene 's blood and the halo above Finny 's head result in negative consequences. Jealousy of Finny 's attitude, personality, nature and talents all piloted the downfall of the innocent Finny. The wickedness of Gene and superior Phineas demonstrate allegorical characters, and how they affect each other in the novel A Separate Peace. Gene obviously felt he was the weaker nation, and wanted to compete for the glory of being the greater nation. Once Gene starts craving the power of Finny, he becomes determined to be Finny. Competition always leads to the massacre of the superpower.
Work Cited:
Alton, Anne Herbert. Essay on "A Separate Peace."
Novels for Students Ed. Diane Telgon. Vol. 2.
Detroit: Gale, 1997. 252-57.
Bryant, Hallman. "Symbolic Names in Knowles 's A Separate Peace"
1986 Vol. 34 83-88
Knowles, John. A Separate Peace.
Austin, Texas: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston, 1960
McDonald, R. Walter. "Heros Never Learn: Irony in A Sperate Peace":
Iowa English Bulletin, Vol. 22. 1972, 33-6.
Wars begin when countries compete to be the unsurpassed leaders of the world. It all starts with a good country that has the finest resources and the top technology. This country does not have to try to be the best; it is born to be, and it lives angelically with other countries. Consequently, the immeasurable greatness of this nation is never loved by all. The weaker countries develop evil jealousy, and hatred for the dominant empire. Soon the wickedness of the county starts creeping out. Mournfully, the powerful country lacks the ability to see the hatred flowing through the veins of the weaker country. As a result of the jealously, a massacre of the superpower takes place, and the once weaker country over takes the superpower. In the same way that envy leads to the termination of a country, if affects people also. People, who do well for themselves in life, are envied by people who do not accomplish the same. This leads to obsessive jealously …show more content…
by evil characters, therefore resulting in the end to the once prosperous individual. John Knowles uses two allegorical characters in his novel A Separate Peace, to represent how Gene 's evil personality and the innocent charisma of Phineas affect each other. Finny 's death is caused by Gene containing envy for Finny 's attitude, personality, nature and talents.
Gene was doomed to be wicked well before his teenage years when he caused the death of his best friend Finny, his parents were the initiators of his fate. When a mother and father pick a name for their offspring, they pick names that will represent what their child will become. According to critic Anne Alton, Gene 's complete given name is Eugene, which means well-born when translated into Greek meaning (250). His name alone shows that when he was brought into this cruel world, he had high expectations that his parents set. Throughout the novel, Gene feels there are certain standards he has to meet with sports, grades, goals, and status. Gene declares to Finny that he has to study for his French test, rather than watch Leper Lepellier jump out of the tree. He wants to do well on the test so that he can compete with Chet Douglass, who is Gene 's main opponent for the position of class valedictorian (Knowles 58). Gene fells that being the smartest teen in his graduating class is a good way to prove to his parents that he is worthy of his high ranking name. Gene feeling unable to live up to the standards that his parents created causes him to have mental jealousy issues. Finny is living up to his principles of sports without practice or help.
Caused by Gene craving to meet his parents ' high expectations, Gene 's mental war against Finny thrives. Gene 's jealousy multiplies day after day, and within his evil mind, Gene sees Finny on a pedestal. Causing Gene 's rage is feeling like the teachers would let Finny get away with anything due to his sweet talk. An example of this is when Finny rushes to get dressed for his school day; he mistakenly put on his Devon school tie on as a belt. Unlucky for him, one of the teachers notices during tea time. Due to Finny 's angelic and witty nature, he tries to quickly convince the teachers that his replacement for a belt does is purposeful. As Gene sits through Finny 's harangue, he silently thinks to himself, "this time he wasn 't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that" (Knowles 27). Gene getting excited about Finny possibly getting in trouble shows that he is so desirous of Finny 's wit, that he sickly gets amused by the thought of his mental enemy possibly getting into trouble. The final outbreak of Finny 's converse results in the teachers believing that the belt is a wonderful tribute to the school, and is a great idea. Once again, this causes Gene feels as if he is inferior to Finny.
In addition to Finny 's charisma, Gene is also resentful due to Finny 's rare angelic attitude. According to Bryant, the name Phineas alone shows that he is a rare breed. This shows that Finny was created to be the rare personality in a cruel society. Alton explains that Finny is angelic because he always does what he is told to do (252). Finny does not need to brag about succeeding at sports. Once, while the two of them are swimming in the pool, Finny notices that A. Hopkins Parker held the swimming record, and he then feels the need to break it. After Gene gets a stop watch, Finny swims fast enough to break it in one try; what disturbs Gene is that Finny refused to tell anyone that he had broken it (Knowles 44). This makes Gene feel as if Finny is a better person than he, causing Gene 's evil obsession with the innocent to grow. Finny 's everyday personality glows with virtue and he always tries to be the best that he can be. Showing his envy, Gene declares "You had to be rude at least sometimes and edgy often to be credited with "personality," and no one at Devon could be anyone. No one, with the exception of course Phineas" (Knowles 133). The average student at Devon loves Phineas, but they expected more of the lower ranking students to be edgy. The lower ranking students accomplished less at Devon. Finny 's personality makes him an authoritative figure at Devon, because he did not need to be rude to be liked. Expectations like this shot Gene 's mental state, causing him to be resentful.
Subsequently, Finny does numerous deeds that show that he is an excellent person. Gene sickly twists the good deeds in his mind against him. One afternoon, before their daily jump Gene stands with Finny on the limb talking. Finny demonstrates that he loves Gene by saving his life. "I turned to say something else...and I realized that in turning I had begun to lose my balance. There was a total, impersonal panic, and then Finny 's hand shot up and grabbed my arm, and with my balance restored, my panic immediately disappeared" (Knowles 31). After Gene is saved from falling, he twists the rescue around. He states to himself that he would not have been at risk in the tree if Finny had not made him climb up there (Knowles 32). This mental distortion of Finny being evil in Gene 's mind increases the extreme hatred that Gene feels. Sadly, Gene is so caught up in hating Finny 's actions and personality that he is too blinded to see his own true faults (McDonald 75). If Gene was able to see that Finny was not the evil one, then Gene would not twist the good deeds in his mind.
Although Gene is distinguished as an evil character, it is also extremely apparent that Finny is an innocent character. For one boy to confess the secret emotion of friendship to another is a chancy statement but Finny is willing to take this risk. One day, Finny and Gene decide to take a trip to the beach, and while there Finny confesses to Gene that feels that Gene is his best friend. Gene confesses to himself that he is too overwhelmed with envy to admit the same emotion to Finny (Knowles 48). This shows that Finny is unable to see that Gene hates him, and Gene keeps him in the dark. Alton states that "when reading the novel, you can look at it for a transition from Gene as angle like, to his evil activities" (252). Gene often pretends to be a good friend, but transforms into an evil person within seconds. The transformation is always caused when he feels that Finny is beating him at life. An example of the conversion between Gene 's evil and righteousness is when he first realizes Finny wanted him to do well in school. "He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not the same quality as he" (Knowles 59). This realization causes the peak of Genes rage, because it proves to him that Finny is truly a greater person than he.
On top of Finny being humble, friendly, witty and athletic, he shows that he is too innocent to see that Gene is after him.
He is unwilling to admit that Gene would try to hurt him, because he feels Gene is his best friend. "Finny cannot even entertain the idea that Gene would want to hurt him" (McDonald 75). At the end of the novel, a few months after Gene jounces the tree limb that causes Finny to fall, Brinker tries to put Gene on the spot. Brinker tries to pry Leper open for facts on what happened the day that Finny fell. Leper hints that Gene caused the fall. Trying to avoid hearing the truth, Finny tries to run upstairs. But he falls running up the stairs, ultimately resulting in his death (Knowles 177). Various people feel that Finny was in denial and didn 't want to believe his best friend purposely hurt him to save his own innocence (McDonald 73). This is caused by Finny being in total distress when he is forced to admit to himself what the true Gene is like,
evil.
Hence, the devilish emotions running through Gene 's blood and the halo above Finny 's head result in negative consequences. Jealousy of Finny 's attitude, personality, nature and talents all piloted the downfall of the innocent Finny. The wickedness of Gene and superior Phineas demonstrate allegorical characters, and how they affect each other in the novel A Separate Peace. Gene obviously felt he was the weaker nation, and wanted to compete for the glory of being the greater nation. Once Gene starts craving the power of Finny, he becomes determined to be Finny. Competition always leads to the massacre of the superpower.
Work Cited:
Alton, Anne Herbert. Essay on "A Separate Peace."
Novels for Students Ed. Diane Telgon. Vol. 2.
Detroit: Gale, 1997. 252-57.
Bryant, Hallman. "Symbolic Names in Knowles 's A Separate Peace"
1986 Vol. 34 83-88
Knowles, John. A Separate Peace.
Austin, Texas: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston, 1960
McDonald, R. Walter. "Heros Never Learn: Irony in A Sperate Peace":
Iowa English Bulletin, Vol. 22. 1972, 33-6.