The book A Separate Peace follows a boy named Gene, and his friend Finny. As the story goes on, it’s obvious that their friendship ends. Although the two friends are split apart, this story is a bestseller among many audiences, and many consider it the best book they’ve ever read.
Finny and Gene’s relationship in A Separate Peace rotates from being close friends to not friends, and disliking each other. In the story, Finny says, “We go together, a double jump” (59). This shows that Finny is pushing Gene to be more like him. This also shows that Finny could be trying to make Gene a better person, but ends up pushing him away instead. As one example, Finny argues, “I didn’t know you had to study,” (58). This shows that Gene doesn’t share everything with Finny, and maybe Finny is distracting Gene from other work. This also shows that this might have been the first tiny step of jealousy that led to their friendship ending. The story began with them as friends, but it ended with them as enemies, in a sense of speaking …show more content…
For example, Gene says,”I couldn’t say anything to this sincere drugged apology for having suspected the truth,” (66). This shows that he knows he can’t make excuses for what he’s done. This also shows that he’s going to have to find other ways to fix this. For example, older Gene says,”If Phineas had been sitting here in this pool of guilt how would he feel” (66). This shows that Gene is trying to base his reaction to this guilt on what Finny would do, maybe as a first attempt to find peace. This also shows that Gene is struggling to come to terms with what he has done. He is trying many different ways to free himself from the guilt he