Gene Forrester Character
No person is truly good or truly evil. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles describes the conflict between good and bad. Gene Forrester is a prime example that good and evil are embedded in everyone. Gene Forrester is a sixteen-year-old boy and attends the Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II. Gene is full of good qualities; he is a very studious and obedient person. He strives to become the valedictorian of his class by doing well in school and following the rules. Initially Gene is a very loyal friend to his best friend, Finny. He deeply cares for him and appreciates their friendship. He accompanies Finny on his precarious endeavors such as jumping off the tree and ditching school to go to the beach. Gene also supports
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Gene considers joining the war to forget about what happened to Finny, but he changes his mind when Finny returns to the Devon School. “With Phineas’ return and Gene’s realization that Phineas needs him to help him maintain his integrity, Gene finds moral purpose and determines to live out his life at Devon with Finny.” (Ellis 38). He feels compelled to dress and act like Finny, which helps him cope with the situation. Gene begins to take the place of him, as Finny trains him for the 1944 Olympics and they soon become a part of each other. Finny attempts to convince himself that Gene did not cause the accident, even after Gene had admitted it to him several times. Eventually they come to the conclusion that it was a blind impulse and Gene did not realize what he was doing. Finny forgives Gene, giving them their own separate peace. Gene’s biggest opponent was himself because there was a greater evil inside of him. “Unlike his friends who had sought through some building of defenses to ward off the inevitably of evil, Gene has come to see that this enemy never comes from without, but always from within.” (Ellis 41). Gene Forrester is a prime example that good and evil are embedded in everyone. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles Gene’s evil overcomes him while he is in the tree. Sometimes the evil in people can overshadow the good in their lives, but no one is entirely good or
Gene considers joining the war to forget about what happened to Finny, but he changes his mind when Finny returns to the Devon School. “With Phineas’ return and Gene’s realization that Phineas needs him to help him maintain his integrity, Gene finds moral purpose and determines to live out his life at Devon with Finny.” (Ellis 38). He feels compelled to dress and act like Finny, which helps him cope with the situation. Gene begins to take the place of him, as Finny trains him for the 1944 Olympics and they soon become a part of each other. Finny attempts to convince himself that Gene did not cause the accident, even after Gene had admitted it to him several times. Eventually they come to the conclusion that it was a blind impulse and Gene did not realize what he was doing. Finny forgives Gene, giving them their own separate peace. Gene’s biggest opponent was himself because there was a greater evil inside of him. “Unlike his friends who had sought through some building of defenses to ward off the inevitably of evil, Gene has come to see that this enemy never comes from without, but always from within.” (Ellis 41). Gene Forrester is a prime example that good and evil are embedded in everyone. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles Gene’s evil overcomes him while he is in the tree. Sometimes the evil in people can overshadow the good in their lives, but no one is entirely good or