Phineas's Role In A Separate Peace

Knowles is trying to comment that it is not possible to stay young and free as it is dangerous. Life is a survival of the fittest, and Phineas’s naivete ultimately leads him to his demise, because he cannot accept the reality of the war and the accident. Phineas undergoes three stages before acceptance: 1. denial, 2. anger, and 3. acceptance. He denies to accept the war’s existence and Gene’s role in his injury. Phineas believes it is better to be ignorant of Gene’s role in the accident because he does not want to doubt his friendship with Gene. He is also angry because he is forced to acknowledge the facts he has been avoiding and ignoring. He acts irrationally due to anger, like breaking his leg again by falling down the stairs. In the end,
Phineas accepts the facts he is forced to accept during the trial. However, the knowledge and his naivete ultimately leads to his demise because his ignorance shelters him from the facts he is not ready to acknowledge. When he is forced to acknowledge those facts, he is not ready and fit enough to fully accept it. Phineas’s naivete leads to his downfall because he is not ready and his mental state is not fit enough to accept the realization of Gene’s role in his injury.