Preview

Separate Peace Characters

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
326 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Separate Peace Characters
A Separate Peace is novel based on the conflicts of to sixteen-year old boys. They attend an all boys private school in New England called Devon. Although these characters are very distinct, they are best friends. This essay will explain the few similarities and the many differences of the very unique characters including their one-of-a-kind personalities, their distinctive backgrounds, and their special appearances.

The two main characters in A Separate Peace have one-of-a-kind personalities. Phineas is athletically talented; Gene has a chance of becoming valedictorian. Although Gene is a mediocre athlete, he could never meet Finny’s talents. Moreover, Phineas is extremely persuasive; for example, he impressingly compelled Mr. Patch-Withers’
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Book Report
    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Separate Peace Book Report

    1) The main character of the book, A Separate Peace, is Gene Forrester. He is in the senior class at Devon. He is widely known as the smart student who is always on time to class and always does his school work. Gene is a good choice as the main character of this book, but if the author would have chosen Finny as the main character, the book would have been different. Finny leaves Devon for an amount of time because he breaks his leg. Therefore, if he was the main character, the book would not have been placed at Devon the whole time, it would have been placed at Finny's house for a short amount of time. The reader would have also been able to see what Finny was thinking when he first broke his leg and when he did it a second time. The two characters are similar, in the fact that, they both would not be where they are today without their friendship. They are also both very competitive with each other. Gene and Finny are different, in the fact that, Gene is shy while Finny is very outgoing. Finny is focused on athletics while Gene is focused on academics.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Seperate Peace: Did Finny Do It on Purpose?
    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Seperate Peace: Did Finny Do It on Purpose?

    John Knowles A Separate Peace is thought to be a memoir of the author himself, set during the heart of World War Two, and the aftermath of those years. The protagonist, Gene Forrester, a seemingly happy boy, hides fear and paranoia within. His best friend and the antagonist of the story, Finny, is his greatest competition. Throughout their years at school together, they become inseparable. But, as their friendship grows deeper, Gene’s paranoia grows with it. Finny is the schools top athlete and is loved and known by everyone. As the story progresses, Gene becomes something of his side-kick. Although this may be happening, Gene only thinks Finny is trying to get closer to him in order to ruin his athletic and academic career at the school. During the summer of their first year together, they form the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. Initiation into this club involved jumping from a tree limb into a small river. The two boys are the first to do this of everyone at the school. During the summer session, the boys decide to make the jump together. Upon climbing onto the limb Finny tells Gene to jump first. As Finny is about to jump, he loses his balance, but Gene catches him and practically saves his life. During the next summer session, they decide to jump together again. This time, Finny walks out to the end first. He too begins to lose his balance, but this time because Gene purposefully “jounced the limb.” One can see he did this purposefully due to three key reasons. Firstly, their competition between each other and Genes obvious envy towards Finny. Secondly, the way eyewitnesses and Gene himself describe the situation. And lastly, Genes confession to Finny the year after.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rough Patches In A Separate Peace, By John Knowles
    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rough Patches In A Separate Peace, By John Knowles

    In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, friendships and different stages of friendships are shown throughout the novel. The evolution of a true friendship to a secretive and jealous relationship is represented through many different events in the story.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    In high school, students often face challenges that force them to grow up. From their first break up to peer pressure, they slowly begin losing their innocence. Similarity, in A Separate Peace two boys are exposed to hatred and violence in a military academy. During World War II, Gene and Phineas begin with a normal friendship, but throughout time they both face new conflicts. Through jealousy and paranoia, they change from friends to rivals. When challenges come face to face with Gene he attempts to get rid of them in the worst ways possible, which eventually leads him to a loss of innocence. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene lives in his own world, but through his friendship with Phineas, he learns he has to face reality.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Finny's Characters
    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Finny's Characters

    John Knowles, the author of the historical fiction novel A Separate Peace , used his characters to explore concepts related to youth and maturation. The four most prominent characters he utilizes are Brinker Hadley, Elwin “Leper” Lepellier, Gene Forester, and Phineas. Brinker and Leper are used by Knowles to contrast Gene and Finny as characters, highlight their relationship, and exemplify the different forms of friendship.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Correlation Of Friendship Between Gene And Finny In A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Correlation Of Friendship Between Gene And Finny In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, he plagues the friendship of Gene and Finny with competition. Through the glimpses of Gene’s memory, Knowles shows the intertwining of competiveness and friendship because of jealously and envy. In several episodes of Gene’s memory, like Finny and Gene’s arguments, the winter carnival, and the trial, Knowles expresses the difficulty of separating friendship from competitiveness. Throughout John Knowles’ novel, the friendship between Finny and Gene is jeopardized by their constant want to be better than the other, through competition.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Characters of a Seperate Peace
    • 664 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Characters of a Seperate Peace

    Gene and Finny are the two main characters of the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles. They are two very different people but manage to still be friends despite. During the course of the book, it becomes evident Gene’s envy for Finny. However given the nature of Gene and Finny’s personalities it is almost impossible for Gene to not envy Finny.…

    • 664 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Research Paper
    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace Research Paper

    Friendship is a special bond between two people; a bond that depends on one important element, trust. The book A Separate Peace focuses on the relationship between two adolescent boys in prep school. Phineas and Gene had two completely different personalities. Phineas, athletic and adventurous, had a wild imagination, and never followed tradition. Gene, smart in academics, conservative, and hard working, would have preferred to follow the rules. It hardly seems that the two could become friends, being so different from each other; having little in common, what time could they possibly spend together? When Phineas persuaded Gene into biking to the beach with him, Gene thought of several reasons not to go, still he went with Phineas. Much of…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    A Separate Peace-John Knowles
    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A Separate Peace-John Knowles

    A Separate Peace is a novel that criticizes society, based on a romantic point of view of human nature. Firstly, Gene's aggressive nature is being nurtured by societies preoccupation with competition, inner-enemies, and power. Contrasting to Gene, Finny has a natural goodness about him that has not been corrupted by society. Lastly, the Devon school is a symbol of rivalry and competitiveness of the world, which has produced a devastating war on a much larger scale.…

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis
    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Separate Peace Character Analysis

    “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out” (Walter Winchell). This quote is portrayed in the book of A Separate Peace through the characters of Gene and Phineas. Friendship is a common theme in the book of A Separate Peace. It causes conflict between characters and it also causes characters to change as a person throughout the book. Gene is the narrator of the book and he causes many conflicts with his best friend, Phineas or commonly called Finny, and also changes as a person throughout these conflicts. Over the course of the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester changes as a person due to certain thoughts, actions, and feelings; he influences relationships with people in a negative way, and teaches the importance of not being jealous towards others.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace
    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Separate Peace

    There are many well-known themes in the book A Separate Peace. One of the most themes is a coming of age for the boys who live and learn at Devon school. For some boys at this school, a coming of age means more opportunities, and for some others, means a chance to go from being a boy, to becoming a man. A large contradiction in this book is innocence vs. ignorance. For some boys the innocence will be destroyed in order for a coming of age to take place. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, growing up at Devon school means that each and every boy will be faced with a simple decision, kill off your innocence, or let it destroy you, physically and/or mentally.…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Friendship In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Friendship In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    While there are many themes in John Knowles' novel, “A Separate Peace”, one of the most significant themes is friendship. A friend is, "a person who is well-known to another and regarded with liking and loyalty." Gene is a smart hardworking boy, while Phineas, or Finny, is a great, natural athlete. Gene and Finny met because they are dorm roommates and became friends because they have common interests and because they envy each other's strengths. An example of Gene envying Finny’s personality is when he says, “It was a compliment to me to have such a person choose me to be their best friend” (Knowles 29). “A Separate Peace” shows that jealousy and broken trust between two very close friends, can lead to problems that can not be repaired later…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Essay
    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace Essay

    Gene, the narrator of A Separate Peace, is full of concerns and insecurities. Gene is trying to define his character. In the beginning, he is very jealous of Finny; he wants to be just like Finny. In chapter 2, on page 25, Gene says, “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.” This shows that Gene is jealous of Finny and the fact that Finny can get away with anything that he does wrong. Gene is jealous of Finny because he was the best athlete in school. Gene says, “He had unconsciously invented a game which brought his own athletic gifts to their highest pitch” (39). This quote shows that Gene recognizes the athletic power and magnetic personality that makes people drawn to him. He is also jealous of him because Finny had a magnetic personality and so Gene acted like a partner.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Reflection
    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace Reflection

    The book A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is about kids at Devon, a private high school, during World War II. As the war progresses throughout the book, it takes over life at Devon more and more. Near the beginning of the book, the war is not really involved in Finny and Gene’s lives at Devon, except as a joke and excuse for breaking rules. Later on, though, the war develops into Finny and Gene’s lives at Devon.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A separate peace
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A separate peace

    A Separate Peace is a novel written by John Knowles that takes place in the 1940's. There are several examples of symbolism that are used in A Separate Peace. One is when the character named Leper is called scarecrow or snowman. Other examples that John Knowles uses are the old buildings outside at the Devon School and also the character Finny. Symbolism is a good thing in this story because it gives the readers a larger advantage to reading the story.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More