Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

A Separate Peace’ by John Knowles is a coming-of-age novel of two young boys, Gene and Finny who live in a dormitory. The story is set in the backdrop of World War II and looks at the trials and tribulations of growing up. The story is narrated in flashback through its protagonist Gene. Gene goes back to Devon and remembers prominent landmarks in his dorm from several years back. He also remembers the people and events associated with them, especially his best friend and foe, Finny. Gene and Finny are two different people altogether; in fact they are poles apart. While Gene is quiet, reserved and introverted, Finny is outgoing and friendly. As they walk back to the dormitory after their adventure at the river and the tree, Gene describes that
Finny walks as ‘a fluid rolling stream of movement’.
This description comes in the background of music playing from a phonograph. Finny, indeed, is the one who is fluid in his emotions, who is effervescent and whose exuberant personality almost feels like the fluidity of a rolling stream. Just before this, the boys have had their adventure, when Finny pushes Gene into jumping off the limb of the tree and into the river. This coercion and the bitter-sweet rivalry they share between them is evident when they are walking back to the dorm. They engage in a wrestle, and miss their dinner time and eventually end up simply going back to their dormitories.