The Role Of Innocence In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

The common phrase “ignorance is bliss’, describes someone having a lack of knowledge or information. In the novel ignorance and innocence play a similar role within the characters’ lives. Not only did Gene’s sense of innocence change, but so did Phineas’. Phineas takes the concept of not accepting change to a whollevel. The change within Finny all started with him intertwined with his own disbelief of the reality of war surrounding him. He was unaware that he was drowning in ignorance and it was too late to be saved. John Knowles uses Finny to depict the image of how innocence changes throughout the novel by Gene responding to the changes in maturity. In the beginning of the novel, Finny’s response to change going on within his society
Their innocence changes to maturity all because of the split second decision that Gene made to break Finny’s leg. They both found themselves noticing the change going on between their friendship in Devon. Gene talks about Finny and the maturity in their relationship, “Finny decided we were beginning to show commendable signs of maturity” (Knowles 23). The acknowledgement of Phineas and Gene’s maturity in this quote sets the tone for change throughout the rest of the novel. It foreshadows the build of pressure and influence internally in Gene and Finny leading up to the accident and they have all of the elements of society stacked up upon them. The weight of darkness in society drags them down to an unforgiving fate. While Gene talked to Phineas after the accident, “He looked older than I had ever seen him” (Knowles 70). Later on in the book the intensity in how much the boys changed grows after this conflict had come to peace. Gene witnesses the seriousness of their society cause Finny act in a way he had never seen before. The strange way in which they left their innocence behind bringing forth a deeper presence of maturity within