Theme Of Identity In A Separate Peace

"Identity relates to our basic values that dictate the choices we make. These choices reflect who we are and what we value. (Heshmat). This idea of identity is defined as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, and in John Knowles, A Separate Peace, identity is a recurring theme. The novel provides an exemplary example of the troubles that come from leaving the innocence of childhood and merging into the indecent world of adulthood. In the midst of the underlying plots of the novel, Gene Forrester, Phineas "Finny", Brinker Hadley, and Leper Leppellier find themselves in a war with their own identities, into a transition they never thought to arrive: the pinnacle of their adolescence into adulthood. "In every moment we can rediscover
and recreate ourselves." This test of identity really lures these four friends to the edge, and the events occurring within this story certainly contribute to the date of this group of peers.