Preview

A Separate Peace Essay Example 11

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1011 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Separate Peace Essay Example 11
A Separate Peace Essay Betrayal, one of the most horrible things you could do to anyone your family, a friend anyone. To me it’s one of my all time most hated things a person could do and it’s almost unforgivable. In this book A Separate Peace by John Knowles two boys Phineas and Gene who are best friends at a boarding school in New Hampshire experience some of the worst kinds of Betrayal you could think of. Gene commits a very bad betrayal when he jousts the tree limb they are both standing on ending up with Finny falling and badly breaking his leg. This was no accident because Gene can’t stand the guilt. After the accident Gene is allowed to go see Finny in the hospital and gets interrupted when he’s about to tell Finny he did it on purpose. He gets another chance when he shows up at Phineas house and bust out that he did it on purpose. “You see! Kill me! Now you know what it is! I did it because I felt like that! Now you know yourself!” Gene says this when Finny tells him to shut up or he will kill him and that explains the Genes reason for hurting Finny. This is betrayal they are best friends and best friends are suppose to look out for one another. Gene did this because he can’t stand Finny they are best friends but Gene envies Finny so much and hated him but really loved him. This betrayal is the leading event to one of the most shocking and awful things that could ever happen to a boy. Another betrayal in this story leads to Finny re injuring himself and make things even worse happens a little while after his return to Devon.
While Finny was at home the boys at their school brought up that maybe Gene did it on purpose just to get his own room and get rid of Finny. When they say this to Gene it upsets him very much and he assures them that it was an “accident” which we know it’s wasn’t but they don’t know that. So they try and blame it on Gene and Finny not knowing that it wasn’t true and Gene denied it all runs or waddles out
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Comparing Gene's 'Jealousy In A Separate Peace'
    • 1765 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Comparing Gene's 'Jealousy In A Separate Peace'

    He is unwilling to admit that Gene would try to hurt him, because he feels Gene is his best friend. "Finny cannot even entertain the idea that Gene would want to hurt him" (McDonald 75). At the end of the novel, a few months after Gene jounces the tree limb that causes Finny to fall, Brinker tries to put Gene on the spot. Brinker tries to pry Leper open for facts on what happened the day that Finny fell. Leper hints that Gene caused the fall. Trying to avoid hearing the truth, Finny tries to run upstairs. But he falls running up the stairs, ultimately resulting in his death (Knowles 177). Various people feel that Finny was in denial and didn 't want to believe his best friend purposely hurt him to save his own innocence (McDonald 73). This is caused by Finny being in total distress when he is forced to admit to himself what the true Gene is like,…

    • 1765 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Plot Summary Of A Separate Peace
    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Plot Summary Of A Separate Peace

    His constant beliefs that Finny is trying to ruin his grades, is dragging him down and trying to outdo him cause him to twist their friendship into a competition that is deadly for both of them. Finny’s good hearted intentions cause Gene to resent him even more. When Finny broke the school record in swimming, he decided to keep between himself and Gene. According to Gene, Finny is “too good to be true” and “[p]erhaps for that reason his accomplishment took root in [Gene’s] mind and grew rapidly in the darkness [he] was forced to hide in” (44). His vengeful side grew deeper as he saw how pure Finny was and after her realizes “Now [Gene] knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between [them]. [Gene] was not the same quality as [Finny],” (59) which push him over the edge and his vindictiveness and cause the destruction of…

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

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    The first scene of jealousy to be discussed, is the scene where Gene jounced the limb of the tree, causing Finny to fall. Finny ended up with a severely broken leg. Any reader would basically have to think that Gene jounced the limb because of his of jealousy of Finny. Finny was one of those kids that everyone could be jealous of. He was a rebel, but could talk his way out of everything. He could be known as the “Houdini” of getting in trouble! Gene was obviously jealous of this, like everyone. However, the kicker is when the reader finds out that Gene had previously thought that Finny was trying to sabotage him because he was jealous of Gene’s academic abilities. At this point, you are probably thinking to yourself “What if Gene accidently did move the branch? What if he…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gene's War In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gene's War In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    Gene had to fight against Brinker, who knew the truth about the accident in the tree. Brinker was able to deduce that Gene caused Finny’s fall on purpose and he would stop at nothing to prove that he was right. In the process of being right, he destroyed Gene and Finny’s friendship. Gene fought Brinker because Brinker was trying to ruin the bond that Gene and Finny had.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gene's Rivalry In John Knowles A Separate Peace
    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gene's Rivalry In John Knowles A Separate Peace

    Gene’s outlook on life changes when his friendship with Finny blossoms. Lacking confidence in himself, Gene tries to find out where he belongs, and his friendship with Finny becomes unhealthy. In addition to the friendship, Gene feels an unspoken rivalry between him and Finny. However, Gene takes offense when Finny disagrees with the existence of a rivalry. Still feeling the tension, Gene decides to jump on the branch the boys are standing on, destabilizing it and causing Finny to fall down and break his leg. In the instant after Finny falls, the rivalry fades away and is quickly replaced by guilt. After the accident, Gene realizes that he will “never stumble through the confusions of [his] own character again” (54). Gene’s identity not only defines him but also Finny, because the two grow closer after the incident. Since Finny cannot be the star athlete he used to be, Finny tells Gene to work hard to become better at athletics, and this is the start of Gene’s codependency. Every time Finny convinces Gene to become a better athlete, "[Gene loses] part of [himself] to [Phineas]… and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been [Gene’s] purpose from the first: to…

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

    A Separate Peace. Chapter analisys
    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Separate Peace. Chapter analisys

    4. What does Finny say to Gene at the end of Chapter 3? “I hope you’re having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all, you can’t come to the shore with just anybody and you can’t come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life, the proper person is your best pal. Which is what you are.” (Chapter 3, page 40.)…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Separate Peace: How People Affect Gene
    • 788 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace: How People Affect Gene

    At one point in your life you will be jealous of someone else and you are going to want what they have. Gene’s emotions are very mixed throughout the book when he is around Finny but I think the overall emotion he has is jealousy and envy of Finny “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 your best friend a little.” (P.25)This is the first sign showing that Gene is jealous of Finny. This happens when Finny wore the pink tablecloth as a shirt and a tie as a belt. Gene finally realized if anybody else ever did this they would have it torn off their back and other consequences. Since it was Finny though all he had to do was explain it and he got away from it; he even ran in to the head master and Finny told it was his emblem and he did not care. Finny could convince anybody to do anything he wanted them to do. He convinced Gene to jump out of the tree even though Gene did not want to. Gene wants the power to do this that is why he is so jealous of Finny. Finny could also do whatever he wants. An example of this is when Finny broke A. Hopkins Parker’s swimming record by .7 seconds. All these emotions change when he is not around Finny.…

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

    Gene's Struggles In A Separate Peace
    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gene's Struggles In A Separate Peace

    Gene’s relationship with Finny has a big impact on his life. For example, Finny is always trying to keep Gene from thinking about the war. Gene remembers, “for hours sometimes for days I fell without realizing it into the private explanation of the world” (Knowles 123). In his own way, Finny was able to make Gene forget about everything around them. Eventually Gene realizes that he has been blind to how bad war is because he really only sees what goes on at Devon. Gene also realizes that he has…

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

    Jealousy In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'
    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jealousy In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

    Finny wanted to be in the Olympics, it was his dream, but due to his broken leg, Finny could not walk and therefore, could not train. Leper knew for a fact that Gene caused Finny’s fall off the tree, which is shown when Leper calls him savage multiple times when Gene visits him, and Brinker (another friend of Gene) tried to frame him for his “crime”. Afterwards, Gene and Finny began to rebuild their relationship overtime, however, due to his broken leg, Finny slipped, down the stairs, causing his other leg to break, this time being fatal, for the marrow of his bones traveled through his blood and into his heart, stopping it. Basically, Gene completely ruined Finny’s life, and then killed him, and all because he say Finny as a threat. This also affected Gene, because he realized that he was actually a part of Finny, as thought of by him, “Phineas had thought of me as an extension of himself.” (Knowles 98). Because of this, Gene never cried about Finny, even at his funeral, because he always felt as if it was his own death and funeral. Gene, decided to be see the world through Finny’s eyes, and he realized that there was no enemy, in fact, he never even killed anyone in the war, as the enemy fled before he even got to the battlefield. His only enemy was…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Gene Character Analysis
    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Separate Peace Gene Character Analysis

    At first, Gene and Finny were best friends. Their friendship seemed perfect, as if nothing could stop it. Finny led and Gene let him lead and did pretty much anything that Finny wanted him to do. Gene even jumps off a limb of a tree because Finny wanted him to.
Later on, when they go to the Headmaster’s tea, Gene realizes that Finny can get away with anything. Because of this, Gene starts to envy him. At first, Gene thinks that just a little envy couldn’t hurt. Immediately after the “tea party” they are about to jump off the limb a second time, and Gene almost falls. Finny saves him, but…

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

    Gene's Relationship To Finny
    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gene's Relationship To Finny

    These boys have constant wars with themselves. Gene was the kid who started all this drama. Finny is dead now because of what Gene did. Gene cannot live when he knows it was him who killed finny.…

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

    Winger Essay
    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Winger Essay

    Joey said that he wasn't interested and was just going to sit in his room and listen to music. Casey, who was another gay teenager, not very many people know about, wanted to be closer to Joey than just friends. Joey got sick of Casey always trying to get with him so he finally flipped out and told casey that there were plenty of other gay guys in the school he could go with, and he wasn't interested in him. Joey made sure he said it loud enough so others could hear him to. Casey was humiliated. quote Later that night Casey and Kevin, his friend, got drunk and destroyed the O Hall. The author left us hanging and didn't really give us any notice that Joey would be gone. The next day after Joey was missing for 24 hours, we started a search team, and later found Joey not far from the O Hall, hanging from a tree stripped naked, and beaten to death. Through the book the author said that Joey was gay, but wasn't really scared of people knowing he was. Joey wouldn't say it unless he was asked or really had to, but at the same time he wasn't afraid of being gay. Joey acted like a normal teenage boy who loved playing rugby and got along with all the other guys. Out of nowhere the author brought the book to a shocking ending. Joey one of Ryan’s best friends was just murdered by another gay guy and his…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Flashbacks In A Separate Peace
    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Flashbacks In A Separate Peace

    There are many symbols in the book that show Gene is dealing with an inner conflict. After Finny’s accident Gene goes to see Finny which shows he is struggling with guilt. Once he returns to Devon for school he does not have Finny or anyone else as a roommate. At this time he wears Finny’s clothes which shows that the inner conflict he deals with is not knowing who he is. He is himself, yet he is also morphing into Finny. Finny comes back to school awhile later to see that his place was “saved” for him. “Saving my place for me! Good old Devon. But anyway, you wouldn’t have let them put anyone else in there, would you?” (Knowles, pg.83). Gene is surprised by Finny’s arrival showing that he may in fact not be guilty at all because he didn’t intend on saving Finny’s room. Later, when they skip class and go to the gym Finny wants Gene to do pullups. Gene wants to prove he is better than him so he does them successfully. This shows that Gene is trying to one up Finny and be better than him. This symbolises his inner conflict by showing he really doesn’t know who he is. He constantly goes back and forth between how he acts and how Finny…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Gene Cause The War In A Separate Peace
    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Does Gene Cause The War In A Separate Peace

    I think that Gene still holds the burden for that happening. I think that both of them know the truth, but Finny doesn’t really want to accept it yet. This is a symbol that shows up throughout the novel. One act that caused Finny to break his leg had such a big consequence. , not physically, but mentally and emotionally.…

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

    A Seperate Peace: Innocence to Experience
    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Seperate Peace: Innocence to Experience

    To begin, throughout the book Gene is innocent until he trips his best friend off the limb of the tree and experiences his pain. Firstly, As Gene and Finny decide to jump off the tree together, Gene’s jealous and envious nature against Finny decides to take action by making an impulsive act, “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud.”(Knowles60). This quote shows how Gene loses his innocence. Gene’s jealousy leads him into committing an impulsive act. Secondly, Gene feels really sorry for what he has done to Finny as he feels the urge of saying sorry. He is at the stage of experience since he regrets what he did after seeing his best friend in pain. Gene feels a deep sense of guiltiness as he’s gone out of his ways to go see Finny at night to say sorry, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” (Knowles 185). Due to Gene’s experience of pushing Finny of the tree, he feels a loss of his innocence. Gene does not believe he has done such a thing to his own best friend; this has also caused a lack of self-esteem for Gene. Lastly, Gene confronts…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More