Literary Analysis Essay on A Separate Peace

Introduction

In "A Separate Peace," Novel Gene is the main protagonist, and he is extensively used to express them of change in the novel. Knowles introduced Gene to the readers has a young boy who was in high school during the World War II era. Gene is a character that keeps on changing from the beginning to the end of the novel. Knowles begins by portraying, Gene as a clueless person who later transforms into an understanding individual and finally as a knowledgeable and a wiser person. Several events have transpired throughout the novel hence causing change on Gene's character. Therefore, the subject of discussion is Gene's change to an envious followed by regeneration and finally to an understanding person due to Finny's friendship as well as the feeling of guilt.

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Gene was initially a clueless teenager, and as a result, he became envious of Finny's sociable and Enlighted character after their friendship. Gene used to be an introvert; however, Finny started slowly to invite him to his fun-loving lifestyle. Finny went to the extent of confessing that gene was his best despite Gene having admitted that he was the least trustworthy person. Therefore, Gene envied Finny due to the sociable character he evaded punishments at Devon and was able to for Olympics preparation activities such as tree jumping (Ellis 315). Consequently, "Gene finds himself jealous of Finny's ability to flout Devon rules in his quest to enjoy an unregulated friendliness with the adult world"(Ellis 314). This was because he felt that that Finny was capable of getting away with everything at Devon. The envy was so intense that Gene caused Finny to fall off from the tree by intentionally shaking the branch that Finny was standing on. This event indicated that Gene had fallen victim to human heart moral blackness and ignorance due to his fear of being inferior to Finny (Ellis 315).

The second change of gene was regeneration from a lonely envious person to a more interactive person. Gene explained that it was essential "to break the pattern of my life -that complex design I had been weaving alone since birth and all its dark threads"(Ellis 316). Gene was willing to persevere all the difficulties during his regeration process. This change was triggered by Finny's return to Devon after the recovery of his broken leg. Gene knew very well that Finny needed his help to restore his integrity, and therefore he chooses to flee from Devon. This was because Gene felt that to live a good life, he needed to be away way from Finny. Moreover, Gene had been accused of having caused Funny's fall by Leper through a telegram message (Ellis 317). As a result, Gene was guilty of his moral weakness and was not peaceful. He wanted to withdraw from people like Leper, who tormented him. Gene said that "I wanted to see Phineas and Phineas only. With him, there was no conflict..." (Ellis 317). Gene had discovered that he would only be a better person with Finny around him.

The last change that Gene underwent becoming an understanding person. Gene changed to a knowledgeable person and appreciated his wrongful acts. Gene knew that it was vital for him to admit that he had an internal war within himself (Sansom 23). Gene confessed to Finny that he was responsible for his fall from the tree, and during his reconciliation, he denied that he had nothing personal against Phineas. Instead, he said, "It was just some ignorance inside me, some crazy thing inside me, something blind that's all" (Knowles 174). He understood that his human heart ignorance is the one that led to his stupid actions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Gene is a character that has changed through the development of his personality. Knowles introduces him as an introvert that later becomes envious due to learning about Finnny's exposure. Then he regenerates his character and consequently acknowledges changing to live a good life would be helpful to him. Finally, he understands his mistakes and understands the meaning of his friendship with Finny. It also acknowledges his wrongs to Finny. Actually, Gene has transformed throughout the novel.

Work Cited

Ellis, James. "" A Separate Peace": The Fall from Innocence." The English Journal 53.5 (1964): 313-318."

Knowles, John. A separate peace. Simon and Schuster, 2014.

Sansom, Judy. "The Tree of Panic in A Separate Peace." Kansas English 99.1 (2018).