A Separate Peace

The relationship between two best friends is a complicated subject. As in any relationship, there is usually some give and take. For most, fights emerge and then, just as quickly as they had come, they get pushed back into the background and the friendship continues. But for Gene, the main character in the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, the jealousy and anger he felt toward his best friend for one night turned into a permanent, life-changing event affecting the both of them forever. A Separate Peace is a captivating story centered on Gene’s summer and school year adventures during his junior year at Devon High.
A Separate Peace is about a young, studious boy named Gene, and the relationship between him and his best friend, Finny. The two characters have nothing in common with each other-Gene is studious, Finny could care less; Finny is a rule breaker, Gene is a rule follower –but they are so close to each other, it is as if they are two halves of a whole. So, of course, Gene sticks with Finny through all the dare devilish, crazy ideas he comes up with, like sneaking to the beach and creating the Super Suicide Society. One day, however, Gene gets angry at Finny, believing that Finny is dragging Gene’s grades down on purpose to become better than him, and while they were in a tree, Gene purposefully shakes Finny out of it. This fall shatters not only Finny’s leg, but also his athletic career and, learned later in the book, the hope of being able to serve in the army during World War II. Gene feels terribly sorry for what happened, but instead of facing his problem, he tries to forget about it, and after trying to tell Finny once and failing, he quits trying to tell Finny he is the one to blame. Many months pass, and life becomes more regular during the school year. But everyone knew that Gene broke Finny’s leg, and one day a dorm neighbor, Brinker, sets out to tell Finny what really happened during the accident. In the night, Brinker and his friends kidnap Gene and Finny and take them to the assembly hall, where they begin asking Finny questions about the accident. Eventually, Finny remembers that Gene did shake the tree, and once the truth comes out, Finny gets up and runs away. While on the stairs, he falls and yet again breaks his leg. This second fall causes an even more terrible and eventually fatal accident than before; an accident that Gene still can’t forget about during his adult life many years later.
Not only is this story centered on Gene and Finny’s friendship, but it also focuses on the affects of World War II during this time. For example, at Devon High, all the boys are excited to enlist as soon as they can. The first one to enlist is a boy named Leper. Leper was a quiet, nature-loving, friendly guy. During the war, however, Leper changed dramatically into a scared and pessimistic “psycho” and got kicked out of the army. This shows some of the negative effect WWII had on the young men during that time.
In my opinion, the novel A Separate Peace was a well written story that addressed many issues on the subjects of friendship and war in very well developed characters and plot. I enjoyed the book, even though, at times, it could be a little dark. It was a fairly easy and entertaining read and I recommend it to anyone in the mood for a moving novel about friendship.