The war would have necessarily divided Finny and Gene, since Gene could serve and Finny could not; their old friendship would have ended anyway, and Gene would finally be taken over by order and discipline, and severed from his old friend's rebelliousness. However, Finny doesn't really die in Gene; as Gene says, " Phineas created an atmosphere in which I continued now to live," and he takes up Finny's way of looking at the world and choosing what to accept and what to let go.
Because Finny is gone, Gene does have to let some of Finny's spirit reside in him. The general explanation for Leper's change comes out in one of the book's closing paragraphs. Gene speaks about how everyone "at some point found something in themselves pitted violently against something in the world around them" And, as a result of this overwhelming conflict with some great force, "the simplicity and unity of their characters broke and they were not the same again. But, does this same thing happen to Gene?
It is not clear; though Gene has been through a great deal, with his relationship with Finny and Finny's death as well, it seems like he has adopted some of the coping mechanisms that Finny had, and is not as touched by this kind of struggle. For a time, though, Finny's death is the force that floors him; maybe he is not exactly the same after this happens, though Gene tries his best to say that Finny lives in him, so he will get by okay. But, at the same time, Gene admits that he had broken Finny's "harmonious and natural unity"; if Finny too had lost this, can Gene ever hope to retain it?
And what does this mean about Gene? Are any of these really the truth? Indeed, Gene seems reluctant to speak directly and honestly about the accident, and say definitively what his motivation was and why. And maybe this isn't something Gene will ever know; as he admits in the book, there are a great number of things that he doesn't know about himself, that he would like to never find out. This could be one of them, and could be the reason why Gene admits fault for the accident, but won't really search within himself for why he did it.
But, if Finny and Gene also let the incident rest, then Gene might feel this is a good enough reason to let the past alone, and not experience the pain all over again. One of the final lessons, that Gene goes into on the last page, is how futile hate and fear both are; he cites Mr.
Ludsbury , Brinker, and Leper as being misguided and losing a great deal in citing their own enemies and trying their best to defend against them. Gene says he has already killed his own enemy, and therefore has gotten rid of his hate and his fear. Gene's enemy must have been himself, or at least the part of himself that was so quick to lash out and hurt other people.
He believes that he has buried his darker side, and from what the reader can tell, maybe he has. Hopefully Finny's influence is as strong with him as he insists, and he will never again let himself slip into carelessly harming someone who is almost part of himself. The Question and Answer section for A Separate Peace is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Where does the author get the title for his novel?
A separate peace is a nation's agreement to cease military hostilities with another even though the former country had previously entered into a military alliance with other states that remain at war with the latter country. This of course becomes How does gene change during the novel? Gene has a definite dark side lurking beneath the surface, though he appears to be a good, honest person in his everyday life. The book is spawned by a later visit to Devon, and of his strong memories and lingering feelings about what happened in What effect does finny's accident have on gene?
Gene has a lot of self-blame and guilt over the accident? Did Gene shake the branch on purpose? Did he mean to hurt Finny? These are questions that Gene wrestles with through much of the book. Gene becomes much more unsure of himself and stressed A Separate Peace study guide contains a biography of John Knowles, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. A Separate Peace essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of A Separate Peace by John Knowles.
Remember me. Forgot your password? When Gene arrives, Finny is alone in his room. Gene starts to explain, reminding Finny that he tried to confess, earlier, outside of Boston. Finny cuts him off, asking why Gene came by last night. All Finny can do is look at Gene and wish, aloud, that there wasn't any war. He says that he could deal with all this, if only there wasn't a war on.
He says he's been writing letters everywhere, trying to figure out if he can be in the war with his busted leg. He says he'll hate it everywhere if he can't, knowing that he's missing out. But Gene argues with him, telling Finny that he would be useless in the war — not because of the busted leg, but because he doesn't understand fighting. To him, it's just one big game. He'd probably make friends and start a baseball team with the enemy, Gene explains.
Finny returns to talking about the tree incident, asking Gene if it was just some "blind impulse" that made him jounce the branch. Gene agrees that this is all it was, something "blind" and "crazy. Gene leaves the Infirmary and is told to come back at 5 when Finny should be coming out of surgery.
When he does, however, Dr. Stanpole is waiting, looking rather grim. Stanpole tells Gene that this is something his generation will see a lot of. He explains how a piece of marrow from Finny's leg must have gotten loose and traveled along his blood stream to the heart.
Gene does not cry, nor does he ever cry about Phineas after, the narrator explains, even at the funeral. He couldn't help but feel that it was somehow his own funeral, "and you do not cry in that case. What's Up With the Ending? Latham , the wrestling coach who knows first aid. At one point, Brinker tells Gene to get a blanket for Finny. When he comes back, he gives the blanket to Mr. Latham and watches him wrap it around Finny, wishing all the while that he could be the person to do this.
However, he knows that this might make Finny even angrier at him. All Gene wants is to be close to his friend, who means the world to him. He deeply regrets what he did that fateful summer evening in the tree, but has no way of taking it back.
Active Themes. Friendship and Honesty. When Dr. Stanpole arrives, he carefully places Finny in a chair and assembles a group to carry him away. Just before Dr. Stanpole follows the group out of the building, he tells Gene that Finny has broken his leg again. Instead, he sneaks into the infirmary and crouches beneath the window, hearing Dr.
Stanpole and the nurse work on Finny. At one point, he thinks of how Mr. Stanpole attends to him. However, his laughter later turns to tears. Sobbing, he hears Dr. He then flails his arms, his torso falling off the bed.
Throughout the novel, Finny has denied the fact that Gene intentionally injured him. Now, though, he lashes out at his best friend, suddenly distrustful and appalled that Gene would ever have wanted him to fall from the tree. Finally, then, Gene must face the scorn he has deserved all along. Optimism, Idealization, and Denial.
Gene watches as Finny lifts his torso back onto the bed. Gene then slips out the window again, walking through the New Hampshire dark. Returning to his room, he finds a note from Dr.
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