Gene's Shadow In John Knowles A Separate Peace

A persona is a mask shown to the outside world developed in relation to consciousness, to hide the darkest aspects of a psyche, known as a shadow, behind it. Shadows contrast personas by holding undesirable and unwanted memories and behaviors, but the dark side of an individual must be accepted for the individual to fully understand oneself. In the coming of age novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, narrator Gene Forrester returns to New Hampshire to visit Devon School, where he studied fifteen years ago just as World War II had begun to unfold. The narrative shifts back fifteen years ago to Gene’s days at Devon School with his best friend, Phineas, also known as Finny, as he recalls memorable events from his past. Gene’s persona and shadow

Gene dismisses his shadow during his first few encounters with it, quickly rejecting the darkness inside himself by conjuring up excuses for his undesirable desire. In a scene where Finny attempts to talk his way out of trouble, Gene’s shadow makes an appearance, as he believed, “this time [Finny] wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited” (Knowles 27). The excitement of Finny getting into trouble is caused by Gene’s shadow, as he describes its presence as unexpected. Gene has become introduced to his shadow, but does not yet know the full extent of the darkness existing within himself. Shadows contain darker emotions, such as envy, anger, or hatred, that we hide from the outside world as these emotions are perceived negatively. In Gene’s shadow, jealousy rises, as he compares himself

Gene begins to realize Finny is not above him, and rather thinks to himself, “You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course. . . . We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (53). Finny excels in sports, but Gene believes he can counter his smarts against Finny’s athleticism, making them equal competitors. They stack up evenly against each other, and have the same opportunity of being the top of their class. He no longer considers himself friends with Finny, as it is every man for himself. Additionally, Gene justifies his hatred towards Finny by assuming Finny feels hatred towards him because of his excellence in academics. At this moment, Gene does not attempt to deny his shadow. Rather, he embraces his shadow completely, allowing it take him over and make false accusations against his own best friend. In Gene’s mind, “Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitz all, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explains his insistence that I share all his diversions. The way I believed that you're-my-best-friend blabber!” (53). Gene has a second, and