The Significance Of Gene's Identity In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

Identity is the crucial indication that represents someone as their own self. Someone’s personal identity shows their creative character and the core of what they have to offer. Identity shows the tragedies, the hardships, the experiences, the bliss, and the determination that has molded someone into who they have become. Traits and identities are developed and excessively constructed throughout various influential actions and events. The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles immensely and remarkably captures the shaping and essence of Gene’s identity through his outlook on the war, the atmosphere of Devon, his intense relationship with his best friend Finny. To start off, Gene’s identity is advertised and carved through the competition

This destructive and terrorizing event influences and demonstrates the dangerous, harmful, and naive identity that Gene has earned and that many characters in the book conceive him as now. Also, Cliff Quakenbush, the manager of the crew team, is detected as another enemy of Gene’s in the novel. Cliff highlights an unknown side of Gene’s identity, the Phineas side. When Cliff and Gene start to fight over Gene being belittled by Cliff’s words, he gets a sensation as if now part of his identity is almost Finny like. Gene admitted that he was fighting not just for himself, but Phineas too. Typical or ordinary Gene wouldn’t stand up for himself let alone another person, Finny. This experience allows him to show his inner “Phineas” and grants himself to be more conflict free and daring, like Phineas. Quakenbush impacts Gene’s identity as discovering a part of himself that he never knew existed. The numerous enemies that Gene encounters over the extent of the novel effect and frame his identity. The diverse atmospheres that Devon forms reinforces the development of Gene’s identity. For instance, during the boys summer session at Devon, Gene and his