A Separate Peace Hero's Journey Essay

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The novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles describes the life highschool life of Gene Forrester through the flashbacks he experienced 15 years after his graduation. Throughout the novel Knowles takes us on a journey that revolves around Gene and his friend Finny as they go through their years in a private high school. While reading the novel one can see that Gene takes his hero journey during his highschool time as he makes the choices that will dictate not only his hero journey but his entire life. Every hero’s journey begins with the call. Gene is called to adventure by Finny, “‘You work to hard,’ Funny said, sitting opposite me at the table where we read. The study lamp cast a round yellow pool between us. ‘You know all about History and English and French and everything else. What good will Trigonometry do you?’” (Knowles 23). This statement had the power to bring Gene out of his shell, instead of working on his studies Finny wants him to have fun, beginning the journey that will change his life forever. However, soon after, Gene also refuses this call to adventure to then take it again, “‘Wait a minute,” I said more …show more content…

When Gene makes Finny fall from the tree can be identified as the ordeal because it makes Gene work harder in his studies or sports since it is not only for himself, but for the friend he nearly killed, “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb.” (Knowles 28). This represents the beginning of the challenges because Gene is faced with the burden of carrying not only his work but with living his life for Finny since he took that chance from him. Gene soon begins the road back to his journey with his new found burden as Finny denies that Gene intentionally made him fall off the tree, “‘Finny, I tried to tell you before, I tried to tell you when I came to Boston that

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