A Separate Peace ': Phineas' Escape From Reality

Phineas’ Escape from Reality
In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Phineas has a personality trait of always refusing to believe the truth about matters and creating his own separate realities. An important example in the book is his theory that the war is all a hoax. Another prominent example is his refusal to believe that Gene jostled the branch and caused him to fall out of the tree. He maintains this viewpoint with minor, everyday matters, as well, such as playing cards and participating in sports. Although Finny realizes that the events occurring around him are real, his personality leads him to focus on what should happen rather than what does happen.
Throughout the novel, Phineas develops a theory that the war is a ruse made up by “fat old men who don’t want us crowding them out of their jobs” (Knowles 115). This is not just a joke between him and Gene; it is part of what makes up Phineas’ character. He always chooses to accept whatever is preferable rather what is truthful. It is also possible that his theory about the war is caused by the fact that his broken leg prevents him from enlisting; if he cannot participate, then he refuses to accept it as the truth. Phineas does eventually inform Gene that, “I always knew

[that the war was real], but I didn’t have to admit it” (Knowles 163). Similarly, Phineas chooses to ignore other aspects of life that are not advantageous to him.
Phineas’ constant denial of the truth is also exhibited through his ignorance of the fact that Gene caused him to fall out of the tree.

The first instance where this subject is brought up is when Gene visits Phineas’ house. Gene admits to him that he “deliberately jounced the limb,” to which Phineas responds, “Of course you didn’t,” (Knowles 70). Even when he is provided with evidence from Leper that Gene jostled the branch, he exclaims that he does not care what happened that day and storms out of the room (Knowles 175-177). Phineas refuses to accept that his best friend would deliberately cause him to fall out of the tree, so he ultimately creates his own reality in which he fell out of the tree simply due to

clumsiness.
Even in everyday life, Phineas creates his own realities. An example that is mentioned only briefly, but is still important, is that, while playing cards, Phineas never wins because he is “betting always for what should win, for what would have been the most brilliant successes of all,” rather than betting on the cards in his hand (Knowles 81). This is an example of symbolism, with the cards representing events occurring around Phineas; the cards that are in his hand represent reality, while the cards that should win represent his separate peace. He chooses to believe in his separate reality because it is preferable to the truth.
Another example of Phineas creating a new reality is when he decides to train Gene for the 1944 Olympics. He knows subconsciously that there will be no Olympics in 1944 due to the war, but he chooses what he will and will not believe. Phineas also wants Gene to participate in sports for him since his broken leg prevents him from doing so (Knowles 117). Overall, his refusal to accept the truth that there will be no 1944 Olympics shows that his ignorance is a part of his character and does not apply only to the war.
Although the war is the most obvious example of Phineas’ denial of the truth in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, it is not the only example. He also refuses to believe Gene when he explicitly tells him that he caused him to fall out of the tree. Even with everyday matters, such as playing cards, Phineas does not bet on the cards in his hand, showing that he would prefer to believe that everything around him is occurring the way he thinks it should. Since it is part of Phineas’ personality to believe in what should happen rather than what does happen, he is able to create his own separate reality and ignore what is occurring around him.