Gene's Guilt In John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

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ASP In-Class Essay
When a person does something that hurts others, one will likely experience regret for the harm their actions. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the theme of guilt and its effects on your behavior, self-image, and your interactions with others is explored. Gene, in the beginning, sees Finny as his best friend, and relies on him for support and friendship; however, after Gene causes Finny to break his leg, his guilt causes him to change is personality and self-image. Their friendship is damaged by Gene’s guilt.
After Phineas breaks his leg, Gene is nervous that he will be exposed for injuring his friend and punished. He is afraid of losing his reputation as a good kid or having to take responsibility …show more content…

If he can help Phineas and not mention the accident, he can heal his own insecurities of being a bad friend. When Phineas returns to Devon, he finds out about Gene’s ideas of joining the draft, “Phineas was shocked at the idea of my leaving. In some way he needed me. He needed me.” (108). Once Phineas returns, Phineas becomes reliant on Gene. Gene no longer sees Phineas as a perfect person, but as a crippled friend who needs him. But Phineas also needs Gene because everyone else at Devon is going to go to join the war and become an adult. Phineas would be left alone without any friends. In order to retain some aspect of continuity, Phineas needs Gene’s support and friendship now more than ever. When Phineas falls later a second time, Gene wants to console him but realizes he missed what was really there, “...as they raised him up he looked very strange to me, like some tragic and exalted personage, a stricken pontiff. Once again I had the desolating sense of having all along ignored what was finest in him” (179). When Phineas injures himself again in worsened manner, Gene realizes Phineas did not need his sympathy. Phineas experienced physical weakness but displayed a hidden inner strength he had not detected. Phineas’ fate was tragically resulting in death but Gene could not comprehend his friendship until after Phineas died and Gene became an adult. After reflection, Gend was able to realize …show more content…

After visiting Devon as an adult, Gene reflects on his own life in the aftermath of his friend's death saying, “Phineas created an atmosphere in which I continued now to live, a way for sizing up the world with erratic and entirely personal reservations” (202). After Finny dies, he tries to atone for his mistakes by living life inspired by Phineas’ joy and goofiness. Gene hopes to make up for Finny’s death by living through him. The life he chooses is silly and without tradition. Gene sacrifices his own personal desires to make up for his previous sins. When Phineas is in the hospital Gene is able to admit and convince Phineas that he caused the accident, saying, “It was some blind impulse you had on the tree there...Yes, yes, that was it...I think I can believe you, I think I can believe that” pg 191. Gene is able to push aside his own desires and do what is right. He stills sees him as his friend but Gene feels that their friendship is healed now that he has admitted his mistake. Since he knows Phineas is sick, he has to tell him the truth so he no longer has to lie to himself or others. Phineas previously was in a period of denial of his horrible actions and tells the

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