Summary Of John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

Gene is able to adapt to the war after his war is finally over. Gene’s fear is finally gone after Finny has been hurt. “ … every trace of my fear of this forgotten” (Knowles 60). After Gene gets rid of his Finny he can now move on. His fear is gone and it allows him to adapt unlike Finny. In a scholarly journal it further explains how Gene is able to adapt so well compared to Finny. “Gene realizes that he’s ready for the war because he no longer feels any hatred. His war “ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.” He believes the real enemy is something he and the others have created out of their own fear” (Knowles 4). Gene finishes his war at Devon allowing him to move on to the real war. Other like Finny he can not adapt to the conditions and he can not get rid of his fear like Gene. Finny’s incapability to get rid of his fear leads to his death.

The harshness of the war is rubbing off on Gene and allows him to end his war with Finny.

Gene does not feel any sympathy for Finny. “I did not cry then or ever about Finny” (Knowles 194). Gene is satisfied that he kills Finny and it allows him now to fight on the front and put Finny in his past. “A Separate Peace”,a scholarly journal, further supports this action made by Gene. “Gene realizes toward the conclusion of A Separate Peace” that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (“A Separate Peace” Novels for Students 10). Gene is ignorant and has to pick a fight with Finny instead of becoming a friend. Gene does not care enough about Finny so instead this war that is created kills Finny and Gene does not care at all. By not caring he can now fight at the front and kill his enemies over there as

well.
Gene gets rid of his war with Finny and now has adapted to the war going on miles away from the school. Gene’s enemy was killed at school before he ever put on a uniform. “Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.” (Knowles 204). Now that Gene has adapted he can fight with an uniform at the front where the soldiers are. A scholarly journal also supports that Gene is now ready for a war on the front. “He can’t talk about Phineas because he can’t accept the loss of his vitality, and he continues to feel guilty about his death. Gene realizes that he’s ready for the war because he no longer feels any hatred” (“A Separate Peace” Novels for Students 5). To Gene, Finny is now a past thought and Gene finally is free to move on with his life. Gene’s capability to adapt is what allowed him get over Finny so fast after his death.
Finny’s incapability to adapt to his war with Gene affected his life and is the whole reason behind his death. Gene had an upper hand advantage in discovering their war first and he took action. Gene is able to adapt faster than Finny is and that is what keeps Gene alive. In Gene’s case he knows the only way to adapt is to get rid of Finny as he does. This shows how Finny is weak and will never be ready for war. Knowles got his point across that if Gene could not get rid of Finny and adapted then he will die as well. Although, in the novel Gene does get rid of Finny and adapts as he is supposed to in order to not lose his life in the long run unlike Finny.