Semiotic Codes and Adolescent Transition in 'A Separate Peace'

Throughout A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses semiotic codes to express an adolescent’s transition into adulthood in a time of conflict and war. Barthes writes, “Ideological imperatives express themselves through a multiplicity of codes which ‘invade’ the text in the form of key signifiers. Each of these signifiers represents a digression outside of the text to an established body of knowledge which it connotes; each one functions as an abbreviated version of the entire system (code) of which it is a part,” (Semiotics, 31). These semiotic codes are often looked at as social enigmas that relate to the rules and ideologies developed by the culture of the time period, in this case at Devon Prep School in New Hampshire in 1942-43 during World War II. Codes are where semiotics, cultural values, and social structures mesh. The ideals and challenges of war parallel the friendship between the two main characters, Gene and Finny, and particularly relate to Gene’s obsession with competition and envy of his best friend and enemy. These codes impose ideological imperatives that translate from Gene and Finny’s friendship to the larger picture; they connote the loss of innocence and transformation into adulthood, and ultimately define the dominant values of the time period’s culture, as well as the overall meaning of Knowles’ text. Through the use

of fundamental signifiers and codes, Knowles connotes the cultural inscriptions that represent common opinions of the time through the story of the two boys.
One of the primary codes seen throughout this text is the summer session and what it stands for, as well as following a set of rules. Throughout the story, we see that two sets of rules exist: Devon Prep School’s rules and Finny’s set of rules. The summer session, a metaphor symbolizing innocence and youth, creates a peaceful and exciting bliss that allows for the boys to explore while still adolescents. In reality, summer is when children are off from school and everything is looked at as brighter and more relaxed. Similarly, during this time the school rules were treated as suspended, and it is clear that Finny prioritizes his own rules over Devon’s as he creates his own form of order over the boys’ lives. Right away, Finny makes his opinion on authority obvious, as Gene tells us that, “Phineas didn't really dislike West Point in particular or authority in general, but just considered authority the necessary evil against which happiness was achieved by reaction, the backboard which returned all the insults he threw at it,” (18-19). The boys experienced a sort of liberty from adhering to real authority, connoting their final stage of adolescence before transitioning into adulthood and being drafted to the war. The summer session marked the final stage of the boys’ psychological innocence and youth. Finny, whose life was, “ruled by inspiration and anarchy,” followed, “his own [rules], not those imposed on him by other people, such as the faculty of the Devon school,” (34). Therefore, the freedom that the summer session provided allowed Finny to represent an adolescent rebellion, for which he gains followers through the fun and carelessness he still exhibits before entering adulthood.
Another extremely important signifier that codes for multiple ideas that also contributes to the plurality of meaning is the concept of war. War not only endures on the battlefields, but also within the human heart, a key notion that Knowles works to convey throughout the novel. While the obvious concepts of war are present involving the training and preparation for being drafted to fight in World War II, hostility and fear drive many of Gene’s actions and disrupt the expected feelings and interactions commonly seen in best-friendship, driving the personal war between two friends. Gene faces many different types of war, from World War II, to war with his best friend and enemy, and a war within himself, fighting adulthood and the loss of his adolescent innocence. War itself serves as the catalyst of the loss of innocence throughout the novel. Knowles ultimately conveys the idea that at some point in time, whether physically or emotionally, every human being faces some type of war. Thus, he creates a parallel between the motives of World Wars and the forces that drive internal wars. These forces often arise from jealousy and hostility in both cases, although on varying levels, and may lead to serious consequences. It is clear that center of Gene and Finny’s internal conflict is that Gene aspires to be more like Finny. Though war is occurring, there is no actual instance of war or death from war seen in the novel. The personal battle that Gene and Finny endure marks their transition from childhood innocence to the harsh challenges and realisms of adulthood, especially as Gene is stuck living with the guilt of defeating his ‘enemy’.
With respect to war, Knowles’ story discusses the idea and impact of having enemies. The term enemy has plurality of meaning, as Knowles’ story insinuates that everyone fights their own battles against enemies they create for themselves, not just in times of war. Though best friends, Gene was always jealous of Finny. Gene’s envy for Finny was so prevalent because not only was Gene jealous of him, but he also admired Finny as well as loved and respected him, creating an extremely confusing relationship for the two adolescent boys. This ultimately created tension and rivalry, which was ultimately lessened as Gene’s actions cause Finny to lose some of the qualities he envied most. However, it can be considered that Gene’s most stubborn enemy was himself, ultimately proving that an enemy may not always be something or someone external, and causes him to lose his sense of identity. This sense of identity that Gene pushes away from himself is largely in part due to his own guilt for harming his best friend and his obsession of living vicariously through Finny during his identity crisis. Gene states, “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. 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,” though we do not know whether Gene’s words describe that his enemy was Finny or his own inner demons (204). Though to Finny, enemies didn’t exist – something that operated as a weakness and stripped his ability to stand up to betrayal, ultimately leading to his downfall. In reality, enemies will naturally arise from various underlying causes, but weaknesses, especially in war, cannot be exposed or they will lead to defeat.
In conclusion, John Knowles presents a number of codes that signify many common and existent feelings about friendship, enemies, and war throughout A Separate Peace.

Via the use of these key concepts, Knowles tells us through Gene’s story that perspectives change and how, “the more things remain the same, the more they change after all,” (14). In a story about two anxious boys discovering their identities and values during a time of war, the codes and concepts of semiotics that John Knowles employs links the story to the larger world, signifying key ideas and feelings that loomed around America throughout the draft of World War

II.