A Separate Peace (Gene) essays

A Separate Peace (Gene) essays In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester is a character wrought with inner-conflict. The first trait that contributes to Genes inner-turmoil is that he is dreadfully lacking in self-confidence and he is uncomfortable with the person he has been all his life, especially during his years at Devon. As an adult returning there, he fears that nothing will have changed since his time there; and, perhaps most importantly, he fears that he hasnt changed either. He finds that the varnished new surface of Devon seems to make it look like a museum...and thats exactly...what I did not want it to be. Devon reminds Gene of the person he was while he was there, and his displeasure with the preservation of the buildings reveals how much he wants to forget that person. Gene would rather have these buildings decay and fall to the ground than stand as a monument to the old Gene who he now hates and dreads so much. In addition to his insecurity, Gene is very distrustful of th e motives of others. The most profound example of this is that he comes to suspect the true motives of even his very best friend. Gene convinces himself that Finny is trying to sabotage his grades. Gene begins to believe that inventing games like Blitzball and insisting on their nightly jumps from the tree were actions on Finnys part to attempt to destroy Genes grades because Finny resented the fact that Gene had earned an A in nearly every course while Finny could never muster better than a C. Finally, Gene is resentful towards Finny throughout the book for all the ways that Finny is superior to him. He is at first able to find a single sustaining thought in the fact that he and Finny are even in enmity. The idea that they are both coldly driving ahead for [themselves] alone allows Gene to feel less guilty about his actions like trying to raise his grades to spite Finny. ...