A Separate Peace is a novel that toys with readers' emotions. It can make sadness appear from nowhere and happiness right after. It is a wonderfully constructed novel that makes readers feel like they have traveled to that time and place with the characters.
             A major factor of this power is the author's style of expression. The author chose to write about two high school students that are almost complete opposites. One student, Gene, revolves around academic studies and intelligence; the other, Phineas, is a born athlete. The story takes place at the time of the Second World War in a unique high school with a paradise-like surrounding.
             The author also uses a lot of contradiction and symbolism. The school is described almost like Eden with its enormous playing fields, healthy green turf, gently flowing river, and calling birds. This peaceful environment is a sharp contrast to the world war and the personal conflict within Gene.
             Throughout the novel the images of water take on symbolic significance. Gene gets a baptism into his Finny-like life in the enchanting waters of the Devon River. In contrast, he is thrown into the corrupt Naguamsett River during his battle over Finny's accident. Gene also views Finny's cast as an anchor that is weighing both of them down.
             The great tree that dangles over the river is also important and symbolic throughout the novel. It presents Gene with the opportunity to become more like Finny. He is assured by Finny's encouragements and leaps from the branch into the Devon River below. It also causes the creation of the Super Suicide Society, formed by Finny to celebrate the freedom and disregard of authority. Most importantly this tree allows Gene to achieve his desire for superiority and he cripples Finny.
             The tree also, indirectly, leads to Gene's self-evaluation and acceptance of who he is and his relationship to Finny. While Finny is absent from school, Gene, for the
             ...