The novel, "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles looks into the life of young men on the verge of adulthood. Some of them are not able to cope, while others deal with life and make the best of it. The novel does an excellent job of portraying life during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young boy.
             The story takes places in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the Devon School. It opens during the summer of 1942. In A Separate Peace, the main character, Gene, starts to feel as though him and Phineas (aka Finny, his best friend) are in rivalry against each other. Gene thinks that Finny is purposely trying to ruin his grades, while trying to get him to excel him in sports. Because of these thoughts, he diligently worked on his studies: "I redoubled my effort... trying to be even with him" and be "even in enmity,"(Knowles 46). Soon enough his thoughts of rivalry, enmity, and anger ultimately led him to jounce the limb that Finny was standing on. After it was found out that Finny's broken leg would stop him from playing any sports (skillfully), Gene's guilt began to escalate. When he went to see Finny in the hospital, he tried to tell him about jouncing the limb on purpose, but was stopped when the doctor came in. Then later on, he went to Finny's house, and told him there, but Finny would not believe it. Throughout all of this, Gene is trying to get it off his chest, but he is not able to do so. He is constantly struggling, trying to keep his peace of mind. To make matters worse, Brinker twists the truth around, making Gene feel even worse, now knowing that even his friends think that he would do it. Once Finny returns to Devon from home, Gene's feelings deepen as he witnesses what he did to him. Then one night, Brinker holds a mock trial, accusing Gene of being responsible for Finny's accident. This angers Finny, which leads to him falling down the stairs, which lead to him breaking his leg again. A few days later when Gene...