Human emotions are very strong and powerful. Feelings can be undeniable and uncontrollable. They compel us to do things no matter how irrational they may seem. Some common humanistic feelings, that everyone at one point feels, are jealousy, pride, anger, and guilt. In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, one of the main characters Finny does not feel any of these emotions, making him seem very inhuman, even though he has a very lovable personality. Although Phineas is portrayed as the more likable character, Gene is the more realistic character.
             Finny never feels jealousy towards anyone; in contrast Gene becomes extremely jealous of Finny throughout the novel, a very human characteristic. Gene is very envious of Finny because of his great athletic ability and his amazing skill of persuasion. Gene speaks with envy of all the awards Finny has won. Here Gene thinks: "...After all he should talk. He had won..." (43) Gene continues to list the many accomplishments Finny has and the ones he will achieve in the future. It is natural for someone to feel jealous. Gene begins to think that Finny might be jealous of his academic success because Finny knows he can never have this ability. Here Gene interrogates Finny: "You wouldn't mind if I wound up head of the class, would you?" (44) Gene can not fathom that Finny is not envious of him, even after Finny answer him with a negative response. Gene begins to realize that Finny never was jealous of him. He contemplates how someone could not feel even a pang of envy. Here Gen!
             e says: "Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he." (51) Finny is not the same quality of most people in this world. It is a natural human emotion to be jealous. The fact that Finny does not feel jealousy makes him seem almost inhuman. Gene, on the contrary, feels jealous making him th...