a separate peace
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:
Here Gene explains the situation: "I was more and more certainly becoming the best student in the school; Phineas was without a question the best athlete. In this scene Finny has just broken the school swim record in front of only Gene. Gene, although more intellectual, could never get away with the disobedient acts that he and Finny do if he committed them alone. Gene, on the contrary, feels jealous making him the more authentic character that people can relate to easily. This shows that he has p!ride in something that he has toiled diligently for. This is a very typical reaction that someone would have to this situation. He! lacks these very human emotions, which makes his seem very surreal. The author states: "he could be seen rapidly losing his grip on sternness. Gene's situation seems more real than Finny's. This makes Finny's personality seem very unrealistic unlike Gene's personality that seems very humanistic. " (47) Gene can say that he is one of the best students which he should be proud about, but Finny will never admit that he is without doubt the best athlete. Here Gene tries to comprehend how Finny can forgive him.
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,
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