In the novel A Separate Peace, friendship plays an important role in Gene's stay at Devon. Gene's relationships with Finny, Brinker, and Leper are the ones that had the most significant impact on him.
             The friendship between Gene and Finny was extremely complex. At some points, you think that they are undoubtedly best friends, like when Gene and Finny had just jumped from the tree, and Finny stated, "It's just you and me pal." Other times it seemed as though they were not friends. One example was when Gene blew up at Finny when Finny tried to get him to skip studying and go watch Leper jump from the tree.
             Finny always seemed to be Gene's friend without a doubt but Gene always seemed to have a deep resentment for Finny. This feeling of resentment led him to jounce the tree limb and make Finny fall and shatter his leg. Finny, however, wouldn't believe that Gene would actually make him fall, because he thought their feelings toward each other were equal. When Finny finally realized that Gene betrayed him, he began to run and he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg again. In the end, Gene's resentment toward Finny led to his death, which surely had a lasting impact on Gene's life.
             The friendship between Gene and Brinker wasn't really a close one like the one with Gene and Finny. Gene and Brinker didn't really become friends until after Finny had gone home to recuperate. There were not many occasions when they show much friendship toward one another. However, when they ended up on the same clean-up squad at the railroad yard, they began to talk quite a bit.
             When Brinker and Gene returned from cleaning at the railroad yard, they had made the decision to enlist in the war together. Finny had just returned from his recuperation and didn't want his best friend Gene to leave him. This caused problems for Gene and Brinker's relationship. Brinker wa...