The tragic flaw: one of Shakespeare's most recognized trait of his characters. They could be the most perfect being, but their tragic flaw would always overcome them in the end. Although he wrote a great many poems and plays, throughout all these writings, one flaw Shakespeare did not address was perfection itself. However, this was addressed by John Knowles in A Separate Peace. A main character, Phineas, or Finny, was one of those boys that was liked by everyone. He was more than talented at sports, and easy to get along with. He could make anything fun; he was an ideal friend. But the summer he was sixteen, his world began to change; with World War II, as well as the difficulties of entering manhood; he was confronted with many new challenges. Through his tribulations, the reader discovers that idealism, which is so positive in childhood, can become a tragic flaw when one matures.
             What made Phineas appear so ideal and attractive to others was his ability to seemingly make anything positive. The majority has this ability in childhood, but lose it when they mature and become cynical. Finny continued to posses these special abilities (as well as invent a few of his own) throughout adolescence was both entertaining and soothing; depending on the situation. For quite a while, Finny completely denied the war. He said it was no more than "fat old men who don't want us crowding them out of their jobs...they don't like that...so they've cooked up this war fake..." This idea soothed those tortured by the concept of war; of course there wasn't any war, Finny was too perfect to be wrong. It was acts like this that made Finny who he was: one of the few people that could get away with continuing to deny reality after childhood.
             Gene is Finny's best friend, and they greatly enjoy each other's company. Gene excels in academics like Finny excels in sports; so they are both successful in their own way...