Throughout the book A Separate Peace we see many of Knowles characters struggling with different aspects of their lives. One prevalent battle these characters are fighting is that between the savage, and civilized nature. These characters choose to either become the savage or choose to follow the path of civilized nature.
             One character who truly exemplifies this battle quite literally is Leper. In the beginning Leper is so well mannered and polite. Then he enlists in the army coming back harsh and bitter. When Gene comes to seem him he sees a tremendous change in him. He is so short tempered not like the Leper he once knew he begins to think "...Leper was deranged, he was not of sound mind..." (pg. 164). Leper finds himself giving into the savage. Leper finally comes to realize the realities of the war and how he and his classmates have been just putting it off or setting the real world aside with Finny's actions. Brinker is also someone who comes to realize the savage side. He does this by trying to find out what really happened to Finny even though it could destroy Finny and also hurt Gene as well. Brinker's savage nature brings this book the realization instead of the regular dream world that Finny is in.
             On the other side of the story there is the imaginative side where Finny is trying to have the kids of Devon High School put the realization of the world aside and focus on the fun parts of life dealing with sports and other activities like that. The civilized side is the side that Phineous rules. Finny doesn't want to take the realization of things, such as the time when Gene went to confess that he was the one to make him fall. "Of course you didn't do it. You damn fool. Sit down, you damn fool" (pg. 62). Finny doesn't want to believe the harsh realities of the war and won't listen to anyone who will try and tell him of them. At the end of the
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