John Knowle's A Separate Peace and Tom Godwin's Cold Equations both contain characters dealing with death and the choices made in life. The central characters, Finny and Marilyn, face death and deal with the decisions that place them in that position. Although Finny and Marilyn encounter striking similarities in their inability to become an adult, they diverge in their roles with authority.
             The main characters compare in their in ability to mature. Both Finny and Marilyn experience an unjust death. Each character dies unexpectedly; they both happen to do something without thinking first. Finny dies from his operation, in which the "marrow of his bone" enters his bloodstream and goes straight to his heart (185). Marilyn, while she thinks she will only "[have] to pay the fine," sneaks onto a forbidden spaceship resulting in her death (13). Both Marilyn and Finny incorporate a certain innocence within themselves. Their innocence includes an unrealistic view of the world. Marilyn does not "realize...the laws of space," and Finny does not realize the intensity of his leg injury (12). Both characters, because of their immaturity, think themselves as almost invincible.
             Even though Marilyn and Finny compare in their incapability to move towards adulthood, they show stark contrast in their roles with authority. Each characters' purpose for defying the law differs. Marilyn opposed the law for the chance to see her big brother again; furthermore, she does this out of her pure innocence. As for Finny, he possesses no reason to disregard the rules. The responses to authority for each character diverge. Finny disobeys the rules of Devon all the time and gets "away with anything" every time (21). Marilyn, who follows the law all her life, breaks the law because of her naivety, thus ensuing her death. The results of these characters' choices differs as well. Finny d...