Essay About Gene’S Journey And Causes Finnys Fall

A Separate Peace – Gene’s Journey
A Separate Peace – Gene’s Journey
Gene Forresters difficult journey towards maturity and the adult
world is a main focus of the novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles.
Genes journey begins the moment he pushes Phineas from the tree and
the process continues until he visits the tree fifteen years later.
Throughout this time, Gene must become self-aware, face reality and
the future, confront his problems, as well as forgive and accept the
person that he is. With the jouncing of the limb, Gene realizes his
problems and the true person he is inside. Fifteen years later, when
revisiting the tree, he finally accepts and forgives himself. This
journey is a long and painful one. At the end of this long and winding
road filled with ditches, difficulties and problems, Gene emerges a
mature adult.
Gene jounces the limb and causes Finnys fall and at that moment
becomes aware of his inner-self and learns of his true feelings. This
revelation comes to him back in his room before he and Finny leave for
the tree. It surrounds him with the shock of his true self until he
finally reacts by jouncing the limb. Up in the tree, before the two
friends are about to make their “double-jump”, Gene sees Finny in this
new light. He realizes that Finny feels no jealousy or hatred towards
him and that Finny is indeed perfect in every way. Gene becomes aware
that only he is the jealous one. He learns of his animosity and that
he really is a “savage underneath”. Over a long period of time Gene
had been denying his feelings of hatred towards Finny, saying that it
was normal for him to feel this way. Now all of the feelings come back
to him and he sees how terrible he really is. The realization that
these feelings are one-sided causes Gene to to fall dramatically in
comparison to Finny (he paints himself black for these feelings and
because Finny doesnt share them, he puts a halo around Finnys head),
concludes with the neccessity for Finny to be brought down to his
level, and results with Gene jouncing the limb.
After the realization of the person he truly is, in his room and
up in the tree, Gene must now confront his problems, face reality,
and deal with the future. He must learn that communication is very
important in a relationship and that he must express himself instead
of keeping his feelings inside, as he had always done with Finny. He
must learn to listen to himself rather than to others. These were just
a few of the many problems there were in his relationship with Finny.
He must face reality and acknowledge the fact that he isnt as great
as Finny, that he is his own individual