(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

A Separate Peace



             This novel did not have many suspenseful incidents. In reality, the conflicts seemed rather repetitive. The situation that created the greatest feeling of suspense is also the turning point of this selection. In one scene, the narrator of the novel, Gene, causes his best friend - who achieves athletic excellence - to fall off a limb of a tree and become permanently paralyzed. Finny proposes the idea of a "double jump- from the tall tree above the river before one of the nightly "Super Suicide Society of the summer session- meetings. Before jumping, Gene purposely causes the limb to shake, resulting in Finny losing his balance and plunging to the hard ground beneath them. Finny's leg shatters and his athletic career is terminated in an instant. Gene is unsuspected, or so it seems for the next few months. In my opinion, this incident was the most suspenseful as I instinctively turned the pages until I knew the extent of the injury and Finny's fate as an athlete. .
             The scene of Finny's first fall is the turning point of the selection because it changes both Gene and Finny, as well as the profundity of their relationship. Gene learns about Finny's true character - the benevolent individual who envies no one and desires equality. Gene's competitive attitude and feelings of enmity dissolve when Finny shows a sincere happiness for Gene's academic abilities. "Now I knew that there never was any rivalry I was not of the same quality as he.""  .
             This marks the beginning of their codependency. Suddenly Finny depends on Gene to live his athletic dreams, and Gene on Finny to complete his personality. They learn to work together to improve each other's weaknesses, rather than to compete to be better than one another. Gene tutors his best friend, and likewise is trained for the 1944 Olympic games - although in truth, both boys are aware that the Olympics will not take place due to the World War Two.


Essays Related to A Separate Peace


Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question