Assignment 12, Question 4: Gene reflects on Phineas’ impact on his life at the bottom of page 202 and top of page 203. In this passage, what do you think Gene means when he says “Phineas alone had escaped this” (202)? What did he escape? And did he do so by dying or by the way he lived his life? (see also page 204) (Maclin)

The war has caused all of the boys at the Devon school to have a sad view on life, Phineas however was able to “escape” this and provide a positive outlook on life. In the beginning of the year, war didn’t seem as big of a deal and the boys didn’t look at it the same as they do now. After seeing Leper come back and witnessing first hand what it did to him it showed them how sad and terrible the war is and how it can change the most innocent of boys. Phineas has gone through his entire life with constant happiness and joy. This is what has made him such a great friend to Gene and also helped him to become a talented athlete. Finny is looked at by the other boys as perfect and they can’t see how he could be any better as a person or athlete. Phineas is a very talented boy and also confident in his abilities. However, both of these traits are ruined when Gene jounced the branches and he came tumbling down breaking his leg ruining his sports career and damaging their friendship. The second incident is when he saw Leper return and heard about Leper and what the war had done to him. The final straw was when he thought Gene, his best friend, a person he believes to be “part if him”, had broken his leg on purpose. Gene realizes this when he says, “Phineas alone had escaped this…Nothing as he was growing up at home, nothing at Devon, nothing even about the war had broken his harmonious and natural unity. So at last I had,” (Knowles 203). Since Phineas is so focused on living life so perfectly and happily he tries to deny all of these problems to benefit himself. Gene knows Finny lies to himself and his tendency to block things out, you can see this when he says,”...and be accepted only a little at a time, only as much as he could assimilate without a sense of chaos and loss,” (Knowles 202). Phineas ability to “escape” these type of situations and the ability to only see the good in things is what led him to forgive Gene despite everything that happened.

Assignment 12 Q.3 - On 201, Gene reflects on his thoughts on war and says “…it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (201). Do you agree with this sentiment? Why or why not? (PHOEBE)

Wars are made by two sides not being able to come to a solution and believing that people dying for each other's thoughts will settle the conflict. However unless it is a war over territory, wars are not won by body count. It is impossible to 'win' a war. In the end, one side is either captured completely or they surrender. Yet in the end, they all end the same way: talking. When Gene says  “…it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (Knowles 201) he is saying that wars are made by people being unwilling and not realizing the value of other human lives. Being ignorant means "lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated" (dictionary.com). Any leader of a country who chooses war over a peace treaty is simply ignoring the fact that people will die just to prove their point and being ignorant. The leader is not only going to be killing people who oppose their views but that they are willing to kill their own people. If someone believes that much in their own cause, then they should be trying everything they can to come about this end goal in the most civilized and effective way possible. I agree with this statement completely. Wars are unscary. The President of the United States has the power to declare war but the true people who are fighting in it, who are drafted into it, and who are losing their lives over it are not deciding whether or not to kill someone. Although many people may choose to enlist in times of global warfare, it is not always because they choose to, like in Leper's case, they dont want to wait for it to happen. Modern politics not only in the US have so much pride involved in them. I believe that if leader's of countries spent more time talking about the actual issue instead of dropping bombs on one another, more actions could be done with fewer lives being lost. Fighting for peace is like closing your eyes to see. It is an action that is so contradictory to the end goal, that when put down into simplest terms is ridiculous.

Assignment 12: Explore the implications and subtleties of the conversation with Mr. Hadley. What does he say about “manhood” (see what he says about the G.I.’s) and how does he feel about Brinker and Gene’s involvement in the war effort? (198-200) (Julia)

Mr. Hadley feels that war memories, and character developed during the war will be integral to the rest of Gene and Brinker’s lives, especially their ‘manhood’. At the end of the book, just before graduation, Mr. Hadley comes to visit Brinker, and has a talk with him and Gene. He stresses the importance of dedicated participation in the war. Mr. Hadley says “It’s your greatest moment, greatest privilege, to serve your country,” (Knowles, 200). Hadley believes that war is the most important time for a boy to become a man and show his courage and character. He has an almost stereotypical idea of manhood, which is especially easy for him to have, because the war poses no danger to him. At the beginning of the conversation, Mr. Hadley thinks out loud: “I can’t imagine any man in my time settling for duty on a sewing machine. I can’t picture that at all,” (Knowles, 198). His idea of war is close to romanticized, and he sees any non-traditional male tasks, such as sewing, as detrimental to the war effort. Manhood for Mr. Hadley is war, trenches, and violent fighting, and he sees only this as valuable to winning World War II - not less active, more domestic tasks. He also believes that other men share his perspective. Hadley tells Brinker and Gene that the moments they have in the war will define them for the people they meet. “Your war memories will be with you forever… people will get their respect for you from that… that will mean a whole lot to you in years to come,” (Knowles, 199). He believes that to be respected, the boys have to be in the front lines, because that will show people that they have faced danger. Gene and Brinker have chosen positions that while not safe, are not ‘dirty’ places. Mr. Hadley believes that this is evading the war, and not meeting it head on. He thinks that boys should be proud to go into the war, and want to fight for their country, because of the honor and experience it brings them. While this is logical, he overlooks the fact that war can be, and often is, dangerous and traumatic. Gene and Brinker are already somewhat aware of this, from their experiences with death at Devon, and they are trying to avoid that. However, Mr. Hadley thinks that this is unacceptable, and that a true man dreams of war. Since it is somewhat clear that Brinker does not share his ideals, he finds Brinker to be less than his ideal son, and wants to change his mind. Mr. Hadley thinks that the war will be a very important piece of Gene and Brinker’s lives, and that to journey into manhood, they should go into it feeling a sense of pride and duty.

Assignment #12: What does Gene mean when he says “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war end before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (204). Who/what is his enemy? Why does he contradict himself there? What was his war? (Jack)

Throughout Gene’s time at Devon, he fights a private war against his best friend, Phineas. From the beginning of the novel to the end, there has always been the overarching theme of war. Although Gene never goes to the war, he impulsively creates a war between himself and his best friend at Devon. By doing this, he expresses the main idea of the book. Which is, that we “pit ourselves” against others to make enemies and grow up.  When Gene says that war is, “The result of something ignorant in the human heart,” (201) he is talking about the part of us that makes us develop our own enemies. When he does this, he builds hatred and resentment against Finny. In chapter 7, Gene says he is going to enlist in the war with Brinker. This idea is so appealing to him because it poses the chance for him to escape the war he is fighting against Finny. He says, “There was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. And if it wasn’t their, as for example with Phineas, I put it there myself” (101). This shows how Gene made Finny into an enemy and fought a deadly war against his longtime best friend, that lead to his death.  

Assignment #11: Does Finny's death surprise you? Why or why not? Does it seem like a logical climax for the novel? Is it the climax? (Mario)

Finny's death is not surprising; there are many times in A Separate Peace that lead us to think that Finny will not age as a regular person but must die. Throughout the book we see finny’s personality is very strong and loving. A person like him could not go to war and return the same. “Phineas, you wouldn't be any good in the war, even if nothing had happened to your leg." (Knowles, 190). Gene has an image of Finny in which he cannot take conflict seriously and always finds a way to become friends with the enemy. Gene even says to him, “You’d get things so scrambled up nobody would would know who to fight any more.” (Knowles, 191). The accident on the stairs is a logical climax because Finny is too perfect of a person to be ruined by the war. Gene and the other boys such as Leper and Brinker are affected by the war in normal ways ,but Finny is untouched. He was always the best athlete, the most fun person, and the boy with the biggest heart. “Smart lad, to slip betimes away /From fields where glory does not stay” ( To an Athlete Dying Young, A.E Housman). The athlete in this poem, like Finny, dies before his records are broken. Experienced soldiers know that not all of war is glory, but Finny died before realizing it and experiencing the loss of his own abilities. The climax of the novel, when Finny falls down the stairs, is appropriate because Finny was not the type of person to go to war even if he had not broken his leg. He will always remain in Gene’s mind as a role model.

Do you think that if Phineas and Gene went to war together it would be an appropriate ending?

Could Finny have died in the battlefield? How would Gene have reacted?

Assignment #11(178-194)- Does Finny's death surprise you? Why or why not? Does it seem like a logical climax for the novel? Is it the climax?(Anna)

Finny’s death did not surprise me, and it is a logical climax because everything is going to change after Finny’s death. Finny’s death did not surprise me because it seemed almost like a death you could expect. In many books, the characters readers like the most are often killed off, and this was just the case. I also expected Finny’s death after his return because Finny and Gene’s relationship after the accident was almost too good to be true. Finny and Gene were so close even after Gene tried to kill him that, “Phineas had thought of me as an extension of himself,”(Knowles 180). This is a logical climax. A climax is the turning point of a story where it reaches its point of highest tension and drama. This is where this happens because before the fall Finny’s greatest secret gets exposed to the person he did it to who was Gene, and then Finny dies which changes almost everything. So, this is a logical climax because everything changes because of this event. Everything will change because Finny was who Gene looked up to. Even though they had a very unhealthy relationship with each other, their worlds basically revolved around each other. Gene’s world is going to completely shift, especially since he will probably have to go to war soon so he literally is losing everything he has. At the end of the chapter it says, I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral,” (Knowles 194). Gene feels this way because now that Finny’s gone most of his problems and happiness and other emotions are gone with him. Along with the guilt of knowing what he did to him in the past and that he caused Finny's second fall even though he didn't physically do anything to him that time. After the logical climax where Finny dies, Gene’s entire world is going to change.

Chapter 12 Question 4 Assignment #11: If Finny had survived his operation, do you think Gene and Finny could remain friends? Or do you think the friendship at this point is too broken? Make sure to include support from the text in your answer. (Mali)

I think if Finny had survived the operation Gene and Finny would still be friends. One of the last conversations Finny and Gene have before the operation is when Gene brings Finny’s clothes. The tree accident seems to be on Finny’s mind, sparking his question about why Gene pushed him. Finny says to Gene, “it was just some kind of blind impulse you had in the tree there, you didn’t know what you were doing. Was that it?”, and Gene responds, confirming Finny’s explanation (191). Both Gene and Finny seem more at ease now, and Finny is a lot more calm than when he exploded at Gene at the night before. At the end of this conversation he says, “It’s okay because I understand and I believe you. You’ve already shown me and I believe you” (191). Finny had a had time getting these words out but it seems he finally has come to peace with Gene and the tree. He got over his resentment against Gene. If he can forgive Gene for the first accident, I think Finny could have overcome this too. I think, if he even blamed Gene for falling down the stairs (we don’t even know that), then I think their friendship would have survived. Finny’s wording, “you’ve already shown me”, makes me think he sees past these actions in Gene and sees he is a good person who made a snap decision. Finny did start to move on and forgive Gene, leading me to the conclusion that I think that their friendship would have survived.

Assignment 11: #5 Explain the significance of the last paragraph: "I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case." (Tyler)

The significance of the last paragraph is that although it is Finny that physically dies, an emotional part of Gene also dies. Throughout the novel there is a complex relationship that develops between Finny and Gene. Before Finny’s injury there is a rather intense rivalry that developed between the two. Gene was the introverted, intelligent, boy, while Finny was the athletic, genuine, extroverted boy. However, following Finny’s injury, it is almost as though the two boys identities become merged together. When Gene caused Finny to fall from the tree and break his leg, a huge piece of Finny’s athletic identity was forever lost.  In fact, in a phone conversation between the two boys while Finny was recuperating at home, Finny told Gene, “listen, pal, if I can’t play sports, you’re going to play them for me,” and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas" (Knowles 85).  Upon Finny’s return to Devon, Finny explained how he had hoped to train for the 1944 Olympics, and now because of his injury and inability to participate, he would train Gene instead. As Gene’s identity shifts to replacing what is lost in Finny’s, he explains “I went along, as I always did, with any new invention of Finny’s” (p. 117).  The search for individual identity by each of the adolescent boys in the novel comes to an end with the death of Finny. Gene “could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral” (p. 194) because a part of Gene died when Finny died. Finny was never one to feel sorry for himself, so Gene in acting like Finny, did not cry when Dr. Stanpole told him of Finny’s death, or “when I stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait burial ground outside of Boston” (p. 194).  Ironically, there is no “separate peace” for either boy because Gene lost a part of himself when Finny died, just like Finny lost a part of himself when he fell out of that tree.

Assignment #10 (152-177): Discuss Leper’s return and its impact on Gene and Finny before Brinker’s trial. What does Leper represent now that he is back at Devon and what conversation does his return trigger between Finny and Gene? (see pages 163-164) (William)

Finny is able to, once he “heard that about Leper, [... know] that the war was real.”  He then confronts the truth about the war, and admits to the world that, “… [he] always knew, but... didn’t have to admit it.”(163) Finny has to abandon his fantasies of the war and Olympics, what he hoped the world was like, which causes him to be more suppressed. After hearing that Leper had come back to campus, Gene starts to become anxious. Since Leper knows that he had caused Finny's fall, it makes him try to make Leper seem untrustworthy. His first retort is after hearing that Leper had been hiding in the bushes, where he says that “He must be crazy”.(163) Afterwards he starts to “involentarily me[e]t Finny’s” eyes. Without even needing to think, Gene tries to discount everything that Leper is about to say. Although they are each impacted differently, they both will see the world with a different affect. The conversation that stems from the change was one of recollection of when they had seen the world differently, a time when they hadn’t needed to think about being accused or comprehend how awful the world can be. To Gene Leper is a threat that causes anxiety, but to Finny he is a wakeup call that the world is not as nice as he had envisioned.

Pages 152-177: Discuss the irony of the dialogue between Finny and Gene on the second half of page 155 (CC).

The irony in Gene and Finny’s discussion on page 155 of A Separate Peace is that Gene tells Finny not to break his leg again, however, it was Gene’s fault in the first place. Earlier in the book, Gene and Finny are up in the tree by the river and Finny offers that he and Gene do a double jump together off the tree into the river. However, once on the limb, Gene purposely “jounced the limb. {and} Finny, his balance gone… tumbled sideways… and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud,” (Knowles 60). Following this event, it is discovered that the fall caused Finny to break his leg. Later, once Finny is back at school from recovering for his leg, Gene and him are talking after a large snowball fight; Gene is worried whether Finny’s leg will be okay, reminding Finny, “Christ, don’t break it again!” (Knowles 155). The irony here is that Gene makes the sentence accusatory, that it was Finny’s fault his leg is broken, however that is not the case as Finny’s broken leg is all due to Gene.

Assignment #10 (152-177): At the top of page 155, the snowball fight culminates with everyone turning on Finny. Why does this happen here and why now? How does this moment foreshadow events later in the chapter? (Sanya)

The snowball fight culminating with everyone turning on Finny happens at this moment to foreshadow Finny’s downfall later on in the chapter. After Gene’s visit to Leper in Vermont he returns to the Devon school. Once there, he is greeted with a rampaging snowball fight, lead by Finny. Gene narrates, “we ended the fight in the only way possible; all of us turned on Phineas. Slowly, with a steadily widening grin, he was driven beneath a blizzard of snowballs,” (155).  The timing of this event is significant, because Gene has returned from Leper’s house; where Leper accuses Gene of knocking Finny out of the tree. Since then, the truth has become closer to emerging completely. The snowball fight scene foreshadows the trial, where the truth is closer than ever to emerging. This moment foreshadows the events later on in the chapter, where Finny’s downfall is everyone elses fault. The fight also represents how Finny wouldn’t be able to thrive in the real world, which is the war. Finny hadn’t accepted the war, until he eventually sees Leper hiding in the bush. At that point he realized how the war affected Leper. He then instantly knew that he didn’t feel welcomed in this new reality, nor did he want to be a part of it. Overall when everyone turns on Finny in the snowball fight, it foreshadows his accident later in the chapter.

1. Do you think Gene will admit his wrongdoings now that Finny has fallen again?

2. Have there been any other important foreshadowing moments before Finny's second accident?

Tushar Take Two

Gene attacks Leper because he accuses him of causing Finny's fall, but also because Leper reveals to Gene that there truly is a savage underneath his "good boy" exterior. When Gene goes to visit Leper in Vermont after receiving his telegram, he finds that Leper has been suffering from mental breakdowns ever since he "escaped" from the army. While they were talking, Leper suddenly begins to laugh hysterically, exclaiming to Gene, "'You were always a savage underneath... like that time you knocked Finny out of the tree... like that time you crippled him for life'" (Knowles 145). Hearing this causes Gene to let his emotions to take him over and he knocked Leper's chair over. Initially, he reacts instinctively, out of fear of being judged, not wanting for people to know that he caused Finny's fall. However, he beings to realize that he truly "'always [was] a savage underneath'" (Knowles 145). His emotions during this scene also mirror the feelings and emotions of war; acting instinctively to protect themselves and not worrying about the repercussions that would come with their actions. He sees the effect of warfare on Leper, mentally. During this moment, Gene also realizes how conflicted he is as a person, with his own inner war. He is confused, hurt, angry, and fearful all at the same time. He is so afraid of what is to come next for him that he has boxed himself in, not wanting for anyone to breach his bubble of the Devon School. Leper's accusation of Gene purposely pushing Finny upsets him, and causes him to attack Leper, while also fully realizing his own true nature.

Questions to Consider:

1. What do you make of this scene? Do you think Gene is afraid of accepting himself?

2. Do you think that Leper truly thinks that Gene pushed Finny out, or is this just one of mental breakdowns and means nothing?

3. Do you think it was right for Gene to act so impulsively and aggressively for Leper's comment?

Assignment #9: Gene spends the first part of the chapter traveling to Leper’s house. Choose two or three phrases of description about the landscape (location, weather, temperature) and explore how Knowles is using them. Why does he include these details here and why at this time? What does it reveal about Gene at this time? (Gillian)

In this passage, Knowles uses weather and location to describe the mood and to foreshadow Gene’s future. The chapter begins with Gene explaining his future and how he ends up going to war. He explains how his journey to Leper’s house marked the beginning of many trips like this. He explains, “That night I made for the first time the kind of journey which later became the most monotonous routine of my life: traveling through an unknown settlement to another” (Knowles 138). This quotation shows how Vermont and its scenery reminds older Gene of the war and it explains how this trip was the beginning of many of Gene’s travels for the war. Knowles uses weather and conditions at the end of the chapter as well to foreshadow Gene’s future. When Gene and Leper are in the field, Gene describes the noises of the ice and snow. He narrates, “The crust beneath us continued to crack and as we reached the border of the field the frigid trees were also cracking with the cold. The two sharp groups of noises sounded to my ears like rifles being fired in the distance” (Knowles 151). In this passage, Knowles uses the “rifles in the distance” to connect back to the war and to foreshadow Gene’s future in it. He also uses words like “frigid” to give a negative connotation to this reading. In this chapter, Knowles uses the weather and its connotations to show Genes future in the war and how his trip to see Leper connects to this.

#9 Since Leper is “section 8” (“for nuts in the service”), explore the irony of Leper’s statement “always were a savage underneath.” Take into consideration that Leper contacted Gene. Why is this important? (Dylan)

When Gene goes to visit Leper we see how much Leper’s characteristics and personality have changed throughout the novel, and how ironic it is that Leper knows the reality of Gene’s actions. Leper has become the first to enlist in the war, however, he doesn’t last long, and days later he sends Gene a telegram informing him that he has “escaped.” Gene meets his old friend at the “Christmas Location,” concluding that Leper must have “escaped” from spies. Gene was shocked when Leper confesses that he really escaped from a section eight discharge. Leper goes on to explain that “A section 8 discharge is for the nuts in the service, the psychos…You’re screwed for life,” (Knowles 145). Gene seems agitated by his friend, and attacks him when Leper says he knew that Gene was “always a savage underneath…Like that time you knocked finny out of the tree,” (Knowles 145). Later in the chapter the two boys seem to calm down and even go for a walk when Leper goes in depth about his army experiences until Gene decides to run away. Throughout the novel we see signs about how the war has changed people, but Leper seems to have become a whole new person. He becomes “psycho,” in his own words, and even rants strange, crazy stories. It is ironic that Leper comes across as strange and insane, yet Leper is the only one at Devon that has tried to face the inevitable. Leper called Gene to come to Vermont so that he could tell someone about the part of himself that was impacted by the war. Leper says he has “admitted a hell of a lot to myself,” (Knowles 145). Leper has come clean with himself, and has thought about the past, but he says that Gene hasn’t accomplished the same feat. In doing this Gene is suddenly faced with the reality of himself and his actions, an identity that Gene is scared of, which causes him to attack Leper. Ironically it is Leper who knows and addresses Gene about the truth of his past, even if Leper appears to be “Psycho.”

1)    Do you think that Leper is a psycho? Only partly? Why or why not?

2)    Do you think that Leper will ever be the same, and how will this have an impact on Gene’s army views?

3)    What will Gene do after this? Will he tell his friends at Devon? Will he ever see Leper again?