FREE ESSAY ON 5 PARA. CHARACTER SKETCH ON A SEPERATE PEACE

5 PARA. CHARACTER SKETCH ON A SEPERATE PEACE

Friendship is a bond that is held together by mutual respect and common benevolence. John
Knowles explores this realm deeply in his novel, A Separate Peace. Phineas and Gene are
best friends, but their friendship is challenged as Gene feels that Finny is superior.
Finny, unlike Gene, has no inner conflict, but instead he mentally creates a perfect
universe. When Gene finally unleashes his suppressed anger by use of violence, Finny is
unable to accept it as intentional in an effort to sustain his perfect world.
Unfortunately, he permits this hidden truth to fester until ultimately it destroys his
mental paradise along with himself. Finny utilizes his idealistic views of life, genuine
caring for others, and charismatic abilities to make people love him in order to preserve
his inner utopia.
Finny's idealistic views of the real world are optimistic and show the naivete of his
character. He has standards of perfection for life, and he is willing to sacrifice the
truth to uphold this perfection. This is true even when the truth is openly admitted,
such as when Gene confesses that he "deliberately jounced the limb so you [Finny] would
fall off" (Knowles 62). Finny simply denies it and even shows some anger by threatening
to "kill you [Gene] if you don't shut up" (62). This anger becomes the first step in the
deterioration of his perfect universe. Finny cannot accept the fact that there are
imperfect feelings in the world, such as losing, because "Finny never permitted himself
to realize that when you won, they lost" (27). 
Furthermore, Finny has a genuine heart, which aids in his friendship with Gene. His
sincerity and honesty significantly depicts how uncorrupt his character is. He sets aside
certain rules to live by, of which he strongly believes to "Never say you are five feet
nine when you're five feet eight and a half" (26). This reveals how true Finny's
character is, and the fact that it is a commandment shows how his morals are the basis
for his life. Finny is also very sincere with his friendship towards Gene, by openly
revealing that "'At this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal.' He
hesitated and then added, 'which is what you are,'" (40). Whereas Gene is insecure about
their friendship, Finny readily admits his true feelings. This genuine attitude
deteriorates in the end along with his world as he lies in an effort to suppress the
truth.
Additionally, Finny has an undeniable charisma that gives him the natural charm respected
by all, all but Gene. He has an extraordinary power to make people love him, and it is
that love which Gene envies. His power is shown when "he was forced to speak himself, the
hypnotic power of his voice combined with the singularity of his mind to produce answers,
which were often no right but could rarely be branded as wrong" (46). His charisma allows
him to slip out of difficult situations, such as when Finny wears the Devon School tie as
a belt, the substitute Headmaster "seemed pleased or amused in some unknown corner of his
mind" (19). Gene, however, envied this, and it gives him an excuse to unleash his anger
and the violence. So consequently, Finny's charisma ultimately leads to his demise.
Finny is idealistic in his visions of the world, genuine in his caring for people, and
charismatic in his convincing nature, and these qualities make him highly revered by
many. Unfortunately, Gene tries to compete with Finny, which is impossible for Gene, so
he envies Finny. When Gene releases his anger, Finny is unable to accept the truth,
because he wants to preserve his utopia. This perfect world is created by Finny's mind in
order to not see the evils of the real world. The friendship between the two of them is
not mutual. This is why one must keep their enemies close, but their friends closer,
because friends are most likely to stab their friends in the back.