Knowles Separate Peace Essays: Self-Knowledge and Inner-Peace

A Separate Peace  Self-Knowledge and Inner-Peace                      The theme suggested in the settlement paragraph of the novel A Separate Peace is that sight make up their give birth enemy and then they defend themselves laboriously and obsessively against their imaginary number enemy. They develop a particular frame of mind to allay the worship that arises while facing their nonexistent enemy. In the novel, the protagonist, Gene, tries to fight a contend with his best friend, Finny, non realizing that the enemy he sees is not Finny but is his own insecurity.             At the beginning Gene believes that Finny is actually his enemy who is trying to disobey him. Gene thinks that Finny envies his academic ability just as he envies Finnys preposterous athletic ability. To feel better about himself, Gene lowers Finny to his level so that they a re raze, even in enmity. Genes attitude toward Finny is a manifestation of his green-eyed monster and lack of self-confidence. Finny, on the other hand is extremely confident. He never had the evil thoughts about destroying Genes grades -  he is too innocent of a someone to have such thought. Furthermore, Finny, being a carefree person, does not even care about his own grades, and certainly not Genes grades. Gene does not realize the truth, or perhaps he simply does not unavoidableness to admit the truth. He has created an enemy to protect himself from acknowledging that he is not entirely satisfied with his character, or lack of thereof.             Gene finally realizes that Finny is not tryin... ...defenses that people have constructed are as useless as the Maginot Lines they only baffle people from analyzing their emotions and characters. People should view the enemy and the war in a more objective perspective, and try to u nderstand themselves. Only by doing so can they eventually find their identity.