A Piece of A Separate Piece

In John Knowles' novel, A Separate Peace, there are a number of themes: competition and jealousy, the effects of denial, and how the combination war and the stress of becoming an adult can change the relationship between friends.

Competition and jealousy play a major role in the deterioration of the relationship between two boys, Gene and Finny. The competition that they engage in seems like normal horseplay, but escalates into tragedy. Because each has the opposite talent of the other, their competition is "too unusual for-not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry." (37) Gene is academic and Finny is athletic. Gene follows the rules, while Finny breaks them. Because they are so different from one another, they constantly try to excel and compete with the other. In fact, each one is extremely jealous of the other boy's talents. This demonstrates that they are...