The Importance of Individuality in John Knowles A Separate Peace :: Separate Peace Essays

The Importance of Individuality in John Knowles A Separate recreation There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance that imitation is suicide that he must wad himself for better for worse as his portion. It is harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to blend in after the worlds opinion it is easy in solitude to live after our own but the great man is he who in the midst of the tug keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. (Ralph Waldo Emerson) A Separate Peace (1959) written by John Knowles, expresses the true struggle to respect mavens individuality. In 1942 at a private school in New Hampshire Gene Forrester became good friends with his roommate, Finny. He envies Finny for his great Athletic ability. In spite of the envy, Gene and Finny do everything together and one day for fun they decide to jump out of a tree into the r iver. After that they form the Super Suicide Society, the first time they jumped being their causality for formation. During one of their meetings they decide to jump off at the same time. When they get up on the limb Gene bounces it and Finny falls on the bank. He shatters the mug up in his level and will never again land sports. Nobody realizes that Gene deliberately made Finny lose his balance. Because of the accident Gene does not play sports either and continues being friends with Finny. One night, some of the other guys from Devon School woke Gene and Finny up in the middle of the night. They are suspicious of the accident. They conduct a outpouring to blame Gene for what has happened to Finny. Eventually Finny gets upset in the midst of argument and runs out. He ends up tripping and falling down the stairs, and noticeing his healed leg allover again. It was a cleaner break this time but they still have to set it. Gene confesses to Finny that he bounced him out of the tr ee. While setting the break there are complications and Finny dies. Gene learns that he is his own person and now that Finny is gone he can finally be content with himself. In the low gear Gene feels inferior to Finny.