As Ernest Hemingway once wisely proclaimed, “All truly evil things begin with innocence” (Hemingway 73). The truth in Hemingway's words is that almost everything begins as pure and true, and only through a series of components does it transform into something that could be labeled "evil." The most common of these components for humans is the end of youth and ignorance in the form of adolescence. Coming of age takes away the innocence that initially inhabits a person as they mature into becoming more aware of their surroundings and themselves. This concept is illustrated in John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, a story of individual growth amid the chaos of World War II at Devon Academy, a prestigious boys' school in New England. Protagonist Gene Forrester and his best friend Phineas face the darker side of adolescence in this heartbreaking and evocative parable. The widespread destruction that occurred in the distant war is reflected in the more local and personal damage that characters like Gene and Phineas are experiencing in everyday life; war itself is another component that helps ruin innocence. The events of a summer, such as the world war, chase away the innocence of these children and their world. With the novel's dynamic and evolving characters, John Knowles develops the quintessential Bildungsroman to demonstrate the fall of innocence in the face of adolescence in a context of war. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before Gene and Phineas share the fatal tree accident, Gene ignores the suffering; he is childish, fearful and unsure of himself. Adolescence is a difficult time for any young person, but the path to maturity in wartime presents unique pressures. At the beginning of the novel, a tree overlooking the Devon River, used as part of an obstacle course preparing the senior class for recruitment, triggers war within Gene when his friend Phineas, known as Finny, challenges him to dive into the river. from one of its highest branches. The tree, a biblical symbol referencing the story of the Garden of Eden, represents temptation for Gene, "...it is the means by which Gene will give up the Eden-like summer peace of Devon and, in so doing, both they will fall from innocence and at the same time prepare for World War II” (Ellis 79). Gene finally gives in to this temptation, saying, “With the feeling that I was throwing my life away, I jumped into space…it felt good. ” (Knowles 17) However, Gene wasn't throwing his life away, he was just starting to demonstrate his insecurity in feeling threatened by both Finny's challenge and the natural obstacle the tree presents. he puts aside his fear in an act typical of an inexperienced teenager, and recognizing that giving himself up to this temptation has been satisfying for him, he is just beginning to learn what he is capable of giving in to, no matter the consequences the first chapters of the novel As they advance, it becomes apparent that Gene harbors a deep resentment for Finny, a jealousy of his athleticism, spiritual purity, self-confidence, and easy-going nature that he could never achieve. These feelings are pushed aside so as not to be obvious to Finny, classmates and teachers, and even Gene himself, but are subtly recognizable as the plot follows Gene's stream of consciousness. Gene shows his uncertainty about himself when he asks himself questions like, “Why did I let Finny talk me into doing stupid things like this? He was practicing some sort ofinfluence me?" (Knowledge 17). These unanswered questions demonstrate not only Gene's problems with Finny, but also his sense of losing control over his own being. The opening of the novel brings to light some characteristic traits negatives belonging to Gene, “…his fear of not measuring up in the eyes of his peer group, his latent hostility and envy toward Finny, and his tendency to use indirect responses such as sarcasm in verbal retaliation” (Bryant 43).There are also physical symbols in the boys' weight and height that exemplify Gene's lack of growth at this point in the plot. Gene claims to have been five feet tall until Finny, "...had said in public with his simple, shocking self-acceptance, 'No, you're the same height as me, five feet seven and a half'" (Knowles 16), revealing in Gene's little lie his adolescent insecurity and his intent to obtain even the minimal advantage over Finny. Another example includes the 150 pounds that Finny weighs compared to Gene's 140 pounds, symbolizing the fact that “Finny is a 'bigger' person than Gene in terms of spirit; he has a larger heart and more magnanimity, which would symbolically explain his greater weight” (Bryant 43). The physical similarities between the two make the psychological differences more pronounced, the main difference being that Gene has neither the confidence nor the confidence of his friend. Furthermore, Finny's personality accentuates Gene's naivety and youthful behavior, his general ignorance allowing him to be labeled as innocent, in the scene where Finny insists on wearing his pink t-shirt, a radical fashion item for l era. Gene declares that the bright shirt "makes him look like a fairy" (Knowles 24), but Finny's humorous responses show that he is not deterred by provocations and is more confident in himself and his sexuality than Gene. Even more disconcerting to Gene than the shirt itself is Finny's insistence that it is an emblem, telling Gene that "he was reading in the paper the other day that we bombed Central Europe for the first time" (Knowles 24) . Finny's unusual display of patriotism and celebration of overseas war accomplishments make Gene uncomfortable; he knows he doesn't have the courage to remain indifferent to the judgments against him or to contribute to the "war effort" when he is just beginning to declare war on the changes taking place within him. Thus, Knowles reveals in the first part of the book the starting point of Gene's change, the inexperienced foundation from which he will grow. The point of ascending action in A Separate Peace develops from the most primitive and yet most complex event in the novel: Phineas's "fall" from the symbolic tree and subsequently Gene's fall from innocence and ignorance. Before Gene essentially causes Finny's devastating fall from the tree onto the riverbank, his envy, confusion, conflict, and anger explode. He experiences absurd paranoia, thinking to himself: “Finny had deliberately set out to ruin my studies... This way he, the great athlete, would be far ahead of me. It was all cold deception, it was all calculated, it was all enmity” (Knowles 53). Gene confronts Finny in an attempt to force him to confirm his motives for creating all of his unique "extracurricular activities" that he believed would prepare them for war, such as blitzball, the Super Suicide Society, and spending the night on a nearby beach. When Gene realizes during the contentious conversation that it is entirely one-sided – Finny never meant to bother him, Finny has no resentment or jealousy towards him – his spirit is crushed. Gene now realizes that "it's not the same quality" (Knowles 59)of Finny, and that he "...is unable to maintain the spiritual purity that distinguishes Phineas and so must, when he discovers his own ferocity, betray Phineas" (Ellis 80). This betrayal manifests itself when Finny asks Gene to perform a "double jump" from the tree with him, a sign of Finny's forgiving interpretation of their friendship, and Gene complies, only to push the branches where Finny is ready to jump, throwing him to the ground. landing awkwardly on the riverbank and shattering the bones in his left leg. The act is obviously unpremeditated; he cannot stand his inferiority to Finny, and so he impulsively and reflexively brings Finny back to a position where he can compete with him again. It is at this point that Gene has completely distanced himself from his innocence and tranquility, practically pushing Finny figuratively off his superiority and literally off the tree; serves as Gene's initiation into the "ignorance and moral darkness of the human heart" (Ellis 82). This proves that “The price of peace is self-awareness” (Weber 55). In order for Gene to secure his own individuality, he unconsciously needs to relegate Finny, who represents aspects of Gene's personality, such as intuitiveness, purity, and sensitivity, which must be eliminated in preparation for participating in the raging war. abroad. Furthermore, the pink shirt scene, plus an intimate scene on the beach in which Finny sincerely tells Gene that he is his best friend without receiving a response, are crucial in establishing that Gene is not entirely comfortable with his sexuality, a intuition that, as mentioned before, can be linked to adolescent insecurity. Gene's reflexive elimination of Finny has the potential to be linked to the destruction of his innermost emotions that make him vulnerable; Vulnerability is not a desirable quality for a young man who knows he will soon find himself involved in a horrible war. Then comes Gene's rebirth, his baptism by throwing himself into the river immediately after Finny's fall. This leap into the water below is the leap into adulthood; it is Gene's first action since the beginning of the novel that he is absolutely sure of, as he recounts, "With reckless confidence I moved to the branch and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear forgotten" (Knowles 60). Gene's leap is a rite of passage for him, and the water he leaps into cleanses him of his youth, changing his understanding of himself and the world that comes with the transition from innocence to experience. The baptismal symbol signifies the restoration of Gene's life and the beginning of his new identity (Foster 153-160). The irony is that the tree is both the platform of temptation and baptism. Furthermore, the tree is important in the entire spectrum of Gene's life because "...it is by turns an occasion of danger, friendship, betrayal, and regret" (Wolfe 101), all hallmarks of maturation and achievement of age, bringing to light the use of a Bildungsroman form of literary plot. It is necessary to remember that the basis of this event around which the exemplum is formed is fear: fear of the imminent war service, of losing one's individuality and entering the world of adults. After Finny's actual fall and Gene's symbolic fall, Gene achieves catharsis. dealing with the loss of innocence, ignorance, and ultimately Finny himself as both the war and Gene's adolescence come to an end. While Finny recovers from his injury, Gene is filled with guilt and regret. No one knows that he was the reason for Finny's injury, not even Finny, until the climax of the novel in which a group of Devon boys accuse Gene, forcing Finny, injured and disoriented, to fight forwalk away from them all, only to fall. he walks down a flight of marble stairs, advances his wound, and then dies in surgery. Gene comes to realize his own moral ugliness in the very first conversation he shares with Finny since the fall: “He would never accuse me… and I thought we were competitors! It was so ridiculous I wanted to cry” (Knowles 66). Even now, Gene can't stand Finny's spiritual purity. His temporary solution to the internal conflict he feels is to assume Finny's identity, first by wearing his clothes and second by engaging in a rule-breaking bout that Finny would be proud of. This demonstrates a typical attempt of a growing youth; faced with an identity crisis, one can find courage and reassurance in adopting a personality that does not belong to him, often opposite to his own, as in Gene's case. By dressing in Finny's clothes, “Gene takes the first step toward deep self-evaluation. Through a series of acts of identification with Finny, he will keep alive the very side of himself that he had previously tried to suppress” (Bryant 70). Gene's deep shame causes his desire to hide. This continues until the climactic scene where the true details of Gene's crime are brought to light in front of Finny and a large group of Devon students. During this time, Gene has grown and changed, and his final transformation occurs when he visits Finny for the last time in the hospital before undergoing the surgery that, unbeknownst to them, will end his life. When he sees Finny shot, Gene is now more experienced and less shocked by the violence because, “there were hints of much worse things around us now… the newsreels and magazines were drowned out by images of burning artillery and bodies half sunk in the sand of a beach somewhere” (Knowles 179); this illustrates his acceptance of both the war abroad and the war between childhood and adulthood within himself. Gene's elimination of pity, and even his maturation, is shown when he makes a full confession to Finny about the events in the tree; it's the first time both Gene and Finny have come to terms with this. Gene recognizes that Finny embodied a kind of enlightenment he had never achieved and imagines that “Finny's innocence represents the spirit of peace, so much so that his very presence would make war seem unacceptable. His good will and fundamental idealism would overcome the fear and hostility that fuel war among men” (Bryant 106), which is exactly why Finny was the vital component to Gene’s coming of age . The death of Finny, a truly innocent soul, symbolizes the end of Gene's years of ignorance and innocence. When he says, “I never cried then or ever for Finny… I couldn't escape the feeling that this was my funeral, and then you don't cry” (Knowles 194), he is exemplifying this very concept. Additionally, Knowles creates the first pages of the novel to be narrated by an adult Gene visiting the grounds of Devon Academy for the first time in fifteen years, with the majority of the plot a flashback, a necessity to capture the completeness of a novel by training. and to show the extent of Gene's change. In this solemn visit at the beginning of the book, the adult Gene makes a series of realizations that demonstrate his personal progress. He notes that he often used sarcasm in his youth as security for his weakness, that he and all his companions in Devon had spent their time in blissful selfishness, and that the harmony and change in Devon was now reflected in himself. He wisely observes: “The more things stay the same, the more they change after all… nothing lasts, not a tree, not.