Controversial Classics: A Separate Peace

I first read A Separate Peace in the early spring of eighth grade. The novel was unlike the chaos that was Lord of the Flies or Animal Farm. It felt peaceful, or at least that's how it began.

The story begins with the Devon School as a sort of edenic microcosm; untouched and blissfully unaware of the war that is happening during the time. This bildungsroman novel touches on such themes of innocence and corruption.

Finny represents inherent "goodness"; he is completely pure and kindhearted. Meanwhile, Gene represents the human part of everyone. Not quite evil, but definitely jealous and malicious when it comes to Finny (albeit harboring deep admiration for him as well).

This juxtaposition represents the central conflict of the story: Gene jounces the tree limb that Finny is on, causing Finny to fall and break his leg. This later has extreme consequences that indirectly causes Finny's death. The rest of the novel is Gene grappling with guilt, questioning his goodness, his love for Finny, and questioning whether the jounce was purposeful or not.

The homoerotic tones within this novel, as well as its dark portrayal of friendship, and Gene seemingly never "learning his lesson" have caused it to be banned and removed from school curriculums in many parts of the world.

The central philosophy of his novel is centered around Hobbes' Leviathan: Humanity naturally competitive and fear-driven; everyone is selfish and self-preservating (albeit not evil). That is why Finny had to die at the end. Finny was too pure, too Biblical. Like how the Devon School was shielded from the war, that was Finny's role.