A Separate Peace
Separate Peace Theme Essay
One of the most important themes in A Separate Peace is the harmful effects of envy. One way John Knowles develops this theme is when Gene causes physically harm to Finny. Gene was jealous of Finny’s leadership and athletic ability which caused Gene to jounce the tree limb. Due to Gene’s jealousy, Finny fell out of the tree and broke his leg. God does not want us to be jealous of our friends, as he says in James 2:8 - Love your neighbor as yourself. He wants us to be kind to our neighbors, not to be envious of them which can lead us to do harmful things. A second way John Knowles develops the theme is when there was not much trust left in their friendship. While Finny was not at school, Gene was thinking about enlisting. Gene didn’t want to tell Finny because he knew that Finny didn’t like the war and wouldn’t like the thought of him enlisting. Gene didn’t want to trust Finny with this information because he knew that he would try to talk him out of it. God wants us to trust our friends, but also in him. God tells us in Psalm 118:8 - It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man Our friends can not always be there for us, but God always is and always will be. A final way John Knowles develops this theme is the idea of lost friends. Finny and Gene went on a trip to the beach. At the beach Finny told Gene that he was his best friend. Gene could not say the same thing back due to his envious heart. This ended in a lost friendship. God always wants us to have friends especially Christian friends, like he says in Psalm 133:1 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. If we have Christian friends, they should influence us to do the right thing, instead of going against God’s will for us. It is never good to have envious feelings toward one another. You just become more and more envious of the person and it leads to many unwanted things, for instance, like Finny’s death in A...
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