World War II was a period of violence across globe, and many works of literature of the time reflect this. While works such as All Quite on the Western Front and The Soldier Spies focus on the violence of the war itself, other novels of the period are more about the home life during the war, and have little to do with the hostility in the war. And, while violence does exist in the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the scenes contribute to the overall meaning and themes of the story.
There are three essential scenes of violence in the story, each of which helps to emphasize the growth of the main character Gene Forrester throughout his life at Devon school, a school very similar to one Phillips Exeter Academy that Knowles attended as a youth.
The first scene of violence, which happens to be the first of two climaxes, occurs when Gene shakes the limb that he and Finny are standing on, causing Finny to fall to the ground, shattering his leg. The fall seemed to be an accident to anyone who did not know what truly happened. Gene was jealous of Finny’s athletic ability, and he feared that Finny was trying to sabotage his academic career, so, in a brief moment; Gene was able to sabotage Finny’s athleticism in return.
This scene helps in demonstrating the growth of the boys by emphasizing the immaturity that is also shown through such things as sarcasm, and then, after the fall, the almost immediate growth that Gene experiences. While the jealousy that Gene experienced was a juvenile emotion in itself, the fact that the boys held the Super Secret Society was also fairly immature, since there was a dreadfully real chance of injury or death. Both of these ended after the accident, also this marked the end of Gene’s use of sarcasm, which Gene states is a weak, and therefore adolescent, form of communication.
Later, Gene gets into a fight with the senior crew manager Cliff Quackenbush over an argument they have over Gene’s purpose for wanting to be the assistant senior crew manager, a position normally held by a junior in hopes of taking Cliff’s position the next year. The fight breaks out after Cliff refers to Gene as a “maimed son-of-a-bitch” (71) thinking that Gene’s reasoning for being assistant was because of inability to play another sport.
This scene shows a large growth in maturity from that of the scene of the fall in at least the important aspects to the meaning. The reason for Gene’s interest in a position as crew manager came out of sorrow for Finny. He had caused Phineas to lose all chances of playing sports, all from a little paranoia, so therefore he felt that he too should give up sports. He felt he had become a part of Finny. That is why he was so distraught over the comment of being maimed, Finny actually was maimed, and so Gene was taking up for Finny’s unfortunate situation.
The final scene of violence came when Gene takes a trip to Vermont to visit Leper who has defected from the army. While talking, Leper reveals that he knows the truth about Finny’s fall. From his position, Leper could easily see that Gene had intentionally shaken the branch, causing Finny to fall. Due to his current lack of acceptance of the truth, Gene gets agitated by these statements and ends up knocking over the chair that Leper is sitting in.
This last scene of violence indicates that, while he would not accept it until after Phineas’ death, Gene feels terrible over the incident that he put Finny through. The scene contains a struggle between Gene’s maturity and immaturity, something that almost every teen his age goes through. While Gene’s maturity shows through in his countenance, his anger and frustration show that he is apologetic for the action he committed at the time, his immature reaction of pushing Leper over in his chair show that he has not fully matured in his life yet.
While violence in the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles is often harsh and seemingly pointless, every scene of brutality to any degree helps the reader in understanding the whole of the story. Each scene in the book was carefully planned for the development and execution of the novel’s theme, plot and morals.
_______________