A Separate Peace: The Nature of ManMankind's greatest battles are often not simply a clash of arms, but a vast, quiet conflict in the human heart. Likewise, actions in the world are thoughts transformed into reality and feelings transformed into movement. It is terrible to realize that war, in all its evils, is often the pure expression of something sinister within. A Separate Peace by John Knowles intimately explores the depths of humanity to discover the essence of human nature. The novel focuses on the lonely and intelligent narrator Gene Forester and his best friend, the athlete Phineas, or Finny. Their experiences over the course of a semester have many parallels to the real life of author John Knowles. He founded the Devon School in his time, at the prestigious Philips Exeter Academy, at the end of the Second World War (Jones). The author uses introspection to unearth Gene's mind and soul and explore what shapes him. In his novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles expresses that one can only mature through self-awareness, in order to counter the indoctrination of young people in World War II. Fittingly, the greatest expression of such knowledge is found in the characterization of the protagonist Gene. , and later its development. He is the first student at Devon Academy, intelligent and studious, but a social outcast, trying to stay afloat in a school of piranhas for classmates. He is commonly described as the "cautious Protestant" with a "seed of savagery" ("A Separate Peace"), depicting his innate savagery beneath the veneer of civilization. At the beginning of the story, he had great enmity towards Phineas despite their friendship. Gene initially saw Finny as a competing rival, neurotic and jealous like himself...... middle of paper ...... Center. Internet. November 21, 2011. Knowles, John. A separate peace. 1975 ed. 1960. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Print. “A separate peace”. Review of children's literature. Ed. Tom Burns. Flight. 98. Detroit, 2005. Gale Resource Center. Internet. November 21, 2011. Umphlett, Wiley Lee. “The Death of Innocence: The Paradox of the Dying Athlete.” The sporting myth and the American experience: studies in contemporary fiction. 1975. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1975. 130-45. Rep. in Youth Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Flight. 98. Detroit: np, 2005. N. pag. Gale Library Resource Center. Internet. November 21, 2011. Witherington, Paul. “A Separate Peace: A Study in Structural Ambiguity.” English Journal 54.9 (1965): 795-800. Rep. in Youth Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Flight. 98. Detroit: np, 2005. N. pag. Gale Library Resource Center. Internet. November 21. 2011.