A_Separate_Peace__Literary_Analysis_Of_The_Theme__Reality_Vs

A Separate Peace: Literary Analysis Of The Theme: Reality Vs. Appearance One major theme in A Separate Peace by John Knowles is appearance versus reality. There are many points where this theme makes an appearance and it is one of, if not the most, important themes throughout the book. There are specific points throughout the book where this theme is emphasized. This theme is especially notable in Gene's characterizations of himself, and of Finny. Gene tries to present himself as a rule-abiding, nice kind of person, as a person who normally conformed to the rules and regulations of the school and society in general. However, when he is with his roommate, Finny, he behaves very differently, and, as we see from the events in the book, he is sometimes spiteful, jealous, and has quite a temper when he is stirred up. Gene is not a totally good person, as no one who intentionally injures his best friend and then tries to cover up the truth should be considered to be one. However, Gene would be hard pressed to admit this, and tries to avoid the subject of his "savage" underpinning. separate, peace, gene, finny, book, tries, throughout, person, out, one, however, very, theme, sometimes, jealousy, himself, hard, friend, emphasized, character, been, avoid, appearance, after, vs, underpinning, underneath, two, truth, true, tried, tree, totally, through, things, themselves, themes, temper