A Separate Peace Finny Character Traits

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Even through his tragic accident, Phineas still finds ways to remain positive. In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, he remains the happiest and most jovial. He keeps the Devon School in New Hampshire an upbeat place during the summer session of 1942. Although World War Two rages on outside of the walls of the all boys boarding school, Finny keeps the boys busy and not focused on the war. He finds ways to ignore all of the bad in the world and focus on what is good. Finny is a well-developed character who is carefree, creative, and forgiving. Finny displays his carefree side often throughout the novel. He wears a very bold outfit, claiming that it is his “emblem” (24). This outfit could not have been worn by anyone else in the school “without some risk of having it torn from his back” (25). He even wears the Devon School tie as a belt, a dishonor to the school, and manages to talk his way out He …show more content…
After he breaks his leg for the second time, he becomes extremely angry at Gene. Finny quickly forgives Gene for jostling the limb. They begin to talk, and another problem arises. Gene explains to Finny his mindset about there being competition between them. Finny dismisses the thought, and forgives him again for his absurdity. Gene thinks his actions were because of “. . .some crazy thing inside [him], something blind. . .” (191). Finny responds that he believes him and understands why he would do such a thing. He states that “it’s okay because [he] understand[s] and [he] believe[s] [Gene]” (191). Although Gene commits a felonious act against Finny, all is forgiven. A Separate Peace does an excellent job portraying the struggles of young men away from home. Finny overall is a great, well-rounded character. He is carefree and lives life to the fullest. His creativity is displayed numerous times throughout the novel. His good-natured, forgiving attitude is also a very important asset to the
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