Homosexuals In John Knowles A Separate Peace

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The early years of World War II was an essential time period for the character development of Gene and Phineas in John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace. The two young protagonists of this novel face difficult obstacles, such as the struggle of having to suppress overly affectionate feelings towards one another. The suppression is forced by a society who has set a distasteful stigma against homosexuals, and a homophobic military that enforced severe consequences for those who identify as such. Gene, a desperate individual who is eager to “fit in”, conforms to the societal views and pushes his feelings to the back of his mind. However, he is faced with times where the feeling reemerges and he must learn how to deal with his ordeal. On the other …show more content…
In A Separate Peace, the relationship between Gene and Phineas is represented through the struggles of suppressed homosexuality. The distasteful stigma society had set upon homosexuality has been passed through generations and has greatly impacted the lives of those who identify as homosexuals. During World War I, it was believed that homosexuals were “social deviants and sexual perverts who did not fit the American ideal…” (Lewson). This belief seeped into the society of World War II, which is when A Separate Peace takes place, and influenced people to think that homosexuals were “physically inferior than heterosexuals…” (Lewson). It is evident that this idea had influenced Gene through his warning to Finny about wearing a pink shirt out in public. He believed the color “Pink! It makes you look like a fairy!” would significantly damage Finny’s reputation (Knowles 24). Knowing that Gene was influenced by these ideas, it is
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