Реферат: Artificial Vs Natural In A Seperate Peace

“to come out even” with Finny. Gene desired to be like Finny so much that

on one occasion in the novel, he put Finny’s clothes on. “I was Phineas,

Phineas to the life…I had no idea why this gave me such relief, standing

there is Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the

confusions of my own character again.” (Gene Pg. 54) Gene felt “intense

relief” when he felt like he was Finny. This was because Gene was not satisfied

with who he was and wanted to be like Finny so desperately. As one can

see, Gene acted artificially throughout the novel, and let grades, people,

and “fake” things influence him.

In John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace,

Finny, unlike Gene, acts naturally. Everything from Finny’s appearance

to his walk to his personality is natural and spontaneous. Finny was described

as “… an extraordinary athlete, he was not spectacularly built…five

feet eight and a half inches…a hundred and fifty pounds,…which flowed

from his legs to torso around shoulders to arms and full strong neck in

an uninterrupted unity of strength.” (Gene Pg. 8) From this description,

one can tell that Finny is very “natural-looking”. His walk, which can

be described as ” a continuous flowing balance, so that he had seemed to

drift along with no effort at all, relaxation on the move.”, (Gene Pg.

103) was also very natural. Finny’s personality was very outgoing, fun,

and innocent. He was not affected by what others thought of him, but rather

wondered what people would think of him if he pulled outrageous stunts.

When Gene told him that he would look like a “fairy” if he wore a pink

shirt to school, Finny did it anyway. “Does it? I wonder what would happen

if I looked like a fairy to everyone…in case suitors come clamoring at

the door, you can tell them I’m wearing this as an emblem.” (Finny Pg 18)

“He did wear it. No one else in the school could have done so without some

risk of having it torn from his back.” (Gene Pg. 18) He was able to be

sincere with people and let them see who he really was. “Everything he