Novel Project Blog 2 (A Separate Peace)

2. an analysis of a major character -- flat/round, static/dynamic, internal / external conflicts, dominant traits, significant actions, personal relationships...

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles one of the major characters would be a boy by the name of Gene. This young man is very smart in more ways than one. He is pretty fair at sports and a true scholar. However, there is more to Gene than meets the eye. Gene is a very round character due to the depth of his thoughts and why his actions reflect in a certain way. For instance, when he jounced the limb causing Phineas to fall and break his leg; Gene did it for a valid reason. He did not hurt Phineas just for kicks or to be genuinely mean; he believe this was a way to defend himself from Phineas’s supposed plan on destroying Gene’s scholar reputation. As seen so far Gene is a very dynamic character because one can see he feels very badly about what he done to Phineas and knows now that he made a misjudgment about the situation. The internal conflicts within Gene would be mentally growing up and dealing with his personal issues, as well as, not knowing what he wants to do with his life and who he wants to become. Another main thing Gene is dealing with internal is what he done to Phineas and keeping it from others. One can see his struggle when he says to Phineas "You see! Kill me! Now you know what it is! I did it because I felt like that! Now you know yourself!" An external conflict Gene is dealing with would be the war. New England is in a great war and it is not even close to being over. A few dominant traits Gene portrays would include intelligence, the ability to make nice with others, and to put on a front for others that does not truly show his inner emotions. Gene does not have very many personal relationships. He has many friends in which he talks to throughout school and about war, however he does not trust any of them. The closest person to Gene would be Phineas and he even turned his back on him for his own well-being. I do believe this shows a lot about the character.