The theme of this book is "you are your own enemy".
The two main characters in the novel, A Separate Peace, are Gene and his friend Phineas (Finny). Throughout the book, Gene has trouble accepting himself, constantly living in the glory shadow of Finny. From the beginning to the end, we notice this slight obsession that Gene has in his friend, an expectation for himself, or competition. When reflecting on his life many years later, Gene realized that he was his own enemy, not Finny. The theme of this book is that everyone's biggest enemy is in fact, themselves. Gene's self expectations were reflected in the beloved Phineas. All along, Gene had thought that pushing Phineas out of the tree was an act of jealousy, disabling Phineas from participating in athletics for the rest of his life, however, the real intentions from Gene's heart were to not destroy your physical enemy, but his own enemy within, developing a sort of man vs. self conflict.
The two main characters in the novel, A Separate Peace, are Gene and his friend Phineas (Finny). Throughout the book, Gene has trouble accepting himself, constantly living in the glory shadow of Finny. From the beginning to the end, we notice this slight obsession that Gene has in his friend, an expectation for himself, or competition. When reflecting on his life many years later, Gene realized that he was his own enemy, not Finny. The theme of this book is that everyone's biggest enemy is in fact, themselves. Gene's self expectations were reflected in the beloved Phineas. All along, Gene had thought that pushing Phineas out of the tree was an act of jealousy, disabling Phineas from participating in athletics for the rest of his life, however, the real intentions from Gene's heart were to not destroy your physical enemy, but his own enemy within, developing a sort of man vs. self conflict.