A Separate Peace Finny Character Analysis Essay Sample

A Separate Peace, an invigorating and moving novel, is a classic coming-of-age story by John Knowles. The characters portrayed in the book go through many changes and alterations before the novel’s end. No one character is left unaltered by Knowles. Finny, a round, dynamic character who portrays both qualities of a protagonist and an antagonist, goes through many trials and obstacles before the closing of A Separate Peace. 

At the beginning of the novel, Finny is very lighthearted about life. He is mainly concerned with proving himself by jumping from the large tree by the river. Consequently, his yearn to leap into the rushing waters of the river greatly influences the other boys. They feel the need to engage in this precarious activity as well. His desire is so strong he decides to form a group based solely on jumping from the tree. He calls it the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. He encourages the other boys to jump as well, exclaiming, “When they tornado the troopship you can’t stand around admiring the view. Jump!” (Knowles 17). He seems immune to all the troubles of the outside world.

As Chapter Four closes, Finny falls from the tree and shatters his leg on the river bank as a result of Gene bouncing the limb he was on. He recovers in the infirmary for a few days before Gene is allowed to visit him. During this time Gene is very worried for him and even cries after hearing the news Finny can no longer play sports. Finny and Gene talk in the infirmary before Finny is to be sent back home to heal. Finny is not sure what exactly happened, and before Gene can tell him the truth he gets ushered out by the doctor. Because he assumes he slipped, Finny is calm about the incident, not realizing that his best friend sabotaged him. This incident, however, is the beginning of Finny’s slow decline into a character unrecognizable from what he used to be.

One brisk winter day, Gene returns to his dorm to find Finny has returned to Devon. The first thing he says to Gene is “I can see I never should have left you alone. Where did you get those clothes?” (Knowles 103). This statement shows how Finny is still his lighthearted self and harbors no hard feelings toward his friend. However, not everything is as it was. The overall mood of the story has shifted, leaning towards a more grim, dark theme. The first day back Finny asks Gene to skip class with him and the pair take a stroll around campus. Finny still has little regard for academics as it was before the accident. In this way, nothing has changed. 

After a few weeks of Finny being back at Devon, Brinker comes to his and Gene’s dormitory. He brings them to the Assembly Room where he holds a trial to discuss what happened to Finny on the tree (Knowles 166-177). As the trial progresses, Gene is terrified that everyone is going to learn the truth about what he did. Eventually, Finny learns that Gene did indeed purposely cause him to fall off the tree branch. Finny is rightfully distraught about the fact that his best friend intentionally hurt him. He turns to run out of the room, saying, “I don’t care. I don’t care,” (Knowles 176). At this point Finny is trying to convince himself that it does not matter what Gene did, as he does not want to lose his best friend. As he flees, Brinker calls for him to wait, saying he needs to collect more facts; this is when Finny gets angry. He yells at Brinker, “You collect every f****** fact there is in the world!” (Knowles 177). Finny has never cursed in the novel so far, demonstrating that he is incredibly wounded and agitated by this entire ordeal. At this point, Finny wants nothing more than to get away from everyone else. The careless attitude that Finny once held can be seen poking through here, though it is shrouded heavily.

As Finny makes his escape from the Assembly Room, he trips on the marble staircase (Knowles 178). As a result, his leg completely re-shatters. Surprisingly, all of the boys behave very rashly as they get Finny help after his fall. He himself is icily calm during the entire ordeal. Gene sneaks up to the infirmary to see Finny, but he is not welcomed in the slightest. Finny attempts to lash out at Gene, yelling, “You want to break something else in me! Is that why you’re here!” (Knowles 184). Finny has faced acceptance of what Gene did to him and is resentful of him. His typical boyish frame of mind is nowhere to be found. Several days later Gene brings Finny’s belongings to the infirmary from his dorm. They do not speak for a long time, before eventually they talk. In a way, the pair make up with each other. Finny asks Gene whether he pushed him from the tree out of hatred or whether it was just the result of some wild intrusive thought. His friend assures him he never intended Finny to get hurt from the accident and his actions were not based on aversion. In the end, Finny feels in his heart that he believes Gene. Later that evening, when Gene comes to check on Finny and see if his surgery went well, the doctor tells him that Finny has died. The blunt end of his character is somewhat shocking, though, in a way, an adequate conclusion to the novel. 

Finny was molded and transformed a great deal throughout A Separate Peace. Many times Finny faced a task and had to adapt to the situation. He started out as simply a boy with a knack for getting in trouble, then shifted into a more visible antagonist. Finny represents the small voice in our mind, encouraging us to do something reckless. He represents jealousy, and the desire to watch others fail. He is an example of the challenges and problems people face going through life. The most valuable lesson that Finny teaches readers is to be aware of the changing world, and to be prepared for what the future brings.