A Separate Peace - Resentment and ChangeIn the novel "A Separate Peace", by John Knowles, a boy named Gene visits his high school 15 years after graduating diploma in order to find inner peace. While attending a private boys' school during World War II, Gene's best friend Phineas died and Gene knows he is partly to blame. Phineas, or Finny as he was sometimes called, was the most popular boy in school. He was a handsome, mocking, daredevil athlete. Gene, on the other hand, was a solitary, self-reliant intellectual. Somehow the two became good friends, or so Finny thought. Gene, unfortunately, was bitten by the green-eyed jealousy monster. Gene just couldn't accept the idea that someone of Finny's stature would want to be his friend. Gene's envy grew to a point where he was willing to seriously hurt Finny for being too perfect. Unfortunately for Finny, Gene succeeded. Finny's apparent perfection, strong convictions, and ability to forgive chart his development throughout the novel. Finny's apparent perfection was the source of Gene's resentment towards him. Gene thought everything Finny did was perfect, which upset him even more. Finny was so perfect that he didn't care what others thought, like when Finny wore a pink shirt as his emblem after the bombing of Central Europe. " '...Rose! It makes you look like a fairy!' “Is that true?” He used that concerned tone when he thought of something more interesting than what you said One time, Finny and Gene were at the pool when Finny noticed a. boy named A. Hopkins Parker held the record in the 100-yard freestyle When Finny realized that A. Hopkins Parker had graduated before they arrived, he remarked, "I feel like I can swim more." quickly that A. Hopkins Parker. He was right. Gene was thrilled that Finny could do such a thing without any training or anything. ." In a way, he was. Throughout the book, Gene knows that Finny has strong beliefs. The first three he noticed were: "Don't ever say you're five foot nine when you are actually five feet eight and a half”; “Always say a few prayers at night, because there may be a god”; and “You always win in sports.” The latter of the three was amazing because for Finny, all you had to do was play to win at a sport. Unfortunately, it all added up to a point where jealousy overcame Gene and caused him to hurt Finny. Gene and Finny had created a Super Suicide Society which included a Finny and Gene jump at the start of each meeting. This time, Finny came up with the idea that they both jump at the same time. They were in the tree with Finny further away on the jumping branch when Gene "...knees buckled and I popped the branch." Finny fell and broke his leg. Gene was overcome with grief because he had broken his best friend's leg. The most athletic person in school could no longer play sports. Gene finally got the courage to go to Finny and tell him the truth about what caused the fall. However, when he reached him, it was Finny who apologized, saying, "I'm sorry about that, Gene." » Which means he regretted the feeling he had that Gene had actually brought him down. Finny believed a friend would never do such a thing. Finny was a wonderful person and one of his greatest qualities was his ability to forgive. Gene and Finny.