Pessimism In A Separate Peace

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“So the war swept over like a wave at a seashore, gathering power and size as it bore on us, overwhelming in its rush, seemingly inescapable. I did not stop to think that one wave is inevitably followed by another even larger and more powerful, when the tide is coming in”(101). From the death of the most pure, to the cold truth of war’s impact on young men, A Separate Peace brings negativity upon its reader. This novel is based upon war, hatred, and the occasional peace—which always seems to dissolve. The necessity of war for maturation, the death of purity, and the requirement of change underscore the pessimism in A Separate Peace. War and maturation often go hand in hand during A Separate Peace, and this is a major reason it is a pessimistic novel. As the boys mature, they have wars with themselves and others, all leading to the biggest war of their lives—World War Ⅱ. Gene experiences a war with himself for most of the novel, reflecting, “My war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there”(196). As with the other boys, Gene’s maturation took place at Devon; his biggest war …show more content…
Summer to winter, innocence to corruption, and games to war were all examples of negative changes in A Separate Peace. Above the Assembly Room door, it is inscripted “Here Boys Come to Be Made Men”(157). This is the room in which Finny was forced to be mature, and listen to the truth. Finny could not handle the truth, and it ultimately resulted in his death. Every character changed for the worse in this novel, except for Gene. He said, “My fury was gone, I felt it gone, dried up at the source, withered and lifeless. Phineas had absorbed it and taken it with him, and I was rid of it forever”(195). This shows how unfair the author believes life is, as Finny had to take the blows for Gene to feel

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