Summary And mood
Summary: In A Separate Peace, Gene revisits his past when he goes to Devon after the war. The story begins when he and Finny jump out of the tree next to the river for the first time. This leads to the formation of the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session (for jumping out of the tree). Gene begins to suspect that Finny is trying to bring his grades down and also becomes jealous of his athleticism and hypnotic power over people; both of these lead to Gene intentionally shaking the branch of the jumping tree and causing Finny to fall and break his leg. Gene feels terrible after this and tries to admit what he did to Finny, but Finny won't listen. Gene and Finny almost switch roles as Finny isn't able to do anything like before. Later on Brinker Hadley and Leper Lepellier accuse Gene of making Finny fall out of the tree, and Finny falls down the marble stairs after finally realizing the awful truth. He dies in surgery and Gene tries to carry on his legacy into the war.
Mood: Depressing
I thought that this book was very depressing. As boys in 1942 prepare to go to war, they lose their innocence after realizing that war isn't all romantic and patriotic. Gene struggles with his identity and breaks his best friend's leg, eventually killing him. Leper Lepellier's mental state breaks down after witnessing firsthand how horrible the war was. A Separate Peace was so good, but the majority of the book was very sad.
Mood: Depressing
I thought that this book was very depressing. As boys in 1942 prepare to go to war, they lose their innocence after realizing that war isn't all romantic and patriotic. Gene struggles with his identity and breaks his best friend's leg, eventually killing him. Leper Lepellier's mental state breaks down after witnessing firsthand how horrible the war was. A Separate Peace was so good, but the majority of the book was very sad.