Throughout the entirety of A Separate Peace, numerous themes are presented to the reader. These themes are often presented through symbolism, and other methods of representation. There are two themes in particular though, that closely relate to one another; denial and jealousy. These themes are bound by a common foundation. That foundation in this particular situation is known as deduction. Deduction is a form of argument, wherein if the stated premises are true, then in fact the conclusion is true. Deduction works to establish the themes of denial and jealousy on countless occasions throughout the novel.
To be established first, is the presence of Gene’s immense jealousy for Finny. This is shown through the way in which Gene narrates the novel. He makes several mentions of this jealousy throughout the novel. It is in the earlier portion of the novel when the basis for Gene’s actions becomes clear. For Finny, sports have come naturally, although academics is another anecdote. Finny has never been required to put any effort into sports; he is naturally superior in all aspects of sporting. Because of this, Finny assumes that since Gene is good in school, that he doesn’t have to work hard either to achieve what ‘naturally comes to him’: “‘What’s the matter?’ ‘Studying!’ I snarled. ‘Studying! You know, books. Work. Examinations.’” (John Knowles, A Separate Peace, 809). He informs Gene of his misconception, which infuriates him, and increases his jealousy for Finny; that Finny’s sports come effortlessly to him, yet he has to work extremely hard for his unparalleled grades. The premise that is true for the preceding conclusion to be true, is: Gene’s expressed anger towards Finny. The theme of jealousy, Gene’s primarily, was established by the conclusion reached through deduction.
The second theme being analyzed is denial. The first premise to be noted is that Gene in fact did jounce the limb on which Finny was standing: “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb” (Knowles 810). This caused his plummet to the ground, causing his leg to become severely broken. This is unquestionably a fact, for Gene admits to Finny that the accident was indeed his fault, bringing about the second premise: “‘I jounced the limb. I caused it.’ One more sentence. ‘I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off’” (Knowles 818). This is where Gene’s jealousy for Finny is revealed, as he intentionally takes the life of his best friend into his own hands. According to deduction, because the above stated premises are true, that Gene jounced the limb in an attempt at making Finny fall and that he later admitted to this, then the conclusion that Finny knows that Gene acted the way he did intentionally, is also true.
Finny has a belief that everyone is innately good. He believes that people don’t perform dire acts intentionally, but rather on accident. He prefers this belief when it comes to Gene’s situation, because he never could have imagined his own best friend performing such a heinous undertaking. As deduction has shown in the previous paragraph, Finny knows that Gene acted the way he did on purpose. This conflicts with Finny’s belief that everyone is innately good. Finny chooses to default on his beliefs, thus he denies the truth from not only himself, but Gene and the rest of Devon. This denial continues, until towards the end of the novel, Brinker Hadley decides to hold a hearing on the incident, in an attempt at finding the truth. The truth is revealed, although Finny remains yet unable to accept it, causing him to run from it, in denial. This conclusion, reached through deduction, worked to establish the common, recurring theme of denial.
There are a number of instances throughout the entirety of A Separate Peace, in which deduction works to establish the themes of jealousy and denial. The juxtaposition of a select few of these instances provides premises on which a conclusion can be reached. This leads to, as in this particular case, the establishment of a theme. The following conclusions were able to be reached: sports coming easy to Finny and academics coming as a challenge to Gene, present the reason for Gene’s jealousy toward Finny; and the fact that Finny knows that what Gene did in the tree was intentional. Both of these conclusions, each stating essentially a different theme of the novel, could only have been established through the premises on which they were based; hence deduction.
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