A Separate Peace Group

Question:

nickdeezybabi
nickdeezybabi
Student
High School - 10th Grade

In "A Separate Peace", why does Gene jump from the tree? Does this show Gene to be strong or weak?

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Posted by nickdeezybabi on Sunday February 8, 2009 at 9:23 AM and tagged with a separate peace, characters, gene, jump, tree.

Answers:


  1. ladyvols1 Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    Gene jumps from the tree because he is challenged by Phinny and he could not think of letting Phinny down.  To jump from that height shows a type of courage, I don't care what the motivation.  However, the idea that he could not stand up to Phinny and say, "no, I don't want to jump," demonstrates a weakness in Gene's character.  He doesn't really have the desire to jump, but he can't seem to say no to anything Phinny wants him to do, so he jumps.

    "Gene as an adult recalls himself at sixteen: a lonely intellectual with the tendency of analyzing his and everyone else's motives. At various times in the novel, he is highly competitive, selfish, insecure, and combative. On other occasions, he is courageous, mature, and dependable."

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/separate/character-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/separate/summary
    http://www.enotes.com/separate/themes

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    Posted by ladyvols1 on Sunday February 8, 2009 at 9:49 AM