The 1944 World Olympics

Maxwell Waters

A Separate Peace 

By John Knowles 

          

Gone, with no one but himself, Gene faces new challenges without Phineas, the person whom helped him push his own limits and boundaries. Gene begins to get ridiculed by his other classmates because he is accused of attempting to kill his roommate. Gene knows for sure that, these accusations are utterly false. Later while shoveling snow for the military trains to pass by, he along with another classmate Brinker begin to think that their lives would be better in the war. So after a discussion with Brinker he decides to go into the military. In a shocking twist when after a long day of shoveling, Gene sees Phineas lying in his old bed in the dorm room. Mixed emotions, and doubtful about his enlistment, he decides to stay at Devon school for the rest of the semester. Unbelievable to Gene about the special arrival, he along with Phineas skip school and go for a little tour through the athletic campus.

Traumatic experiences lead individuals to dig deep into the past before when they were in a better place. Looking deeply into Phineas’s character he is a seventeen year old, in high school. What makes Phineas feel good about himself was his physique and his incredible wit. While back from being bed ridden for months he walks through the trophy hall with Gene, “Where his name was already inscribed on one cup, one banner, and one embalmed football. I was sure that this was his goal, to mull over these lost glories”(113). Although expected to sulk over his inability to physically further himself, Phineas recognizes his past and creates a new sense of drive. He discovers from that point on that he wants to train Gene for the 1944 Olympics. He understands this task cannot be done himself, so he will spend every waking moment trying to train Gene. Mr. Ludsbury the housemaster at Devon is shocked to hear Phineas’s idea and he tells the both of them that, won’t, “all exercise today is aimed of course at the approaching Waterloo”(121). Gene believes that fat rich men, are making up the war so they can obtain more money through physical labor, and resources from the country.

One would enjoy this book if they ever went through a terrible accident or know someone going through tough times because although the injury is only physically, mentally Phineas has not been the same. Not to say everyone who has gone through trauma ends up mentally damaged, however in some light difficult situations leads one to believe ideas he/she has never thought of before. Myself I can relate to the idea of living with someone who went through a traumatic event. Their accident not only physically changed them, but also mentally altered their perspective. For me at least I like to compare and contrast with these ideas to paint a better picture of the novel in my head.