Illusions in A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace is a novel about illusions. Illusions are constantly displayed throughout the novel A Separate Peace. The main points John Knowles is trying to show us throughout the novel is the theme of illusions. It is clearly shown throughout the whole novel and is stated in many different ways. We see illusions such as Gene training for the Olympics, Finny’s defiance about the war, Gene’s jealousy and Finny’s denial of truth. Finny’s denial of the truth is shown blatantly in this passage. “I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off.” “Of course you didn’t.” This is a classic example of Finny’s denial of the truth, which is laid out before him. Gene comes forward telling his best friend, Finny, how he broke his leg. Finny creates an illusion for himself so as he can’t believe what Gene is saying. Deep down Finny knows what has really happened.