Maturity in a Separate Peace In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the spotlight quickly focuses on Gene Forrester and his maturity through the novel. He expresses his ideas about the book's many topics through his position as the novel's narrator. Furthermore, as the book progresses, Gene's maturity also increases. The first chapter of A Separate Peace establishes the character of GeneForrester, who is actually a portrait of John Knowles himself, according to a recent interview. In this introduction of the main character, Gene positions himself as a fully mature, adult man, thinking back to an incident that occurred when he was only sixteen. He vividly describes Devon High School as he currently saw it and as he remembered it from his past days. The description given in this chapter demonstrates to the reader that in the events following this soliloquy a young character will emerge who will become the man they have just read about. In chapters two and three, Gene develops a close bond with his roommate Finny. However, Gene develops pure envy for Finny and recognizes it as the truth. He is extremely envious of the methods Finny uses to escape his unconventional actions and popularity. He cares about self-confidence, repeatedly telling himself that having a best friend like Finny is a compliment and should be seen as an accomplishment. However, this excuse clearly shows Gene's maturity at this point, portraying a very young, foolish and selfish young man. It later leads to an internal conflict within Gene. During this chapter, Finny and Gene brainstorm and create the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Se... middle of paper... forced him to grow up; it forced him to realize his childish selfishness and stupidity behind some of his actions. In the last two chapters, Gene describes to the reader the thought process that goes through his mind. Especially in chapter twelve, where the book comes to a climax where Gene finds meaning in his surroundings. A great deal of growing and heartfelt thoughts were generated by having Gene as the narrator. The reader was allowed to see into the mind of another human being and see the thought process going through the young man's head. The awareness that the mind controls mental growth is very strong throughout the book, considering the very immature view that Gene has taken on Finny and the events involving Finny, which evolve into a carefully considered remorse that turns into such maturity necessary..