A Separate Peace: From Boys to Men World War II affected the boys in the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, causing them to grow and mature more rapidly than as much as they could have if there had been no war. War makes some kids stronger and more ready for whatever life brings, while in others it disables them to the point that they can't handle the demands of life. The war's maturing influence on Finny is considerable, even if he doesn't. to the other kids it doesn't seem like he's growing up at all. Gene's jealousy drives him to the point where he must destroy Finny's greatest asset, his prowess at sports, just so he doesn't have to be "the popular kid's friend". Gene knocks Finny off the tree branch and breaks his leg. Everyone in Devon, except Finny, suspects that it was Gene, and not Finny's loss of balance, that caused him to fall from the branch. Finny's take on the whole situation is very adult. He blames no one but himself, even though the accident is not his fault at all. Finny seems like he'll never grow up doing weird things just for fun. Inside he suffers the anger and pain of being excluded from the one thing he wants to do most: fight in war. This is an excellent example of how war suddenly makes boys grow up to become men. They must face adulthood, and to do so, they must become adults. ***I think you could develop this more. You say that Finny started out as immature, but his reaction to his accident is very grown up. Discuss specifically how the accident made him an adult. Why didn't he react immaturely this time? Another boy in the story who matured from the war was Leper. When he sees movies about ski troops, he thinks it's funny and surprises everyone by enlisting. Leper isn't sure what he'll get into when he enlists. He thinks it looks like a fun ski trip; he can serve his country and ski all over the world at the same time.