A Separate Peace"Holding tightly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, then my knees buckled and I jerked the branch." This is a quote from the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles. My focus later will be on man's inhumanity to man. There is a strong relationship between this and the novel I read. The first point I will talk about is Finny's tragic fall and how Gene was the cause of it. My support from the story is Finny's desire to jump from the tree. Gene said he would come join him but Finny reminded him to study. Gene's thoughts on the matter were, "He was never jealous of me for even a second. Now I knew there never was and could never be any rivalry between us, I couldn't stand it." My second support is Gene's actions leading up to the accident. He took a step towards the trunk, put his knees and made the branch bounce. Thus, Finny lost his balance and fell to the ground. My third support was at the accident scene after Gene saw Finny fall. And he thinks to himself, “That was the first awkward physical action I had ever seen him do.” Even more so, this is a sign of pride in Gene as he watches the good athlete, Finny, fall from the tree. My second point is about the scene where Brinker takes Finny and Gene to the mock trial to let everyone know the real truth about the murder. cause of the accident. In other words, it was about sweeping Gene away and running his reputation as a respected individual into the ground. My takeaway from the story is when Brinker and three acquaintances enter Gene and Finny's dorm and get them out. After they enter the meeting room, Brinker remarks, "See how Finny's limping." This sentence was the beginning of his plan to release the truth, or more importantly to break the bond of friendship between Finny and Gene. Brinker chose the Assembly Hall as the setting for this trial since there is nothing funny about that place. It's a place where it would be terrible, for Gene's sake, to talk about the cause of the accident.