Becoming a Man a Separate Peace and the Jumping Tree by Dmar
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Sometimes I think that the trouble with men is that we arent women. One almost never sees women fight. No, thats a guy thing, a manly thing that also raises disturbing questions about what it means to be a man these days. Becoming a man comes with realizing your responsibilities in life. Becoming a man comes when you take control of your responsibilities in life for yourself and for others. If you live at home, and accept money, food, or anything else from your parents – you have no earthly idea what it takes or means to become a man. On the day that you catch the clue that electricity costs a great deal of money, and that leaving the lights on when you leave the home becomes very expensive, then one may slightly show the slow turning into the corner to manhood. On the day that you can solve tour own problems without having to call someone for help or whining to your parents, you have become a man
In “A Separate Peace” many characteristics of becoming a man can be seen. For example, as the novel progresses, so does Genes maturity. Genes first seen in the novel as a boy, not yet brought on by nature, but as one gets deeper into the novel, one sees change; Gene embarks on life change that all men journey through once in their life. Gene begins to see his life and others from a totally new standpoint, as though even from a newer perspective. In Chapter two and chapter three, Gene, develops a sheer envy for Finny, and acknowledges it as the truth. He is extremely envious of the methods in which Finny uses to escape his unusual actions and his popularity. He embeds himself in a pool of self-assurance, by repeatedly telling himself over and over again that having
a best friend like Finny is an accolade and he should see it as an achievement. However, this transparent excuse of Genes maturity at this point, portrays a very young, foolish, and selfish young man. “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldnt help envying that a little, which was perfectly normal.”(Knowles p. 25) Here we see Gene as a simply confused young man who doesnt know the real value of friendship, and cant refuse a feeling of envy towards his so called “best friend.” Jealousy takes over Gene. In chapter five, Gene bounces the limb of the tree Finny leaps out of. Finny then falls, and shatters his leg. Gene, in this chapter, grows a few inches taller in his climb towards maturity. Genes conscious takes a mental beating after he commits his awful deed. Perhaps his mind beats him up so much, hes forced to grow up. One can sense vibes in Gene that hes sincerely
sorry for his action showing his respect in Finny grow even stronger, by
training in place of Finny for the 1944 Olympics. A possible reason for
Genes sudden spurt of maturity is the tremendous guilt that brought
forth when Finny rejects the idea that his best friend shook the limb of the
tree that Finny fell off of. “If Phineas had been sitting here in this pool of guilt, how would he have felt, what would he have done? He would have told me the truth.”(Knowles p. 66) It took Genes newly acclaimed maturity for Gene to put himself in Finnys place and realize this. Towards the end we see that Genes
maturity has come to its peak, after feeling the pressure of his friends,
who try to target him for Finnys crippling injury. He also faces the truth
behind Finnys injury, and confesses to Finny the true reason behind his
action. This makes it clear that Genes mind has forced him to grow
up; it has forced him to realize his boyish selfishness and stupidity behind
some of his actions. The greatest hurdle overcame by Gene, learning to live with what hes done, finalized his maturity. This painful step allows him to completely mature. Genes self-acceptance and self-forgiveness conclude his maturation. He has to accept that he may not live a perfect life and that he, like any other normal being (even Finny), has faults. Accepting that his innocence has been lost helps Gene move on into another part of his life and realize that he can never return to the days of his innocent youth again. He can now become a man, enter the war and adult world and leave his youth behind. Forgiving himself finishes his last step of maturity which allows Gene to lead a normal life and enter society. He must finally forgive himself completely for his blind act and allow himself to “come in out of the rain”. “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.”(Knowles p. 204) Gene finally accepted his ill-minded act of envy toward his rival/ best friend /enemy.
Throughout the novel, we see Reys confusion as he tries to determine what kind of a man he wants to become. He observes the differences, and the tensions, between the machismo of his uncles and his father, who has made a conscious decision to be a different kind of man. Rey desperately seeks to define a manhood style that can make him feel emotionally strong, intelligent, noble, but yet stand up for what he believes in. “Outside my door, I could hear him pacing. Apa, the man, was there pacing back and forth like a lion might do to keep his cub safe from all danger. I so wanted to be like him.” (Saldana p. 181) Rey wanted to be like his dad or which informally he wanted to become a man, and not just a man, the right kind of man. In chapter two Rey observes the food table, how it has been divided into two sections. On one side of the table there are the soft drinks and food, while on the other side there are alcoholic beverages and thats where the men of the family are standing and drinking. “Rey, come and sit over here with the men.”(Saldana p. 14) One can