Decision Making
The choices you make in your lifetime can change your life dramatically for the better or for the worse. A Separate Piece by John Knowles is a perfect example of this. George Eliot wrote The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice; likewise Gene and Finnys actions of choice greatly determined where they ended up.
What was I doing here anyways? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me? (17). Here Gene demonstrates a bad decision that he is about to make. Not only is he making a bad one but letting other boys taunts influence his decisions. What Gene does not know is that this bad choice is the start of many more to come. Not only did he think he was making a bad choice by jumping, but he felt it too. He felt a sensation that he was throwing his life away. Instead of doing what he knew to be right, he wanted to fit in and go with the flow of what everyone else was doing.
but after all you cant come to the shore with just anybody and you cant come by yourself, and at this teenage period in life the proper person is your best pal which is what you are (48). Finny decides to tell Gene that he is his best friend. This is both a good and bad choice. Its nice of Finny to tell his true feelings and announce that to Gene. However, Gene gets confused because he doesnt know how or even if he should respond. Further along this creates trouble for Gene. Gene now feels guilty and responsible for everything to come next. He feels the need to be obligated to be there and help Finny through whatever. Yet he still cannot seem to act like a true friend when Finny is in need of one.
Thats what you would be thinking about, somebody like you. Youre thinking Im not normal arent you? I can see what youre thinking I see a lot I never saw before youre thinking Im psycho. Leper decides to go off on Gene. Gene has been the only loyal friend Leper has and even goes to help him out when in need. The war has changed Leper because he was an innocent kid whod never hurt a fly, but he changed. Yelling at Gene like this was not good because he most likely lost a friend over it. Finally Gene stood up for himself and stopped letting people push him around. He left Leper and that was for the god. Gene does not need any more drama in his life to make his situation back at home any worse.
Choices made between characters can turn the book upside down or right side up. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene, finny, And Leper make decisions that help them develop as a person or cause them to lose sight in where they want to go. Decision making is the game changer and it can end up either way.
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