Innocence in children results from the blank state that they are born into. From the moment of their conception, however, children begin to acquire knowledge through experience. With this new knowledge, a child will begin to see the world differently, more clearly. This gradual acquisition of knowledge results in a marked change in the child, for a loss of innocence matches perfectly the gain in clarity. In John Knowles A Separate Peace, the knowledge that Gene Forrester acquires replaces his innocence, thus changing him to make him better suited to live in the harsh reality of life.
Gene’s initial blank state slowly fills to ultimately allow him to live within society. Initially, Gene is innocent due to his lack of experience in the real world. A Separate Peace is set against the backdrop of World War II which causes destruction and chaos to arise. The actions taken in war have regrettable consequences. Gene and the other students at the school do not even understand the war. Their innocence shelters away the evils in war, not allowing them to understand the difference between war and “what peace was like[..] [They] registered with no draft board, [they] had taken no physical examinations. [They] were carefree and wild, and […] could be thought of as a sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve”(Knowles 24). Because Devon students are kids, they cannot even begin to imagine what war truly is, for they are innocent. Children live life carelessly and wildly with no fears and no understanding of consequences. Boys of sixteen such as Gene, Brinker, Finny and Lep are full of life and think about the present rather that the future. This innocence clouds any understanding of the depth of war from their minds. The fact that they are kids explains their untroubled and careless lives, which is due to their innocence. Another indication of Gene’s innocence occurs when Gene and Finny bike to the beach, take a swim, take a walk and end the day with a good nights rest upon the sandy shore of the beach. Finny informs Gene of his secret that he is his best friend, and would not have taken anyone else that day to have fun except his best pal Gene. With these final words the two boys go to sleep. Gene wakes up to find Finny still sleeping and sees “dawn for the first time” (Knowles 49). Gene sees the sun rise for the very first time. The sunrise is the beginning of everything. The sunrise symbolizes a beginning of a journey that Gene must go on, a journey which results in the loss of his innocence and his ultimate change. As time progresses Gene gains more experience allowing him to see the evils in reality. Throughout the entire novel Gene seeks his true identity. At some points he attempts to copy others and at other points he slowly establishes his own. Finally, Gene “no longer [needs] this vivid false identity; now [he] was acquiring, [he] felt, a sense for [his] own real authority and worth, [he] had had many new experiences and [he] was growing up”( Knowles 156). Gene grows up due to new experiences. He gets a sense of his own identity by taking authority and not being the one controlled over anymore thus coming at the cost of innocence. Through his loss of innocence, he slowly begins to change and establish his own identity. Gene’s innocence and its ultimate death parallels closely his relationship with Finny, who is a symbol of innocence. Finny proves that when innocent, one only thinks about the good in life and ignores the negatives and evils in reality. From ignoring the harsh reality of war to ignoring the truth about Gene purposely jouncing the limb, Finny truly is innocent. Gene never cried about Finny, even when he “stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. [Gene] could not escape a feeling that this was [his] own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.”(Knowles 194). Because Gene feels that Finny’s funeral is his own, he is actually metaphorically speaking of the death of his own innocence, thus ending the journey he began when he saw the dawn for the first time.
As he begins his term at Devon, Gene has no concept of war or even dawn. Slowly, experience begins to replace Gene’s innocence, finally ending in his loss of innocence, as shown by his feelings towards Finny’s funeral.