Gene's Transformation in A Separate Piece

John Knowles in his book A Separate Peace does a good job at artfully changing his main character from a boy to a man. These two quotes are arguably the most significant passages from the novel. They show how the main character transforms into a man.

"I had taken a shower to wash of the sticky salt of the Naguamsett River-going into the Devon was like taking a refreshing shower itself...but the Naguamsett was something else entirely. It seemed appropriate that me baptism there had taken place on the first day of the winter session, and that I had been thrown into it" (Knowles 86).*

John Knowles uses powerful words in this passage to portray Gene's dramatic change from the blindness of childhood to the understanding of adulthood. These powerful words are designed to jump out at the reader to emphasis critical events. One of the more prominent words from this passage is "baptism". Baptism is defines as a purification or an initiation. By using this strong word, Mr. Knowles is conveying that this moment was the specific time that Gene was "initiated" into adulthood. With this initiation Gene is symbolically born anew; the old childish ignorant self is gone and the new self is formed. His new self understands the happenings of the world around him and realizes that there is a bigger world beyond the wall of Devon Academy. Another strong word that John Knowles uses is "thrown". By using the word "thrown" Mr. Knowles is suggesting that Gene had no intention to partake in thing metamorphosis, but instead it was forced upon him. This sudden change opens Gene's eyes to the outside world. The way Mr. Knowles describes these two rivers is also very important. He refers to the Devon are refreshing, but he depicts the Naguamsett as grim and something unwanted. This transition from the refreshing river to a grim one is symbolic of Gene's transition to adulthood. This passage is vital to the story because it is a clear description of Gene's transformation into adulthood. Also John Knowles takes a little more effort to include words the reemphasis how important it is. If John Knowles is putting forth a little more effort in his own book then it must be important.

"The excellent exterior acoustics recorded his rushing steps and the quick rapping of his cane along the corridor and on the steps of the marble stairway. Then these separate sounds collided into a general tumult of his body falling clumsily down the white marble stairs" (Knowles 117).*

John Knowles, through this passage, completes the redefinition of Gene Forrester's character. He had already been exposed to adulthood as a result of Finny's first fall, but with this second fall, Gene is completely separated from his childhood; his childhood has only a few more moments to exist. The final leg of this transformation occurs during the night. Gene sits outside of the infirmary waiting to talk to Finny; here he has a type of emotional breakdown, much like the one Leper had. Gene imagines Dr. Stanpole, Phil Latham, Miss Windbag, and Finny having absurd conversations that make no scene. At the end of this bizarre episode Gene starts to laugh and cry, exactly like Leper did. This was the first part; the second was when he was walking by the gym that faithful night. As Gene walks past the gym he has what he calls double vision. He sees the gym but realizes that there is something deeper to it; it is changing right before his eyes. The gym is a symbol of Finny's world or childhood; Gene feels that he is no longer part of this world and in reality a part of him has moved on to a separate world. Gene is no longer a child at heart, he transformed into an adult as a result of this hallucination. The only other thing that needed to occur was Finny dying, and Gene would be fully an adult. After Finny's heart is broken Gene accepts that childhood will no longer be a tangible part of his life. This quote sets up the final events that needed to happen in order for Gene to become a full adult.

*Knowles, John. A Separate Piece. 1959