A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a novel about two boys, Gene and Finny, who are friends during the Second World War. The novel depicts many characters, yet two seem to be so similar yet different at the same time. Phineas and Brinker both have similar personalities, but have differing interests.
Both characters, Phineas and Brinker, are extroverts that attract the attention of others. “It didn’t seem fitting for Brinker Hadley, the hub of the class, to be congratulating me on influence... almost everyone liked Brinker,”(Knowles, 87). Being the “hub of the class,” he was popular and well known by many. “‘Here’s my contribution to the war effort!’ and he sprang out, fell through the tops of some lower branches, and smashed into the water,”(Knowles, 16). He was the only one to thing of such a thing, and the people he had gathered around him all watched. Both also are manipulative. “‘That’s probably the strangest tribute this school has had in a hundred and sixty years.’ He seemed please or amused in some …show more content…
“I was going to say that while he had a roommate it was frightened Brownie Perkins, who would never impinge on Brinker’s comfort in any way,”(Knowles, 87). Brownie was scared of Brinker, which means Brinker was not the most welcoming man. Brinker’s style of clothing is far different from Finny’s. “Brinker looked the standard preparatory school article in his gray gabardine suit with square, hand-sewn-looking jacket pockets, a conservative necktie, and dark brown cordovan shoes,”(knowles, 87). His traditional school outfit is very different compared to Finny’s bright pink shirt. While his outfit is more conservative, Finny’s is more vibrant is innocent. “He looked but happened not to be athletic, being too busy with politics, arrangements, and offices,”(Knowles, 87). While Finny did not believe that there was a war going on, Brinker was invested in politics. He believed in the war and what it