War and peace exist in more ways than great military conflicts, occurring between ideas and between people. Themes often explored in literature, war and peace, can be represented simply as personal conflicts, such as those between close friends. A Separate Peace by John Knowles addresses the issue of war and peace by showing that Peace, personified by Phineas, is happy, naive, and trusting, and War, personified by Gene, is tortured, malicious, and insecure, and that resolution at the conflict between them only comes from understanding the world around them. Peace in A Separate Peace is shown as carefree, innocent, and blissful, as embodied by the teenage boys, especially Phineas. Peace is addressed early and frequently in the book, as a kind of pleasant illusion, similar to teenagers enjoying their last summer before senior year and the inevitable service in World War II, teenagers reminding the school staff of Devon “what peace [is] like, of lives unbound by destruction” (24). The narrator continues, eagerly adding that his friend, Phineas, “was the essence of this carefree peace” (24). Peace it is even considered a kind of selfishness, perhaps an ignorance of the suffering around them, but it is still a great thing, when the narrator states that “the people in the world who could be selfish in the summer of 1942 were a small group,” and that he was “glad that [he and his friends] took advantage of it” (30). Peace, seen not only as innocence, but as unawareness of the outside world, is a fundamental part of Phineas's life, although thoughtful and extroverted, he seems unaware of the world around him, surprised that Gene has to study, saying, "I thought it just occurred to you" (58). Phineas doesn't seem to understand... the middle of the paper... and what can finally end it. By establishing different characters, even different sides of characters, to represent different aspects of peace and war, John Knowles suggests that both war and peace are lies and ignore reality. However, peace is seen as idyllic, a state of harmony worth lying for, and war is seen as pain, envy and insecurity. Through a series of painful events, Gene comes to terms with the reality that his attack on Phineas was an act born of blind spite, not reason. Likewise, Phineas and Gene can only confront each other when there are no more questions to ask about what happened between them. John Knowles, through the stories of his characters, provides his solution to end the war: inform, understand and forgive. Works Cited Knowles, John. A separate peace. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.