Throughout human history, war has been a universal reaction to various conflicts between different peoples. War can become ingrained in a culture over generations of fighting. So much so that there are cultures that are based on the idea of ​​war, creating hostile and warlike peoples. Sometimes war may have no basis, but the aggressive nature of people often leads it to proceed without justification. In A Separate Peace, wars like these are seen between characters and within the characters of Gene and Phineas. These wars can be considered figments of the imagination, based on irrational assumptions, fears of the unknown, and non-existent threats. Regardless of their origin, the enemy is always daunting. John Knowles' A Separate Peace reveals that Gene's perceived war with Phineas and Phineas' internal conflict with World War II are intertwined through Gene's misunderstanding of Phineas and Phineas' dependence on Gene to escape the realization of war itself. Phineas is an individual who is unable to accept war and, in retaliation for the war, attempts to avoid it altogether. Phineas describes to Gene that "there is no war" and that war is created by "fat old men" just to keep "people who were young...in their place" (Knowles 115). At this moment Phineas explicitly denies that war exists. His direct denial of the existence of the war suggests that he cannot cope with his fears about the war and, in his fear, takes steps to separate himself from the war through denial. Phineas has anti-war ideals that drive him to take this position. Gene exposes these ideals when he tries to explain to him that if he were to go to war, he would ask his enemies “to field a baseball team again… middle of paper… in the Butt Room.” to avoid conversations about the war. Phineas' avoidance of the war is then compounded by Phineas' emphasis on Gene's sports, as they serve to distract Phineas from the war. While Gene's war with Phineas is driven by ignorance of his supposed enemy, Phineas' war with World War II is driven by an inability to come to terms with the reality of war and an inability to define the enemy. Unfortunately, these wars become intertwined due to Gene's misconceptions about Phineas and Gene's role as Phineas' codependent. While World War II has a tangible justification, Phineas and Gene's youth, lack of life experiences, weakness of character, and fear act to drive their wars. Ultimately, their wars are caused “by something ignorant in the human heart” (201). Works Cited Knowles, John. A separate peace. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.