1) “I could never agree with either of them. It would have been comfortable, but I could not believe it. Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.” This quote explains many aspects of war. Peace is hard to achieve because there is something in the human heart that is stubborn towards the idea of no conflict. Everyone wants something and when they can’t get it, a war breaks out. Selfishness could be a certain cause towards this ignorance. Let’s face it, not everyone can be like John Lennon.
2) “I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case.” A part of Gene died along with Finny that day. I believe the part of Gene that died was the side of him that was always jealous of Finny. The evil and hatred is gone and now Gene has created a separate piece within himself.
3) “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.” Gene fought his own battle at Devon against Finny. It was never truly against Finny. He fought himself. Usually if there is a war raging, both sides know about it. Finny never knew Gene felt that way about him. This quote is more proof that the dark side of Gene died at Devon, died when Finny died.
4) “I said nothing, my mind exploring, my mind exploring the new dimensions of isolation around me. Any fear I had ever had of the tree was nothing beside this…He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he.” This is the moment when Gene ultimatley realizes that Finny was never jealous of him. Finny saw Gene as a true friend. Someone he can trust no matter the situation. He genuinly cared for and loved Gene. Gene was never of the same quality as him because Finny never felt jealousy or hatred towards Gene.
5) “Exposing a sincere emotion nakedly like that at the Devon School was the next thing to suicide. I should have told him then that he was my best friend also and rounded off what he had said. I started to; I nearly did. But something held me back. Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth.” We don’t realize that side of us really exists. The side deeper within us that contains is often not touched because of fear. The boys at Devon are supposed to be manly men. Finny is the only boy to show affection towards another person in this book.
6) “I’ll hate it everywhere if I’m not in this war! Why do you think I kept saying there wasn’t any war all winter? I was going to keep on saying it until two seconds after I got a letter…” Finny created a separate peace in his story about old men playing a joke that is the war. We all find means of escape. He found something to escape into so he wouldn’t face the reality that is him not allowed to be in the war. We need to escape sometimes to find a serene peace away from reality and this was Finny’s way.
7) “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.” Gene is realizing Finny’s charm. The charm that allows him to get way with what appears to be everything. Gene is jealous of this charm.
8) “…Finny’s life was ruled by inspiration and anarchy, and so he prized a set of rules. His own, not those imposed on him by other people, such as the faculty of the Devon School.” Finny created his own rules, his own set of guidelines. He was a free soul that did what he pleased and refused to be ruled. I admire this about Finny. He was his own person.
9) “To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for-not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. And there were few friendships among us at Devon not based on rivalry.” Gene was not of the same equality as Finny and he realized this. Finny never felt jealousy towards Gene. He seemed to be too good and naive to realize what was boiling inside of Gene until it was too late and even there he refused to believe the truth.
10) “Left out! He and his crowd are responsible for it! And we’re going to fight it!” This quote is the amazing truth about war. It takes a stand to create peace. If that stand isn’t taken, generations and generations will be fighting the same war. All it takes is one stand for peace and it will create stepping stones for overall peace.