Use of First Person POV

A Separate Peace is told through first person point of view of Gene Forrester, who is the protagonist. The use of first person point of view gives a clear and intimate perspective to the reader. In most of the book, Gene is an adolescent, and a complex thinker who puts a lot of emotion into his thoughts, which can make him quite an unreliable narrator. His perspective affects the reader's view and is essential for the development of characters and the overall purpose of the book. For example, Finny is glorified and put into an almost God-like position in Gene's eyes, which causes internal turmoil and conflict within the novel that the reader would not have seen from an omniscient point of view. His thoughts and motives about Finny almost justify his actions that would have seemed otherwise irrational in other points of view. Though this point of view may give a somewhat skewed opinion of characters and some events in the book, it essentially emphasizes Gene's development through his thoughts that can be examined by the reader.