In life people are often faced with circumstances. These circumstances can either help the person grow, or it may give the person sorrow and pain. John Knowles in A Separate Peace places his characters in situations, which they could either grow from or could suffer. As humans we wish that everyone will change for the good, unfortunately that doesn't always happen. We can see this through the two protagonists in A Separate peace; Gene and …showed first 75 words of 568 total…

…showed last 75 words of 568 total…to the fact that he cannot physically participate in many activities. He tells everyone that World War Two does not exist because he is unable to enlist and help his country. In life people often go through painful experiences. An experience can either change them for the good or bad. It is really up to the reader to decide whether the changes of the characters in A Separate Peace were for the better or worse.