Brian Laustsen

Mrs. Terlecsky
Honors English 1
7 July 2014
Assignment 2
In the novel A Separate Piece Gene states, 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. Which can have many
different interpretations and meanings. Although Gene never took part in World War II he had
battled and killed his own enemy. Although it does not state in the novel of his specific enemy
you can make assumptions on whether it was his friend Finny, who always seemed to challenge
Gene, or even just his inner self fighting against him. In the novel it states that Gene was very
jealous of Finny and his immaculate athletic abilities. This led to hatred towards Finny which
maybe led Gene to classify Finny as one of his enemies. The subject of enemies can mean
many different things, but its all in how you perceive it. Usually the most common meaning of
enemies is having hatred of anger towards a specific person of thing. Which Gene did have
hatred toward Finny making it likely that Finny was considered his enemy.
Furthermore you can tell as you read the novel that Gene has a growing hatred to this
unknown being. But as the story progresses you catch hints of where the hatred is directed
towards. Almost all of the hatred is directed toward Gene best friend Finny. One of the main
points you can tell where the anger is directed towards is when Gene tried to intentionally hurt
Finny. As Finny climbed the branch all of Genes and poured out and overcame his body leading
him to shake the branch thus resulting in Finny falling and ending in two broken legs. Even
though Gene greatly regretted his actions but deep inside of him Gene was glad of what he did.
When Finny broke his legs he ruined his career of becoming a professional sports athlete, which
he had a great chance of doing, and being drafted in the army which was his dream. All his life
Finny classified everyone and everything as his friend and he lacked the ability to show anger or
hatred. Even after Gene intentionally ruined his future and career, Finny still did not show anger
and in his mind he thought it was an accident even though it was clearly on purpose. This trait of
Finnies led to him being much liked but yet it also led to his downfall.
In conclusion even though the two boys appeared to be the best of friends they were
actually enemies in the eyes of Gene. When Gene states 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. There are many
possibilities in which he was trying to tell. Whether he was stating that his enemy was finny or
his inner self there will never be a correct answer. But people can make assumptions in which
one they believe is true. But in the story there are signs that point to which one was Genes real
enemy. Like his jealousy, actions, and how he speaks towards Finny shows that he is his real
enemy. Finally this novel really supports the statement keep your friends close, and your
enemies closer in that Gene kept Finny so close that he became his best friend.