The reason Phineas appeared to recover with such ease and managed to “glow with such health” (pg. 91) was because he refused to view his injury as an “overwhelming hostile thing” (pg. 174). He only accepted the harsh reality of his situation “a little at a time” (pg. 174) so he could ensure he was able to “assimilate without a sense of chaos or loss” (pg. 174). Phineas, though perhaps subconsciously aware, made himself ignorant so that “his harmonious and natural unity” (pg. 174) remained in tact even as he struggled with being a cripple. When Gene first encountered Phineas after his leg was broken, Phineas was more concerned with how Gene was doing then he was about receiving sympathy and condolence. Throughout his conversation with Gene in the hospital, Phineas did not bring up and craftily dodged all conversation about his own state of health. The two discussed how he fell off the tree, but Phineas was more concerned with his best friend and tried to make it seem as though Gene’s issues were of more importance. In fact, Phineas told Gene that he “look[ed] worse than” (pg. 57) himself, and asked why Gene was “looking so sick” (pg. 57). Finny also refused to accept that it was highly unlikely that “sports [were] finished for him” (pg. 56). Though Dr. Stanpole made it very clear that there was “no such hope” (pg. 56), Phineas still entertained the idea that he would eventually be able to compete in the Olympics even if he was not “in shape by 1944” (pg. 102). In all likelihood, the knowledge that he could not possibly participate in “the absolute good” (pg. 31) would have destroyed him. It was fortunate that he did not accept this fact because the mental repercussions would no doubt be harder for Phineas to deal with than the physical ones. In the end, it was Phineas’ lapse in ignorance that resulted in his death. On the same night that Finny “found out” (pg. 142) that his physical disability would stop him from participating in the war, he fell down the flight of stairs, breaking his leg again. Phineas did not want to know “every damn fact there is in the world” (pg. 153). Brinker made him realize there were “rocklike facts” (pg. 174) and Phineas’ blissful ignorance was momentarily compromised and in need of protection. Moments later, while trying to escape, he fell down the stairs, broke his leg and died the next morning. For Phineas, ignorance was the key to his physical recovery and the loss of this state resulted in his death.
Leper was a character who demonstrated the need for ignorance and the result of losing this valuable state. Leper began as an oblivious, serene, content and healthy boy. Only after he left the “separate peace” (pg. 119) that was the Devon campus, and was abruptly shaken out of his ignorance by the harsh realities of war, did he became mentally unstable. The first real encounter with Leper that took place in the book was when he was “touring skiing” (pg. 82). Leper wanted to leisurely enjoy nature by “not going anywhere” (pg. 82) in particular. This showed his passive behavior and oblivious demeanor. His ignorance of everything bad going on around him, the war, people “making fun of him” (pg. 83)… allowed him to be content. Later in the novel, Gene discovers that Leper was turned into a psycho by the war. The loss of his ignorant personality was replaced by a “mental-ward reality” (pg. 125). His ignorance of the horrors that surrounded him was the only thing that prevented him from becoming “a screw loose” (pg. 125). Finally, when Gene concluded the story by explaining how different people and things progressed and essentially convalesced over the years, Leper was excluded from the speech. If ignorance was truly needed to heal, then Leper’s character finished the novel in a serious predicament because his state of “blind confusion” (pg.126) was lost. It remained dubious whether Leper ever defeated his mental illness because he was no longer able to obscure the terrifying and depressing realities that surrounded him.
Gene’s convalescence was by far the most interesting and complex. He began as a boy with “a terrible temper [and] no self-control” (pg. 127) who was essentially a “savage underneath” (pg. 126). After he began to realize the horrific person he was becoming, Gene refused to delve further into his own identity and decided to embrace ignorance and happiness through the identity of another. Gene began the novel as a bitter and blunt boy who refuses to look at many situations with an optimistic and happy mindset. In essence, Gene embraced harsh realities and when he could not find “something deadly lurking” (pg. 87), he put them there himself. Gene’s obsession with only looking for harsh circumstances escalated till he pushed Finny off of a tree. After this occurred, he realized the wickedness in his heart and did not wish to face the man he had become. To avoid facing himself, Gene becomes “a part of Phineas” (pg. 74). That was the point where he embraced the ignorance that Finny was blessed with, and the process of becoming “a good boy underneath” (pg. 87) commenced. Though he was ignorant of his own problems, by acting as though he were Phineas and remaining oblivious to who he really was, Gene created a new and improved personality. Finally, after Phineas died, Gene was still in the process of dealing with his twisted mental state. Fifteen years later, he was obviously was not better. The man he became was haunted by past mistakes, however, he did admit to only feeling “fear’s echo” (pg. 10) and now had experiences of “unhinged, uncontrollable joy” (pg. 10). Gene would have never reached this point without “sizing up the world with erratic and entirely personal reservations” (pg. 174) and remaining partly ignorant until he was able to handle knowledge about himself. Gene managed to begin his convalescence by embracing ignorance.
John Knowies’ made it evident that without a certain amount of ignorance, the process of convalesce would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. This was seen in Phineas’ ignorant manner that promoted the aura of health that he had even after becoming crippled. Leper unfortunately lost his oblivious demeanor, and with it, his mental health. Gene, by being unable to deal with his own defect, embraced ignorance which allowed him to become a much better person. Many treat ignorance as a primitive, undeveloped and utterly unacceptable state; Knowies’ in his novel A Separate Peace, shows that perhaps this is not so, ignorance can promote convalescence.
