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Characters

• GENE: A Separate Peace is told from Gene's point of view. Gene focuses on, and succeeds at, academics. In addition, he is athletic, but not as much as Finny. He envies Finny's athletic and social prowess. Gene is from the South, and is therefore somewhat unaccustomed to Northeastern culture.

• FINNY: Gene's best friend and roommate, Finny is always stretching the rules and trying to get Gene to do the same. He always sees the best in others, seeks internal fulfillment free of accolades, and shapes the world around him to fit his desires. He is a prodigious athlete, succeeding in every sport until his leg is shattered in his fall from the tree.

• BRINKER: Brinker is a classmate of Gene and Finny's who doesn't know when to stop. The main antagonist, Brinker wants to get Gene in trouble for pushing Finny out of the tree. Starts the trial up to accuse Gene of the crime called the "midnight trial"

• LEPER: Nature loving, goes to army, and is friends with Finny and Gene. Late in the novel, Leper cracks from the stress of his enlistment in the army and becomes "psycho." He has hallucinations, and is a key figure in revealing that Gene was responsible for Finny's fall. Gene is then scarred for the rest of his life because he thinks it's his fault.