carefree boys playing together in a game they concocted themselves? Would one think of best

friends laying upon a beach and watching a sunset together, their hearts devoid of malice and

ill intent? The pictures the mind paints when people speak of 'innocence' are singular to the

person imagining. If one can pinpoint innocence to a few images, what happens when those images

are shattered as if they were a spiteful mirror? Innocence could be called a mirror of illusions. We

see what is there and added in to the background are the serene and peaceful selfless scenes of

In A Separate Peace the broken shards of this mirror litter the ground that the characters

tread upon. Gene seems a blameless enough protagonist. Striving for success at school through

his academics and fitting in to a group of friends easily, who would think him to intentionally

cripple the boy he calls his best friend? Reading the words "Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a

step toward him, and then my knees bent and a I jounced the limb" breaks the fragile sense of

Gene's naivete to the reader completely.Gene says

form a realistic view of the world, and accepting it. Innocence is merely hiding. The untainted hide

your fancy free." Although the wise man is indeed one who 'has been around the block' and should

Some common words found in the essay are:
Separate Peace, AE Housman, , loss innocence, separate peace, true nature, innocence merely, jounced limb, wise advises, wise man's, hide illusions, lost innocence,
Approximate Word count = 1268
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)