High school is a time of great physical, mental, and emotional changes in young people. Some students experience a change in the size of a foot, others, a revelation. These changes occur during high school, but can be brought about quickly under the right circumstances. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Phineas is another victim of the changes in high school, catalyzed by an injury. He begins his teenage life normally, as a superb athlete, but a tragic "accident" destroys his chance at a normal life and puts Finny in a state of denial. However, he ends up accepting his reality by coming out of his dreamer mentality. The progression of Finny's mental state is indicative of how trauma can catapult the normally troubling growth of high school youth into a state of disbelief and denial, detaching them from reality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayFinny begins her life at school in Devon as a dreamer. He is a free spirit, creating activities and doing strange things for pure amusement. As Finny tries on unusual clothes, he wonders "...what would happen if I looked like a fairy to everyone" (17). Phineas really doesn't care what others think of him; he's just curious about himself. This clothing scene and the following pages in which he wears the pink shirt demonstrate his carefree attitude towards life. After swimming in the school pool and breaking a record, Phineas notes that "the only real swimming is in the ocean" (37). He is unimpressed that he is breaking the school record, but wishes to swim in the ocean, as if that is somehow a greater feat. He ignores the fact that he is breaking an important rule and may even miss a class. The early chapters of A Separate Peace emphasize the Phones' dreamy mentality in another way. Additionally, Finny has no visible fear of things that others are typically afraid of. For example, the dreaded tree is not a problem in Finny's mind. He jumps first, saying: “this is my contribution to the war effort” (8). Other members of his group of friends tremble at the sight of the large tree. Even Gene is skeptical of the tree's safety at first, only jumping after Finny is first to reassure himself. Phineas chooses what needs to be done and sticks to his decisions without fear of failure. To keep Gene from falling from the tree, Finny "pulled and grabbed my [Gene's] arm, and once my balance was restored, the panic immediately disappeared." (24). He does what needs to be done instantly, without second-guessing himself. Finny is not afraid of things that could be serious problems for others. It is this lack of fear that makes his injury so tragic. After his limb fell, Phineas denies that Gene jumped off the limb and denies the existence of a raging war. It seems to Gene that Finny really believes that the war is a joke invented to subjugate the people. Speaking of other conspiracies, Finny states that "they couldn't use this trick forever, so for us, in the forties, they concocted this fake war" (107). Phineas of course denies the existence of war with his inner logic, which seems sensible and realistic. This constant self-justification is proof that Finny doesn't even believe the theories himself. He simply uses them as a shield to avoid his own reality. He again asserts this theory when Mr. Ludsbury speaks of the war; Finny explains that Ludsbury believes in war because he is "too.