Character Traits in A Separate Peace In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, one of the main themes is the effects of realism, idealism, and isolationism on Brinker, Phineas and Gene. While not everyone can be described using one of these approaches to life, the approaches completely conform to these characters to create a realist, an idealist, and an isolationist; thus providing the foundation of the novel. The realist is Brinker. Brinker's realism takes on a very morbid quality after Gene decides not to enlist with him, due to Phineas returning to Devon. Brinker still sees everything as it is, but he begins to think that the way it is is bad. On page 122, he is quoted as saying, "Frankly, I just don't see anything to celebrate, winter or spring or anything else." Brinker will examine every incident until he finds a dark side, because, in his mind, at least one side of everything is a dark side. We already have the foundation for our climax. Phineas (Finny) is the idealist. Like Brinker, Finny's approach experiences a sad metamorphosis. Before the accident, Finny saw the world as a glorious playground and life as an endless game. However, Finny begins to see the world through the eyes of a paranoid old man who always sees something hidden in everything. On page 106, Finny even goes so far as to ask Gene, "Do you really think that the United States of America is in a state of war with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan?" This perspective is a mental facade that only manages to prepare Finny for a harder fall. Finally there is the isolationist, Gene. Gene's approach is austere from the start. It is Gene who creates the dark change in others. Gene seeks danger in everything he is emotionally close to. When he encounters danger, he isolates himself from anything that poses a threat to him. If he can't find danger, as with Finny, he creates it. On page 45 he tries so hard to create danger in Finny that he falsely concludes that "Finny had deliberately set out to ruin my studies." This creates the story