A Separate Peace: Gene Forrester Gene Forrester's difficult journey towards maturity and the adult world is a main focus of the novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. Gene's journey begins the moment he pushes Phineas from the tree and The process continues until he visits the tree fifteen years later. Throughout this time, Gene must become self-aware, face reality and The future, confront his problems, as well as forgive and accept the person that he is. With the jouncing of the limb, Gene realizes his Problems and the true person he is inside. Fifteen years later, when revisiting the tree, he finally accepts and