"A Separate Peace" takes places in the middle of World War II in the town of Devon, New Hampshire in1942. Throughout the story Gene is constantly in conflict with someone. He always stands up for his friends, but also goes against what he knows is right to prove himself to Finny. The story "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles is a story of war symbolized by Gene Forrester's conflicts and rivalries with the peoplehe interacts with especially Finny, a major character, and Cliff Quakenbush. Leper Lepellier, and Brinker Hadley, minor characters. The tree represented the war for Gene and Finny, and also was the cause of their first real conflict. They saw al