The Mind Murders the Body “Adolescent friendships are of the most complex companionships due to the suppressed feelings of contempt one child may feel toward another.” The deterioration of the complex friendship of Gene and Phineas is brought about in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace by the combination of their envy and denial. Finny and Gene begin their summer of 1942 with the illusion of a great companionship. Gene’s paranoia and envy disrupt the relationship between him and Finny. As their friendship disintegrates, Finny and Gene deny that the problems in their alliance even exist, which in turn leads to a tragic catastrophe. Gene and Finny initiate their summer of 1942