World War II influenced the boys in A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, by making them grow and mature more quickly than they would have had there not been a war. The war made some boys stronger and readier for whatever life would bring, while in others it disabled them to the point that they could not handle simple tasks. These boys are only a small percentage of the casualties brought about by World War II. The maturing influence of the war on Finny was a considerable one, even though it did not seem to the other boys that he was growing up at all. Gene's jealousy leads him to the point where he has to destroy Finny's greatest asset, his s