Conflicts in A Separate Peace

In John Knowles, A Separate Peace a very important symbol is World War 2. The war symbolizes conflicts, the fight against oneself and other. So far the war has shown up several times and has affected many. For example when Leaper comes back from war he is traumatized. Now that Finny is paralyzed and is not able to walk he won’t be able to be in the war, something has been preparing for, for a long time. The war is a big motif n ASP. Little wars/conflicts arise not due to war but because of things that lead to war such as envy and hate. Gene (Finny's best friend) envies Finny’s athleticism. Gene has his strengths but isn't satisfied because he believes that in order to be even with Finny he needs to be better. So even though he has the brains he also wants to be athletic something Finny was basically perfect at. Gene lacks originality because of this and also has created a little war between him and Finny. Gene has now eliminated his competition (Finny) by pushing Finny of the tree. So Genes envy has not only hurt his best friend but has also hurt him. Gene's friendship with Finny is slowly drifting apart, but will Gene allow this to continue?