"It wasn't the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and separate peace." Throughout the novel, Gene is continually searching for happiness, whether it is through studies or athletics. Despite the war going on in the world as well as the war within himself, Gene spends his school years in this search for peace. Yet, when it looks like he is just about to achieve it, something new arises to thwart his goal. He never truly attains his goal and continues to seek that sense of joy and value. Gene feels that he does not belong anywhere and does not have a purpose, or any importance. Finding where he belongs is true peace. It is not the peace found when a war is ended, but a...