What could be a thesis statement for jealousy vs. resentment in A Separate Peace by John Knowles?

Jealousy vs. resentment sounds like a good topic for a compare/contrast essay about A Separate Peaceby John Knowles. One could first start by examining characters who deal with both feelings, such as Gene and Leper. Look  for times throughout the book when each boy admires someone else to the point of jealousy. Then look for times when that same character wishes pain or failure on someone else and that will be where the resentment...

Jealousy vs. resentment sounds like a good topic for a compare/contrast essay about A Separate Peace by John Knowles. One could first start by examining characters who deal with both feelings, such as Gene and Leper. Look  for times throughout the book when each boy admires someone else to the point of jealousy. Then look for times when that same character wishes pain or failure on someone else and that will be where the resentment lies. Sometimes it is easier to write these thoughts down first and then rethink the thesis statement after examining the evidence. For example, Gene becomes jealous after his best friend Phineas breaks the school swimming record by saying the following:

"To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for--not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. And there were few relationship among us at Devon not based on rivalry" (45).

Here Gene is jealous because he can't resent his friend for being humble. The word "rivalry" suggests competition between the boys--all of the boys at the school. A defeat during or after a competition generally leads Gene to feel resentment, as in the following realization:

"I found it. I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term" (53).

The "enmity" he feels equals resentment here; hence, one could compare these two quotes and determine a thesis statement from these examples which would also be great to use in an essay. The thesis statement could be, "Jealousy and resentment are compounded in Gene Forrester in nearly every conflict or competition between him and his best friend Phineas."