Knowles himself said A Separate Peace is a story of "growth through tragedy" what textual evidence from the novel supports this?

There are many incidents within the story that reflect
this approach.

When Gene and Finny are studying before the
fall, Gene considers that Finny is actively trying to distract him from his studies
because he can't stand to have Gene be better
overall.

I
was more and more certainly becoming the best student in the school; Phineas was without
question the best athlete, so in that way we were even. But while he was a very poor
student I was a pretty good athlete, and when everything was thrown into the scales they
would in the end tilt definitely toward
me.

The insights into Finny's
perceptions and thoughts gained as they talked after the fall, and especially after
Finny returns to school, were growth moments for Gene in self-awareness and in maturity
of attitude toward Finny and the others.

When Leper joins
the ski patrol, he anticipates spending the war in a clean white world of snow and
skiing. The boys left behind deal with his enlistment by placing him in the center of
every action reported. It is only later that Gene becomes aware of the tragic suffering
Leper encounters while in the military.

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Fear seized my stomach like a cramp. I didn't
care what I said to him now; it was myself I was worried about. For if Leper was psycho
it was the army which had done it to him, and I and all of us were on the brink of the
army.