A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

People are colliding into battles continuously around the globe. It's not always a physical brawl between two armed forces but it also occur mentally and emotionally. On page 139 of A Separate Peace, a quote was mentioned by Gene, "...because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and theirs special stupidities but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart..." This quote can relate to the novel, a personal experience and another literary work.

In chapter 11 of A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, Gene is back from Leper’s and wants to see Finny. Gene sees that Finny is in a snowball fight and Gene joins in when Finny hits him with a snowball. Later that night Brinker asks about Leper, Gene decided to tell both Finny and Gene that Leper has gone crazy. Finny admits that there really is war going on if Leper is so affected by it that he has gone crazy. At 10:05 pm that night Brinker and some others want to take Finny and Gene somewhere. They are both confused since it is after hours. Brinker takes them to the Assembly Room where he has taken it upon himself to investigate what really happened in that tree the day of Finny’s accident. Finny and Gene do not want to be in this situation

John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is about a few boys at a boarding school in New Hampshire. The story is centered around the friendship of two boys, Gene and Finny, at a boarding school in New Hampshire. Although in the beginning of their friendship Gene did not trust Finny, by the time he dies Gene feels as if a part of him has died, showing that he still felt closely bonded to him after all they had been through.

John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” takes place at a boarding school during World War II. Best friends Gene and Finny have been inseparable during their time at the Devon School. This is until reality hits Gene, and he slowly starts to realize that he is inferior to his best friend. Through the unbalanced friendship between two teenagers in “A Separate Peace,” Knowles illustrates that a loss of identity may be present in a relationship if there is an unequal amount of power.

Chapter four starts with the gray dawn and closes with a gray dusk. Also, it begins with Gene describing Finny coming to life as Lazarus and ends with the tragic fall that destroys his life. Finny wakes that morning with characteristic action, proposing a quick swim. But of couse Gene declines because he is thinking about his limits and rules. When he looked at the sun, he knew it was about 6:30, and all he could do was worry about his trigonometry test that would be at 10:00. For Gene, the meaning of the morning emerges not from the beauty of the dawn the beautiful beach, but from his worries and disappointments. Finny has lost their money, and they must now bicycle back to Devon without breakfast and arrive just in time for Gene to fail his

A Separate Peace, chapter three starts of with Gene talking about how Finny saved his life when he fell out of the tree. On the other hand, the only reason Gene was in that tree to begin with was because of Finny, “I didn’t need to feel any tremendous rush of gratitude towards Phineas”(Knowles 33). If it were not for Finny there is no way Gene would be anywhere near that tree. Also, if Gene was not so worried about pleasing Finny all of the time, he would not have jumped from the tree in the first place. After all of this happens and as the club now starts to grow, Finny decides he needs to start recruiting other members for the Suicide Society.

Literary allegories correlate an author’s body of work to a greater known archetype, usually in pursuit of connecting certain ethics to the reader. A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is an admirable example of this approach. Knowles applies tales from the biblical book of Genesis into his narrative of two friends attending an elite preparatory school. More specifically, the stories of Cain and Abel, plus Adam and Eve, are in reference. The lessons and morals that are being displayed within these stories are present alongside situational elements undergone by the main characters, Gene and Finny.

It took about a week before the guardians were called to the assembly hall again. This time they were greated by the angels of strengh, protocol, time and faith. They told the boys not to bother sitting since it wouldn't last very long. Finally after a short silence the angel of faith annouced that they were indeed going to live in the human world.

Charles Oduro Mrs. Weber English 9 Honors, Period 1 October. 18. 2017 A Separate Peace - Chapter 9 Summary:

A Separate Peace, which was written by John Knowles, has many themes. They are interconnected throughout the book. The most clearly portrayed theme is fear. It seems to be connected with the themes of friendship, jealousy, and war. As World War II was occurring, fear had taken over Gene's life through these various themes. When he visited Devon fifteen years after leaving the school, Gene claimed, "I had lived in fear while attending the school and I can now feel fear's echo" (Knowles 10). He felt like he had gained a separate peace after escaping from this fear.

A quote that strikes me as interesting is an advice that Hoppie gives to Peekay during the ride to Barberton, “It’s good to be a little frightened. It’s good to respect your opponent. It keeps you sharp. In the fight game, the head rules the heart. But in the end the heart is the boss.” (pg. 74) I find this quote important because it makes me realize that having a passion for something does not guarantee success. It is better to strive while making an effort to plan ahead and be cautious. For example, in the beginning of the fight against Jackhammer, Hoppie only has the head to plan his next moves. Because he lacks the heart, he is unable to make his opponent unconscious. However, near the end Hoppie understands that when “the heart is the

In A Separate Peace, many wars are being fought. Although the students at Devon are shielded from most of the negative effects of WWII, their isolated world is eventually affected by the war. For example. Leper leaves to fight in the war, maids were no longer available, and the boys had to do manual labor to free the train tracks in town. Another war being fought is the internal war Gene experiences regarding Finny. Gene is jealous of Finny because of his many friends, natural athletic talent, and his ability to talk himself out of any situation. Gene is so jealous of Finny that he begins to think that Finny is trying to sabotage him. For example, when Finny drags Gene to the beach, Gene thinks that Finny is trying to sabotage his chances

“from which a boardwalk leads half a mile across a marsh to a series of natural thermal pools”(158)

Places such as the Rainbow Inn and the Squires’s parties at the Red House are places where people interact and socialize with each other. As the villagers interact with each other it is celebrated through a shared understanding of each person’s social class and place in the community. Since Silas is an outsider who lives apart from this social structure, he originally lacks any sense of this identity. Therefore the villagers fear yet are curious of the strange Silas. When Silas shows up to both the Rainbow Inn and the Red House, the villagers see him as a delusion. Being outside of the community will be unusual and strange feeling for

Devon had many incidents that occurred during the summer session and the regular school year. “Peace had deserted Devon” (Knowles pg.72). A tree, showing symbolism, has a big part in the story, A Separate Peace. The events happening during the summer session and regular school session, hinted foreshadowing, for later events to come. In Devon’s school, multifariously terminus students have a distinct story and oblique events tremble throughout the school. The students attending Devon have been through many different life changing events, that have also impacted their lives along, which caused them to think differently about the outcomes that have occurred.