Raw by Scott Monk, Hard Rock by Etheridge Knight, and Dangerous Minds by John N. Smith

Josh is a 24 year-old man who is from West Chester, Pennsylvania. While he lives in PA for all of the show, his housing situation is not ideal. At the beginning of the episode he lives in a hotel room, however halfway through he is evicted. He moves back and forth between a friend’s house and his mom’s house, until he finally settles in an apartment building for people who struggle with mental illness. He has a part-time job in construction, and has little to no formal education. He seems to enjoy doing “laborer work”. Josh has also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The author writes “Mind if I wound up head of the class, would you?... Fat chance you’ve got, anyway, with Chet Douglass around (Knowles 24).” When Finny said that Gene had a chance at beating Chet Douglass, it started his obsession of being head of the class. Gene says “I became quite a student after that. I had always been a good one, although I wasn’t really interested and excited by learning itself, the way Chet Douglass was (Knowles 24).” Gene did well in school and always has been a strong, exceptional student. The difference between Chet Douglass and Gene was the dedication and love to do extraordinary in school. The key to being the best student in school was hard work and passion. After realizing that, Gene decided to be someone he was not: Chet Douglass. Gene says “Now I became not just good but exceptional, with Chet Douglass my only rival in sight (Knowles 25).” Gene was fixated on being an outstanding student, beating Chet Douglass. Naturally, Gene was satisfactory in school until he was set on beating Chet at his own game. Difficulty finding his identity, Gene changed himself to be exactly like Chet, just like he did with Finny. In the article “An overview of A Separate Peace” Anne Hiebert Alton writes “Gene's never acknowledges that the real enemy is within himself.” Pushing his identity problems further away, Gene tries to be other

Brett's change in attitudes is seen in the incident when the inmates are allowed to go to the rodeo. Three inmates, including frog were unable to handle the freedom they

In this passage, Gene speaks as his older self and reflects on the meaning of his

As Gene feels the obligation to lose himself to become Finny, Knowles shows us that a loss of identity may be present in a relationship if there is an unequal amount of power. When Finny tells Gene that he has to play sports in the place of Finny himself, Gene says, “I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas” (77). Gene loses who he is to become the powerful Finny because told him to do so. He feels the need to give up his identity seeing that he has the order to do. This results in an unequal friendship because a true friend would never force someone to do something that would make them lose who they actually are. Gene and Finny’s unbalanced friendship eventually causes paranoia and insecurity on the less powerful side known as Gene because he is giving himself up.

“But I no longer needed this vivid false identity . . . I felt, a sense of my own real authority and worth, I had many new experiences and I was growing up “(156). Gene’s self-identity battle ends and he finds his real self. Gene’s developing maturity is also shown when he tells the truth about Leper. His growing resentment against having to mislead people helps Gene become a better person. When Brinker asks about Leper, Gene wants to lie and tell him he is fine but his resentment is stronger than him. Instead Gene comes out and tells the truth that Leper has gone crazy. By pushing Finny out of the tree, crippling him for life and watching him die; Gene kills a part of his own character, his essential purity. Throughout the whole novel Gene strives to be Finny, but by the end he forms a character of his own. Gene looks into his own heart and realizes the evil. “. . . it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart” (201). He grasps that the creation of personal problems creates wars. Gene comes to acknowledge Finny’s uniqueness and his idealism and greatly admires his view of the world. He allows Finny’s influence to change him and eliminates the self-ignorance. At Finny’s funeral Gene feels that he buries a part of himself, his innocence. “I could not escape a feeling

Balance and stability are necessary for humans as individuals and without these, individuals will face chaotic circumstances. In the novel, the father of the protagonist, Ed Boone, is an example of a character that

For many people, they struggle with finding their identity throughout Middle School and High School. The people that you hang out with, the teachers who teach you, and even the classes you take all shape and define who you are in school. At Devon, a military prep school, the students identity could be found in the war effort, friends, or even clubs. For Gene, he tried to define himself as someone who was popular, athletic, and a leader in the "Suicide Club". This starts an envious relationship with Finny who is already popular, athletic, and leader in the club. As the book goes on we started to see a change in Gene, a change to start to be more like Finny, even at one point "put on his clothes... but when I looked in the mirror it was no remote aristocrat I had become, no character out of daydreams. I was Phineas, Phineas to the life." (A Separate Peace 29) Gene became so engulfed in trying to be like Finny that, in his own eyes, he had become Finny. In the end all we can fall back on is our faith in Jesus and find our identity in him. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by

To lists some of the crime he has committed such as the case with vandalism, petty theft, grand theft auto, rape, assaults and assault with a deadly weapon, drug dealing, and attempt murder. Not only does the offense he committed affect him, but it has also caught up with him to do three years in prison. The use of Strain Theory is to examine deviancy within Nathan McCall’s life when he is confronted by the cultural goals that is within his environment and the institution means that enable him to achieve the goals. Within a healthy society, McCall will be acceptable towards the goals and suitable means to achieve the goals that society have impose upon on him. In contrast, when McCall cultural values and means becomes imbalance, he would encounter strain by adapting to five modes of adaptation.

Leading a meaningful life meant breaking away from the fear of criticism or rejection; conforming to society limits Illgunas’ definition of life. Illgunas’ suburban upbringing makes the danger of social conformity clear to him. Surrendering to society would consequently cause him to completely lose himself. After graduating from high school, Illgunas and his classmates follow the conventional path towards a higher education. Illgunas explains, “My high school class and I moved like a school of fish: we graduates were capable of going off on our own, in whatever direction we chose, but something demanded we all swim as one…” (6-7). Parallel to the claim Illgunas makes, graduates that do not attend college are stigmatized. Society has created a paradigm: after graduating high school, students should attend a traditional four year university, and then enter the “career world.” In Illgunas’ perspective, people in

The society is very controlling but also takes the will away from the people. Everyone in the society thinks that the society knows all, but really the society controls all. The characters in

The books main themes include language as mind control and psychological and physical intimidation and manipulation. In the book, the people live in a city which is very out of the ordinary and also overseen by a charismatic leader, Big Brother. This society, portrayed by George Orwell has

Little sorrow and sadness is expressed around school, even in Gene; no one talks about what happened but everyone remembers, especially Gene. Throughout the novel, John Knowles' strong characterization of Finny results in a more developed and wiser Gene; in the end, Finny actually makes Gene a better person.

Ever seen something or someone change. Maybe a like or a person? Camp Green Lake is not what it seems, but itś only a camp for bad boys. Stanley Yelnats was one of the people there even tho he did no wrong. Without going to Camp Green Lake his life would never be the same. At the beginning of Holes Stanley was not caring, but by the end of Holes Stanley became caring.

Replacing one’s sense of self with something different, is an example of resocialization. This is done through the work of a total institution. A total institution is, “an institution that regulates all aspects of a person’s life, under a single authority…” (Schaefer, 86) In the book An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir explains what it’s like to live in a total institution and what it does to your sense of self. “Erving Goffman coined the term total institution.” (Schaefer, 86) There are also four rules of total institutions. The first rule is, “All aspects of life are conducted I the same place under the control of a single authority.” An Ember in the Ashes, takes place at an academy called Blackcliff, where students are trained to become killers and the police of the nation. This all falls under the rule of the Commandant. This is the single authority that Goffman explains must be essential to a total institution. “We don’t hear the Commandant of Blackcliff Military Academy approach; we feel her, the way you feel a storm coming.” (Tahir, 27) This line shows how the Commandant is the leader and force to be reckon with at the academy. The second aspect of a total institution is, “any