The Use Of Literary Devices In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

himself. Gene explains, “ I spent as much time as I could alone in our room, trying to

The final set of symbols, peace and war, served as a backdrop for Gene’s adolescence and maturity. The Summer Session was a time of peace, it was fun and relaxed. There were no rules for Gene and Finny to follow. “We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction," (Knowles ). Unlike the summer session, which was full of peace, the winter session was filled of war. The war came to Devon when Leper enlisted. It hit Gene even closer when he found out that Finny had tried to enlist into the war but no one would accept him. "I also wrote the Coast Guard, the Merchant Marine, I wrote to General de Gualle personally, I also wrote Chiang Kai-shek, and I was about ready to write somebody in Russia,” (Knowles 190). Gene’s

Carl Jung, the very first pioneer who discovered human collective unconsciousness, including archetypes, once said, “An archetype is something like an old watercourse along which the water of life flowed for a time, digging a deep channel for itself. The longer it flowed the deeper the channel, and the more likely it is that sooner or later the water will return.” An archetype is the universal patterns and behaviors that represent a typical human experience that is passed down from generations to generations, creating its originality. In “A Separate Peace”, John Knowles uses many archetypes to enrich the personality of his characters, especially Gene and Finny based on common human experiences. By embodying the archetypes of the Fall from Innocence, the Unhealable, and the Crossroads in “A Separate Peace,” John Knowles was successful in establishing the theme for the novel which implies that the guilt which is begotten from one’s deceitful actions would remain as an irrecoverable wound overtime.

This change is shown in “A Separate Peace” when the residing feelings of happiness fade to confusion and tragedy. As the summer session comes to an end, Finny falls from a tree and shatters his leg. Gene witnesses this and affirms “Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank…” (Knowles 52). This abnormal mistake in Finny’s behavior was caused by Gene’s recently developed feelings of resentment towards his friend. Gene thinks “Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies” (Knowles 45). Gene purposely jounced the limb Finny was standing on due to his rash feelings of animosity. These feelings are conveniently aligned with the season shift by the author to add character development and change, as well as symbolism and depth in his writing. Gene’s shift from a trusting, willing friend to a skeptical, apprehensive enemy shows how the season of fall changes the characters in this novel. In final analysis, autumn brings about a negative change in the boy's psyche and forces them to face unpleasant realities and come to terms with their friendship.

In the novel, The Separate Peace, by John Knowles, a new character named Brinker Hadley was introduced. Brinker does not seem like most of the people Gene knows, “His face was all straight lines-eyebrows, mouth, nose, everything-and he carried his six feet of height straight as well. He looked but happened not to be athletic, being too busy with politics, arrangements, and offices” (Knowles 87). I was a little surprised that he was not athletic because most of the people Gene know are. Brinker and Gene seem to get along well. I think they get along well because they almost have similar interest and both are not really athletic. Leper is one of Gene’s old friends who he kind of catches up with. He is kind of in his own world and doing his own thing.

Best friends share a special bond. The bond of friendship is a strong bond, and it is often unbreakable. Best friends, by definition, are supportive and loving toward each other no matter the circumstance. What happens, though, when one friend begins to grow jealous of the other? Does the friendship persevere or does the friendship fall apart? In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, two best friends appear to have this unbreakable bond of friendship . Finny and Gene are two boys trying to survive their teenage years at The Devon School. The two are best friends until the unthinkable happens. Gene begins to grow jealous and envious towards Finny. The jealousy and envy take Gene to a dark place he has never imagined.. He does something that he can

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is ideal for a young adult audience, it gives the reader characters they can relate to, as well as a distinct turning point, and an interesting ending. Gene goes through two major conflicts: him against himself and himself against World War II. These two struggles draw out dominant traits that are also apparent in most young adults. Due to his competitive nature, Gene jounced the limb of the tree that makes Finny consequently fall. Moreover, since the reader does not foresee death as a result of a tree fall, the ending of the story is surprising and eye-opening. War is arduous, it is agonizing to deal with it, and Gene has to fight two of them.

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main character and narrator is Gene Forrester. Gene is in high school during most of the book and is very intelligent in his studies. His best friend is Phineas, more commonly known as Finny, and they are opposite of each other. Unlike Gene, academics do not come naturally to Finny, but athletics do. Throughout the book Gene seems to be jealous of Finny, since he is able to get away with anything with his charm and likeability. If Finny was the narrator for this book instead of Gene, the book would have had an entirely different perspective. Finny’s true opinions would have been shared about how he felt towards Gene before and after he fell out of the tree. Finny’s hardships would have been discussed

A Separate Peace (Chapter 1) is a novel excerpt written by John Knowles. Jean is a student at the Devon School in which he makes acquaintance with Phineas, or Finny. The two take on a jump from a tree in which they become friends afterwards. Knowles uses the concept of opposites attract and then drive each other crazy to drive the plot. At first the two make acquaintance well, only to the sheer differences between them to force a split. Gene and Finny are polar opposites in the sense that Gene is more rational in his decision making where on the contrary Finny is more impulsive and makes decisions without thinking. Gene begins to see Finny’s impact on his decisions, “What was I doing up her anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid

A Separate Peace is a compelling realistic fiction novel that takes place during World War 2. John Knowles set the story in Devon Boarding School about the relationship between two schoolboys, Gene and Finny. After close reading the book, Knowles suggests a major developing theme; “when you are over dependent on someone, you often lose your identity”

“There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little,” said Gene (Knowles 25). The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles takes place during the summer and winter sessions at Devon School. Gene Forestor is an older man who visits his old school and unfolds the painful truth during his experience there. His characteristics consist of being competitive, envious, and academically inclined. A Separate Peace, showcases the conflict Gene goes through internally and with his best friend because of jealousy until he finds his peace at last. To begin with, Gene’s envy and mock of Finny affected himself throughout the novel. Gene notices he loves and resents his best friend causing an internal conflict within himself. “I was beginning to see

Tragedies are an essential part of current literature. Though they might be heartbreaking, tragedies teach their readers life lessons that are hard to find anywhere else. Besides the tragic storyline, tragedies incorporate elements of forgiveness, compassion, and blitheness. John Knowles teaches the readers those lessons with his acclaimed novel A Separate Peace, where he adds tragic elements to his story to add meaning to the novel. Various elements of tragedy are crucial to the plot of A Separate Peace by John Knowles; the struggle between good and evil, catharsis, and tragic waste all create a dramatic atmosphere that adds deeper meaning to the novel.

War is defined as a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. In A Separate Peace, the author John Knowles uses a variety of examples of war and peace. The book is a flashback of a kid that went to the Devon school during World War 1. The students were safe in the school until they are 18 then they would have the chance to enlist or get drafted. In the novel John Knowles illustrates that war and peace can keep people safe or cause tragedy in people's lives. Some literary devices that John shows in the novel are Conflict, Point of view, and imagery.

Bilal Mohammad Qureshi Sara Moreno World Lit Period 6 24 October 2014 New Title Yo Ernest Hemingway once said that “all things truly wicked start from innocence”. He conveys that people are born guiltless, and what makes us commit evil actions is the influence of what's around us. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, tells of two best friends, Gene and Phineas, who attend an elite preparatory school during the height of World War II. The idea that the boys will be drafted when they turn eighteen is closing in on them, and they have chosen to live their lives to the fullest.

Characterisation can be executed in many ways. An easy way to identify the importance of characters in a novel is by paying attention to how they are characterised. In the first chapter of the novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses the relationships between Gene Forrester and the Devon School, and between Gene and his friend Phineas (Finny), to characterise the narrator, Gene, as a reminiscent man who is an intelligent, and thoughtful man that has felt much fear in his past.