What Is The Theme Of War In John Knowles A Separate Peace

The fictional novel, A Separate Peace was written by John Knowles describes the life at Devon School during WWII. The novel follows two young boys, Gene and Phineas, as they face hardships and struggles throughout their life at Devon during the war. The war dominated life at Devon by creating tough decisions, causing students to act upon a life altering decision, and essentially create a war among each other.

The book, "A Separate Peace," by John Knowles can be interpreted more than one way. You can take it literally, or look into the symbolic meaning of the landmarks of the Devon school, including the two "fearful sites" Gene visited in the beginning. As stated in the book by Gene, everything in the time period revolved around the war. This includes the great symbolism used, so mainly the tree, the Devon River, and the Naguamsett River. The Devon and Naguamsett Rivers both run through the campus of Devon. They are exact opposites (pg. 40).

A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a seemingly simple yet heartbreaking story that gives the reader an inside look and analysis of the reality of human nature. Set permanently in the main character Gene’s point of view, the audience is first taken to the present of a reflective and now wise man (Gene) and then plunged into his past back in 1942 to relive the harsh lessons that youth brought him. Along with vivid imagery of tranquil days past, a view into the social construct of a boy’s private school, Devon, and the looming presence of World War 2 on the horizon, there is also a significant power struggle that the reader can observe almost instantly. Conquering the need to be supreme in the situations of the war, high school, social interactions, and even simple moments that

As Gene and Phineas begin to establish a close friendship, Gene secretly develops a strong sense of jealousy towards Phineas, which leads to a life-changing incident. Fear of the unknown and those who are different is part of human nature. Gene and Phineas are complete opposites; one is a serious scholar, while the other is an athletically talented individual with a free, unbalanced spirit. When Gene notices that he is beginning to lose his identity to Phineas, he decides that he must get rid of that part of him by pushing Phineas out of a tree, leaving Phineas with a broken leg. Right before the incident, Gene and Phineas get into a small altercation, which causes Gene to realize Phineas’ innocence. Gene states that “[Phineas] had never been jealous of me for a second [...] there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the

A Separate Peace is a short novel about a group of high school boys that live during world war two but this story has deeper more complex meaning then that can be seen from the surface. In disguise of a “coming of age” story this novel contains very familiar biblical connections. These connections include the trial of Jesus, the fall of man from perfection, and the story of Cain and Abel. Knowles novel A Separate Peace contains biblical allegories, that become evident under a close examination.

Being “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide”. John Knowles wrote A Separate Peace, based on the German term bildungsroman. Gene is smart, intelligent, and a really great person to be around. He has a great personality up until, he starts to emulate Finny. A Separate Peace demonstrates how Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affect him, their friendship, and Gene ends up finding peace.

War is a destructive force whose nature is to destroy all things and change lives forever. It is a whirlpool that sucks everything in and is fueled by hatred and violence. Whether one is directly involved in the battlefield or waiting to see the outcome, war has the capacity to affect all people. It can harden one beyond their years and force them to grow, seeing conflicting sides of good and evil. A Separate Peace by John Knowles narrates the story of young boys growing up with World War II as the backdrop. The war impacts them dramatically and is constantly thought about as they are coming of the age since they will soon be enlisted. However, not only are they living during an era of war but are also struggling with the war inside of themselves as they search for the truth within. Knowles depicts the ability of war to affect teenage boys in Devon, an English preparatory school, and transform them from carefree boys to troubled young men in search of their own separate peace.

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, a recurring theme is emotions. Set during World War Two, in a boarding school in America, teenage boys face the threat of going to war. Emotions are always high and often distorted by fear and uncertainty.

Who does not remember their school days? The good times, the bad times and all the memories. John Knowles wrote an inspiring novel that shows all that can happen when life is at its worst. In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene grows up and sees how hard life can be. The novel is a bildungsroman because it is a book about a person coming of age or growing up. A Separate Peace is a bildungsroman because when Gene returns to his school as an adult he remembers all the good times he had, the heartbreak he experienced, and he sees the school differently, .

In the novel, “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles, the seasons develop actions and characters in the story. The story takes place at an all-boys boarding school in New Hampshire during World War II based off of the author’s previous experiences at a boarding school. The two main characters, Finny and Gene, experience character development alongside different seasons. In written works, seasons are commonly used to symbolically represent a change in the character’s personalities. The nature or setting of the story is used to specifically evolve Finny and Gene in seasons such as the summer, autumn, and winter. Each season change also generates an entirely different mood.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles takes place in 1942 New Hampshire at Devon Boarding School. The novel discusses the issues that occur to students at Devon being prepared to leave to the war. Gene who is the protaginist of the story is often contradicting himself and is in a battle with himself. Gene’s best friend Finny is often going through trouble that Gene blames on himself. The idea that gene kills his own innocence is not likely considering his lack of worldly experience, his tendency to martyrdom and the impact that the war has on his charecter.

Gene seemed he wanted to enlist to help him forget about everything in the past. He wants a new start, “To enlist. To slam the door impulsively on the past, to shed everything down to my last bit of clothing, to break the pattern of my life…” (Knowles 100). I think if Brinker never would of mentioned it Gene never would of thought about enlisting so soon. I think that because Gene has not thought about enlisting until Brinker said something about it. I also think Gene enlisting so soon would help him forget about the past. I think enlisting would make him reflect on the past more and think about the things he used to do. Gene was having a rough night because he had a lot on his mind. At first he was thinking about his responsibilities, his parents and what he owed Devon. He thought his mind was going to be wondering all night but someone took all of Gene’s thoughts away, “Everything throughout the day faded like that first false snowfall of the winter. Phineas was back” (Knowles 102). I was as happy Gene to find out that Phineas was

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 Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a very complex book, which truly makes you think about the relationships you share. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to challenge their thinking or anyone looking for a great read.

Some friendships last forever and others do not but in the novel, A Separate Peace (1959) by John Knowles, displays a different kind of friendship. The reader throughout this novel was very entertained. This novel takes place at the Devon Preparatory School in the years of 1942-1943.