The Morality War
In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the boys who attend the Devon School constantly fight between doing what is right and what is wrong. Eric Burdon, an international singer-songwriter, describes this fight by saying “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” In A Separate Peace, war and internal turmoil are important underlying themes. Both main characters, Gene and Phineas, constantly make decisions that define them as good or bad, and are always redefining themselves as they uncover more layers of their personalities. John Knowles supports Eric Burdon’s quote concerning morality through his characterization and development of Gene and Finny, and the events that befall the boys.
Throughout the novel, Gene fights an internal war about good and evil, and where everything he has come to know or do falls between the two. After Phineas’ death, Gene admits, “I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case”(Knowles 194). Gene’s feelings represent both a goodness and selfishness that embodies his dynamic, ever changing character. His outlook on the world, and therefore his responses, change with how he has analyzed the previous events; what he decides to do, whether good or bad, depends on how he feels about what has recently happened in his life. Gene justifies his guilt for causing Finney’s …show more content…
Gene and Phineas both express and fight their personal wars in different ways, but fight them all the same. World War II also creates many opportunities for the boys to either win or lose their battles, and forces the boys to think of the consequences of their decisions. For the boys of Devon, the second World War was fought a lot closer than it first
In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the boys who attend the Devon School constantly fight between doing what is right and what is wrong. Eric Burdon, an international singer-songwriter, describes this fight by saying “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” In A Separate Peace, war and internal turmoil are important underlying themes. Both main characters, Gene and Phineas, constantly make decisions that define them as good or bad, and are always redefining themselves as they uncover more layers of their personalities. John Knowles supports Eric Burdon’s quote concerning morality through his characterization and development of Gene and Finny, and the events that befall the boys.
Throughout the novel, Gene fights an internal war about good and evil, and where everything he has come to know or do falls between the two. After Phineas’ death, Gene admits, “I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case”(Knowles 194). Gene’s feelings represent both a goodness and selfishness that embodies his dynamic, ever changing character. His outlook on the world, and therefore his responses, change with how he has analyzed the previous events; what he decides to do, whether good or bad, depends on how he feels about what has recently happened in his life. Gene justifies his guilt for causing Finney’s …show more content…
Gene and Phineas both express and fight their personal wars in different ways, but fight them all the same. World War II also creates many opportunities for the boys to either win or lose their battles, and forces the boys to think of the consequences of their decisions. For the boys of Devon, the second World War was fought a lot closer than it first