A Separate Peace Title Analysis

Improved Essays
The Meaning of A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace by John Knowles has a significant meaning in the title. In the book two main characters Gene and Phineas (Finny) struggle to find peace while living at Devon; a prep school and in the time of World War Two. Gene and Finny struggle through many conflicts and find ways to overcome them. A Separate Peace is used as the title because of the way the characters find peace in their own lives, deal with conflicts, and to become comfortable with themselves.
Peace may be achieved in many different ways, one is by breaking down an enemy. The only way for Gene to find peace is to break down his enemy who is thought to be his best friend, Finny. Jealousy is a feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages. Gene slowly becomes jealous of his roommate Finny because of his charisma and his ability to be liked by everyone and get away with anything. Not only is Gene jealous of Finnys personality, but he also envy’s that he is a top athlete at Devon. This first started when Finny wore the school tie as
…show more content…
“Finny is separate from all traits negative in nature.” (Edublogs) Finny is easily likable and is often seen as a leader and a role model. Throughout the conflicts in the book Gene learns that he is actually meant to learn from Finny and become a part of Finny’s personality. Slowly Gene becomes more comfortable with himself as he is killing his enemy. Eventually when Gene ills his enemy he is now at peace with himself, feeling no sympathy for his actions. Visiting back at Devon he remembers everything that he has experienced at his time at the boarding school during the war, Gene feels serenity and

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowls, there are signs of jealousy and naiveté that causes problems for the two main characters. Despite the fact Finny is too naive to realize how his best friend, Gene, is jealous of him it then “destroys” him. When all he is trying to do is forget about the dreadful war and stay youthful, which isn’t so easy to do. One of the main issues is Phineas is so energetic and cheery he doesn’t realize what Gene’s jealousy is doing to him.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As this chapter illustrates, Finny enjoys getting himself into tight (and sometimes dangerous) situations, and he relies on his natural charm and often illogical view of the world to extricate himself. While military service overtakes the older students, only the 16-year-old boys remain careless and happy in this peaceful world. For the masters of Devon — and Gene, too — Finny comes to represent the "essence of this careless peace." While Finny likes to defy authority, play games, and jump out of trees — all of these essentially childish activities — Gene, by contrast, wants to become an adult and feels that he should learn how to live in the grown-up world. His basic nature points him in the direction of conventionality and conformity, and…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Knowles intended his book, A Separate Peace, for a young audience such as a high school level, or a lower college level, and he hopes to convey the theme that one’s actions have consequences but it’s all part of growing up, which is what most people of this age bracket are going though at this time in life. John Knowles exhibites the immaturity of the main character, Gene Forrester, by displaying his flawed reasoning and misconceptions about his grades slipping by blaming it on his friend, Finny. After their outing to the beach which leads to Gene failing his trigonometry test, he has an epiphany in which he believes Finny is sabotaging his studies on purpose because he is jealous; Gene says, “The deadly rivalry was on both sides afterall” (54). These thoughts are the start of a dark road which winds it’s way throughout the story and leads Gene to several mistakes, the consequences of which shape his life later in the story, similar to what one might also experience when growing up.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gene often mentions how he is not as good as Finny at a plethora of social and physical activities. Despite resenting Finny for his superior skills at many things, Gene resents himself for not being as skilled in sports or as socially adept as Finny. As the story progresses, Gene internally rants about how he is better than Finny. “I was certainly becoming the best student in school; Phineas was without question the best athlete, so in that way we were even. But while he was a very poor student, I was a pretty good athlete, and when everything was thrown into the scales they would in the end definitely tilt towards me…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this quotation it shows how the two friends Gene and Finny achieve their separate peace by moving on in life or either they die when they go through the stage of maturity. Out of the two friends Gene is the character who achieve his own peace throughout the story. Gene often finds himself seeing Finny’s crazy vision of relaxation and how he would daydream about the 1944 Olympics. Gene gets tormented by the guilt he had over his friend Finny’s accident and had to get a surgery to get it fixed.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Insecurities have a way of driving people to do the extreme. The deep emotion indicates the lack of self-confidence that can prompt humans to act upon impulse and do unexplainable things. In the novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles gives the reader insight into how Gene Forrester’s insecurities drive the plot and the resulting actions of it. Gene’s insecurities show up early in the novel. From the beginning, Gene fills his mind with irrational questions, “What was I doing up here anyways?…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Knowles’s novel, A Separate Peace, takes place at the Devon School in 1959, and it is located in New Hampshire. This novel takes place during World War II, and even some of the main characters participate in the war at the end of the novel. This novel is told by Gene Forrester, and at a certain points of the novel, Knowles asks the audience to question his reliability as a narrator. Gene’s friend, Phineas, plays a large role in the novel because Gene is jealous of Finny for many reasons, one including Finny’s marvelous athleticism. This jealousy leads to some anger as time passes.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When imputed about evil, it includes envy, jealousy, covetousness, and immortality ect. Gene’s character is someone who is smart, thoughtful, and an overachiever. He takes his education very deliberate, and when he failed…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Just What Does A Separate Peace Symbolize? A Separate Peace is a novel based around a group of high school boys in a private school called Devon. Peace is something that most want, have, and search for; just as in the novel, each character is searching for and discovering their own peace. Each character has found or withheld a certain peace, in real life.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It is human nature to want what one cannot or should not have. Greed and jealousy have the ability to drive people to do extreme and unnecessary actions to receive what they pine over. It can change people and thrust them, quickly, into a different life. In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene succumbs to temptation and envy- which ultimately pushes him into maturity and changes his life forever. He experiences seducement when he is envious of all of Finny’s attributes then a loss of innocence when he makes Finny fall from the tree and has to deal with the consequences of his actions.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    “A Separate Peace” is a novel written by John Knowles in 1960 to depict life in the time of World War II. The novel contains main characters Gene and Finny who are young boys that attend Devon High School. Finny is a virtuoso in sports and “snowing” teachers. Gene a reticent introvert who kept to himself most of the time until Finny always talked him into things. Although many readers would not believe that “A Separate Peace” has religious qualities, the main protagonist and antagonist symbolize more than just…

    • 90 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    The battle someone faces can help in recognizing who he or she truly is. The utilization of the knowledge they discover on their journey will determine the result of their battle. For this battle to even begin, a force of opposition must be present. In John Knowles novel A Separate Peace, he conveys the battle Gene Forrester goes through to discover himself. Gene’s battle occurs at the Devon School, where he discovers the existence of his enemy.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Julien Berry Theme: Jealousy in A Separate Peace Song: Jealousy by Natalie Merchant Thesis Statement: People are often ruled by their emotions and can let those emotions impact their actions; for better or for worse. Jealousy is one such emotion that can cloud judgement and effect behavior. Jealousy is a central theme in the book A Separate Peace written by John Knowles, and drives the actions and behaviors of the characters within the novel. The book is about two friends, Gene and Finny, and their relationship during their school year together at Devon. Throughout the book, jealousy creeps into Gene and Finny’s relationship as their friendship matures and develops.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    World War II as a Symbol in A Separate Peace In A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses World War II to symbolize denial of conflict and feelings, the reality of impending adulthood, and internal conflict in the minds of Gene and Finny. The war and the question of whether or not to enlist are omnipresent worries in the minds of the boys at the Devon School in New Hampshire. Although World War II is a major conflict in the novel, the various forms of strife it symbolizes are much more significant in the development of Knowles’ story. World War II symbolizes denial in many forms. For much of the novel, Finny refuses to believe that the war actually exists, referring to the combat as “nothing more than a ploy concocted by fat, old, wealthy men” (Adney…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gene and Finny are a prime example of how friendships are always cheerful. The theme of friendship is significant in A Separate Peace because it emphasizes the jealousy between Gene and Finny, it shows how friendship is forced to change overtime, and it makes the boys show who they truly are. Jealousy between Gene and Finny almost separates them at times.…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays