A Separate Peace, Prompt seven A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a story told from the viewpoint of an older Gene Forrester as he reminisces on the past as he visits his old schoolhouse in Devon. Starting in the summer of 1942, he reflects on how fearful he was during the days of WW2 and how Devon is a close reminder of those days. He walks on the street through the schoolhouse, gymnasium, dormitories, and tennis courts, finally arriving at the river where he and his best friend Phineas, also known as Finny, would jump off a branch of a tree in awe of the others. As roommates they did everything together. Due to Finny’s carefree attitude they often got away with breaking school rules. The students of Devon’s 1942 summer represented the selfish
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The students older than them were drafted and they are supposed to be next. These boys spent the summer in careless innocence playing numerous games, such as blitzball, invented by Finny. The book moves on to when Finny falls from the tree by the Devon River and shatters his leg, making him unable to play sports ever again. This strengthens the bond between the two boys. The seasons change from the innocent, warm breezes of summer to the dark, foreboding winter. Gene now seeking to establish his own identity from Finny’s chooses to manage and is assigned a job for disabled people provoking a fight. Gene was left unsure if he was fighting for himself or for Finny who returned months later. Upon Finny’s arrival Gene refuses to enlist opting to stay by Finny’s side. Despite this bond Gene refuses to admit he caused Finny to fall resulting in Finny to break his leg a second time. While undergoing surgery some bone marrow enters Phineas’s bloodstream, causing his heart to stop, killing him. Later in the book the voice changes back to the older Gene and we learn that he never killed anyone in the war. His only enemy that he killed was at Devon. Finny’s childlike innocence led him to
The students older than them were drafted and they are supposed to be next. These boys spent the summer in careless innocence playing numerous games, such as blitzball, invented by Finny. The book moves on to when Finny falls from the tree by the Devon River and shatters his leg, making him unable to play sports ever again. This strengthens the bond between the two boys. The seasons change from the innocent, warm breezes of summer to the dark, foreboding winter. Gene now seeking to establish his own identity from Finny’s chooses to manage and is assigned a job for disabled people provoking a fight. Gene was left unsure if he was fighting for himself or for Finny who returned months later. Upon Finny’s arrival Gene refuses to enlist opting to stay by Finny’s side. Despite this bond Gene refuses to admit he caused Finny to fall resulting in Finny to break his leg a second time. While undergoing surgery some bone marrow enters Phineas’s bloodstream, causing his heart to stop, killing him. Later in the book the voice changes back to the older Gene and we learn that he never killed anyone in the war. His only enemy that he killed was at Devon. Finny’s childlike innocence led him to