Interacting with one’s surroundings allows individuals to obtain a better understanding of the world. Humans learn new information everyday just by having a conversation with another person. Communication between others is the key to discovering what they are like. Interactions not only help but can also create conflict. In literature, writers use connections with different characters to show conflicting motivations and thus bringing out a theme. The characters in A Separate Peace, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Metamorphosis show the effects of character interaction, bringing out significant themes.
In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the two main characters Phineas (Finny) and Gene are best friends show the theme of growing up. Finny is an energetic, athletic, cunning and handsome adolescent. He prefers sports over books and has a talent to talk his way out of any situation, “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything” (Knowles 25). Finny is the winner of many athletic awards and even breaks the school’s swimming record in one try. He invents a game called blitzball that focuses on endurance and strength. Gene, on the other hand, cares about studying and reading books. His main goal is to be the class valedictorian (Knowles 51). Gene also has a paranoid …show more content…
Interaction between other people allows a better understanding of them. In A Separate Peace, Gene and Finny’s friendship and rivalry shows the theme of growing up. Stanley and Blanche’s conflicting motivations in A Streetcar Named Desire reveal the theme of desire. Likewise in The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s action and thoughts toward his sister, Grete brings out the theme of disconnection between mind and body. Everyday conversations show the character of a person without having to really know them, showing how big and diverse the world
In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the two main characters Phineas (Finny) and Gene are best friends show the theme of growing up. Finny is an energetic, athletic, cunning and handsome adolescent. He prefers sports over books and has a talent to talk his way out of any situation, “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything” (Knowles 25). Finny is the winner of many athletic awards and even breaks the school’s swimming record in one try. He invents a game called blitzball that focuses on endurance and strength. Gene, on the other hand, cares about studying and reading books. His main goal is to be the class valedictorian (Knowles 51). Gene also has a paranoid …show more content…
Interaction between other people allows a better understanding of them. In A Separate Peace, Gene and Finny’s friendship and rivalry shows the theme of growing up. Stanley and Blanche’s conflicting motivations in A Streetcar Named Desire reveal the theme of desire. Likewise in The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s action and thoughts toward his sister, Grete brings out the theme of disconnection between mind and body. Everyday conversations show the character of a person without having to really know them, showing how big and diverse the world