John Knowles

Seeing is believing, or so many say, but what truly is “seeing”? John Knowles touches upon this subtle relationship between truth and illusions in his book A Separate Peace. The book describes the fictional life-story of, Gene, a teenage boy, and the trials and tribulations he undergoes with his so-called friend, Phineas, at Devon, the academy they attend. Knowles heightens the tension between the various characters in the book, by setting the story in 1942, deep in World War II, with confusion…

John Knowles’s novel, A Separate Peace, takes place in Devon Prep school in New Hampshire, at the beginning of WWII. A student there, Gene, accidently causes a tragic incident that involves his best friend, Finny. After the accident, Gene is unable to accept the truth, and hides behind Finny’s ignorance of the details of the event in hopes of continuing the peace between them. Through an unstable peace, Knowles displays that denying the truth can only lead to a precarious false sense of comfort.…

As Gene Forrester revels in his youthful life at Devon, the war becomes a constant reminder of maturity and adulthood, evincing the transformation that immerses Gene in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. First, Gene’s recollection of the mythical tree in his childhood, now seemingly insignificant after fifteen years, elicits a musing conviction with the stark change in perspective. Insisting that "nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence,” Gene implies that the crime of…

During Gene’s time at Devon, he faced many internal conflicts. Most of which consisted in forms of raging envy for Finny’s unconditional talent for any sport, good looks, and popularity. Instead of accepting the fact that Finny was simply a better human and leaning his focus onto self-improvement, he concluded that Finny must be jealous too. Gene wanted to excel at something related to how Finny had exceeded.Wistfully Gene’s plan later resulted in Phineas’ death; therefore, he clearly did not…

happiness. What really defines paradise and when does it end? Playwright Arthur Miller once stated, “Paradise [is]... the absence of any need to choose... action.” Furthermore, he claimed, “Paradise ends [and] innocence ends... where choice begins.” In John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace, Leper, a vulnerable young boy attending the Devon school endures the loss of paradise as he experiences the impacts of World War II. Surrounded by soldiers and war propaganda, Leper is faced with many…

In 1959, John Knowles authored a novel named A Separate Peace. Knowles writes about a student, Gene, and his relations with his best friend, Finny, an athletic superstar. They had both attended a boarding school, named Devon, in 1942 the height of World War II. Throughout his novel, Knowles incorporates many themes. One of the themes in Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, is that when someone believes that s/he is engaged in a personal battle against, another person, s/he is not at peace.…

solid and deeply meaningful world around me.¨ (Knowles 186) In a book the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles two boys Gene and Finny are supposed best friends, but there is a rivalry that lies between them. As the book goes on Gene expresses his feelings of identity and jealousy within himself and towards Finny. The book setting is right at the beginning of WWII. Along with the physical war taking place, there is a war between these two boys. John Knowles uses universal themes such as…

In the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles writes about two best friends who went to a boarding school called Devon during the early years of the civil war. Knowles uses a variety of literary devices in order to convey that jealousy can lead to regretful decisions. Furthermore, Knowles reveals jealousy can lead to regretful decisions through characterization. For instance, Knowles writes, “Sure Finny wanted to share everything with me, especially his procession of D’s in every subject. That way…

wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.” * A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, features two boys (Finny and Gene) who attend a prep school during World War II. In the novel, Gene provides a perfect example of a teenager’s search for identity. In the beginning of the book, Gene begins admiring Finny. “He got away with everything because of the extraordinary kind of person he was.” (Knowles, 21) However, that admiration turned into envy, but that’s normal for best…

A Separate Peace Essay Prompt: Discuss how the setting of the novel helps reveal the character of Finny or the narrator. A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a realistic fiction. The novel takes place at the school of Devon during World War II. It follows two boys, Finny and Gene, as their friendship rises and falls and how it shapes them into the people they are. It shows how they change as people and the struggle of growing up. Gene’s own feelings and actions impact the way the story goes and…