Phillip Crosby

“ When you love something it loves you back in whatever way it has to love” (Knowles, pg. 111). The novel A Separate Peace focuses on the special bond between the two main characters, Gene and Phineas. Although these two have little in common, they stick together and often obsess over one another. This leads the reader to believe that there are ulterior motives in relation to their close friendship. The relationship between Gene and Phineas is one more than normal friendship because of the…

In the novel A separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene and Finny avoid the harsh realities of life. In the novel, Gene denies that he hurt his best friend, Finny. Finny denies that there is a war to create a fantasy world. Also Finny denies that Gene intentionally tried to hurt him. Gene and finny avoid the harsh realities of life in many ways. As we know Gene and Finny avoids the harsh realities of life. Gene does not accept the truth of him hurting Phineas. In the text, it states that ‘“then…

The idea of a partial person is not a new thing, nor is it a literary device that belongs solely to a singular author or genre. A person that suffers from physical, mental or spiritual un-wholeness usually serves an important role in the plot. An un-wholeness creates interest as it has a story; blank canvas often says more than a damaged one. Literature uses the idea of partiality just as any other art form does. Dickens’ pulls on heart strings in A Christmas Carol with the crippled Tiny Tim,…

Foreshadowing in Owen Meany (612-617) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving gifts us with the story of Owen Meany, a small, miraculous boy with a big mission. Owen Meany knows that he is ‘god’s instrument’. He later finds out, in a dream, when he is going to die, how he is going to die, and he is going to die a hero. The story offers a great deal of foreshadowing. The main idea that has foreshadowing are things being ‘armless’. Some of these items that are armless include: Owen, the…

Literary Analysis of A Separate Peace What do you think the most and the most meaningful theme or themes for you? In this book—A Separate Peace—it talks a lot about friendship between Finny and Gene, who are the main characters and have diverse personalities for each of them in the book. However, even though they have different personalities, they maintained a very positive friendship, which didn’t long too. Later in the book, they have some conflicts that lead to their end because one of the…

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…

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…

Annalyse Potter Kiernan per. 1 A Separate Peace Characters featured in books or written pieces are very similar to people in this modern day life. Rivalries are extremely common when it comes to both fiction and nonfiction. To be more specific, a rivalry is another way of expressing competition. In A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, Gene and Finny show many examples of competition throughout their friendship during the book. Chapter 4 represents a time where their rivalry was at it's…

Kyle Kennedy Nordsiek Honors American Literature 12 October 2015 Expectations Versus Reality in A Prayer for Owen Meany Throughout A Prayer for Owen Meany, events often do not play out as the characters originally intended or predicted. This motif – that “nothing bears out in practice what it promises incipiently” – is one of the most important motifs in the novel, and it is realized through several major events. Three components of the book are significant examples of this motif: Johnny’s…

In an ever changing world, what is promised initially may not always go as planned when it is put to the test. John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, tells the story of Johnny Wheelwright, a boy growing up in Gravesend, New Hampshire, struggling with identity and faith. But one cannot tell the story of Johnny Wheelwright without including Owen Meany, the tiny, dwarflike boy who is the only reason Johnny believes in God. Owen is a major spiritual character and his actions have direct correlations…