Separate but equal

A constant theme of a Separate Peace is the fall of friendship. The bond between the two main characters, Gene and Finny becomes tested when their friendship is attacked. Gene becomes challenged with various inner battles, while Finny, his athletic career revoked, has been forced to find acceptability and incitement elsewhere. Furthermore, the book commences in the midst of WWII. This effects everyday life for the boys, it includes stress and tension all around them. The intensities of war show…

A Separate Peace We all become both witnesses and victims of protagonists and antagonists, in our daily life. The most challenging part, is deciphering between them. When we fail to do that, we can fall into a dark hole of misery, and make preposterous decisions. In John Knowles A Separate Peace, Finny is the real antagonist, as he leads his friend, Gene down a troubled path; he emotionally scars Gene and forever changes the course of his own life. During World War II, personalities clash,…

In the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles utilizes the three levels of war, interpersonal, internal, and international, to influence and develop the protagonist’s character. Gene, the main protagonist, has internal conflicts as well as interpersonal conflicts with his best friend Finny during their stay at the Devon School. Firstly, John Knowles uses the interpersonal war of jealousy between Finny and Gene to drive Gene’s character development. When Finny has dressed in a bright pink shirt and…

As with many novels, there are an extensive amount of ways that one could interpret the story A Separate Peace by John Knowles. In Gene Forrester's narration, his actions and thoughts, as well as his reflection of those times in his past, portray multiple meanings that are underlying in the plot. From the past to the present, it can be seen how Gene has changed, grown separate from who he was back then. There are also the many examples of good and especially evil which are seen throughout. The…

First of all, Finny dies because of Gene’s sin. When Gene visits Leper, Leper is the first to accuse him of making Finny fall out of the tree, “… you knocked Finny out of the tree.” (145). Gene symbolizes Judas because he betrayed Finny. His betrayal resulted in Finny’s death. Also, Brinker symbolizes Pontius Pilate. Brinker holds the trial which ends in Finny falling down the stairs. Brinker is partially responsible for Finny’s death. In addition, Gene is only able to forgive himself because…

A Separate Peace: Betrayal A Separate Peace has many themes represented through the duration of the book. One of John Knowles most expressed themes is betrayal. Knowles does so through various literary devices and techniques. Knowles’ setting is a tremendous contributor to the betrayal between Gene and Phineas (Finny). While Gene Forrester is at Devon there is a numerous amount of foreshadowing being used. The war, the steps, and even the tree are examples of foreshadowing being…

A Separate Peace Final Essay The portrayal of friendship in A Separate Peace by John Knowles remains significant and [a]relevant to present day. Persistently and tenaciously, the war controls the Devon school’s atmosphere, leaving students solemn and teachers austere. Desperate and afraid, students attempt to cope individually with the decision to enlist, while Finny and Gene manage together with the foundations of their strong comradeship. However, with just as much assertion, internal…

“Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist” (Emerson 370). A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age novel by John Knowles during the World War II at Devin school, 1942. Gene a, 5’8 sixteen year old, returns to his childhood school for peace. Also as the narrator, Gene struggles with internal emotions toward his friend and identifying who he truly is. A Separate Peace demonstrates how Gene envy and imitation affect himself and his relationship with Finny; Gene finds peace. Gene’s envy and…

Discovering One’s Self: Identity as a Theme Within Of Water and The Spirit by Malidoma Patrice Somé Malidoma Somé’s memoir, Of Water and the Spirit, details the life and coming of age of a young boy abducted from his Dagara village in Burkina Faso to be immersed in the White man’s Jesuit seminary school. The book explores the dichotomy of two cultures: European and Dagara, which although seemingly contradictory, coexist within Malidoma Somé. Somé struggles endlessly with self-identity in his…

In chapter 1 of A Separate Peace, the narrator, whom has yet to be named, begins telling of when he last visited his school of his high school years, which happened to be during World War II. It had been fifteen years since his last appearance. On his trip of touring the school for the first time since his departure, he had wanted to see two specific places. One of these places turns out to be a tree near the edge of a river, where he and his friends, more specifically his best friend, Phineas…