Solange Knowles

those people is Gene Forrester, a prep student at the prestigious Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II. Gene grows tremendously as a person and eventually becomes the perfect leading character for the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, and its underlying themes. At the beginning of the novel, his conformist personality, uncomfortability in his own skin, and inability and unwillingness to express his feelings openly and directly makes him appear like a flawed leading character;…

Princeton High School vs. Devon School A school is defined as an institution dedicated the education of children. John Knowles’ coming-of-age novel, A Separate Peace, brought to life the characters Gene and Phineas. The two boys are attending a preparatory school located in New Hampshire at the time of World War II. Knowles’ fictional school set years ago is unlike public school in the modern age. Princeton High School is a public school located in Princeton, Minnesota. It is interesting to…

it is gone, it is very difficult to get back. This holds true to Gene and Phineas, or Finny, in John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace. Throughout the novel, Gene’s trust in Phineas waivers constantly, for no good reason other than his own cynicism and jealousy. He was jealous of Phineas’ athletic ability and charm over the faculty and students at The Devon School. With their relationship, Knowles demonstrates that people’s individual jealousy, insecurities, and perhaps confusion in one’s identity…

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…

“I always try to make the setting fit the story I have in mind.” - Author Tony Hillerman. A Separate Peace by John Knowles is about a group of boys at an all boys boarding school called Devon during WWII and their hardships as their easy going summer session ways change into the winter war-stricken ways. The setting of the book influences many of the boys to behave differently than they would if there was no war going on. The setting is a major factor in what kind of a person someone becomes,…

Throughout the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the characters Gene, Finny, and Leper struggle against the effects of World War II on their final year of youth. Finny and Gene share the freedom of jumping out of a tree together daily, which eventually comes to an end when Gene shakes the branch and causes Finny to fall and shatter his leg. After this incident, Finny is restrained by his cast and Gene is restrained by guilt. Leper is restrained by the war, and he frees himself by…

I dislike Phineas, because he is a bad influence to Gene and leads him to make poor decisions that he wouldn't have made on his own. In the first chapter, Finny convinces Gene to jump off the tree. While Gene is on the branch, Finny yells "You can't stand around admiring the view. Jump!"(17) and Gene does, and makes his first dangerous decision, against his better judgement. In chapter 2, Gene jumps off the tree again, still under pressure by Finny. Although he makes it out unscathed, he almost…

In John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, the author focuses on the painful and sometimes difficult transition to adulthood in an adolescent character named Gene Forrester. Gene has a nonconformist friend called Phineas, or Finny, who is extremely physically talented, but does not do well in school. Gene, on the other hand, is very conventional, does well in school, and always follows the rules. He becomes intensely jealous of Finny’s athletic talent and makes him fall out of a tree and shatter his…

Maya Patel Kerby English 5 15 October 2015 Friendship in A Separate Peace The novel by John Knowles, ASeparate Peace shows 2 young boys that go through many problems in their friendship. Their friendship goes thorough many things such as jealousy, identity, war, and competition. In the novel, John Knowles uses imagery, irony, and suspense to show the friendship of two sixteen year olds. First, Knowles uses imagery to show the oddly friendship Gene and Finny have at the beginning. “What was I…

Throughout A Separate Peace, John Knowles displays both the struggles and the special moments of having a true friendship. The main characters, Gene and Finny grow up despite their differences in personalities and opinions. This leading to some mishaps and misunderstandings. Friendship is needed in everyday life, however, it can also cause chaos between friends. From the very beginning, Knowles shows how friendship will be involved throughout the story. Knowles illustrated how Finny saves Gene’s…