A Separate Peace By John Knowles - 2220 Words

Crafted by author John Knowles in the late 1950’s, A Separate Peace is a heart-wrenching Bildungsroman narrated by a pensive Gene Forrester as he reflects upon trials and tribulations at his alma-mater, the Devon Boarding School. In an attempt to process the tragic loss of his best friend and coping with his own responsibility in his friend’s death, Gene returns to the campus to confront his progressive loss of Finny in both his plummet from the tree by the river to his tumble down the marble staircase. At a glance, Finny and Gene’s relationship appears to be a story of tragedy as Gene must forever carry the loss of his very best friend, but as the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Gene and Finny’s relationship before Finny’s accident was far from being black-and-white. Diving deeper into the text, Gene reveals his true feelings about Finny that fluctuate from Finny being an object of obsession to being a source of resentment. As the story is told from Gene’s point of view, the reader is submerged into the realm of Gene’s odd fascinations with Finny and the manifestations of his feelings of hatred and idolization as he acts out in odd ways, such as mimicking Finny’s facial expressions and clothing and developing conspiracy theories in which Finny is planning Gene’s academic downfall. Gradually, the picture painted of the teenage Gene Forrester of A Separate Peace becomes more and more distorted as Gene’s sanity is called into question. HisShow MoreRelatedA Separate Peace By John Knowles1792 Words   |  8 Pagesbut also in the Devon School of Prep. The book A Separate Peace by John Knowles is mostly about a boy, Gene, who is receiving his education and learning about how to become a soldier to fight in the second World War. He and his best pal, Finny, are both being forced to mature and grow up before being drafted to fight, but before that even happens Gene’s jealousy gets the best of him which will threaten his friendship. Throughout the novel John Knowles uses a great deal of literary elements to helpRead MoreA Separate Peace, by John Knowles1098 Words   |  5 Pagespeoples’ imaginations. Irrational assumptions, fears of the unknown, and the development of nonexistent threats allow the justification of these wars within the individuals. In A Separate Peace, wars such as these are seen between the characters and within the characters of Gene and Phineas. John Knowles’ A Separate Peace reveals Gene’s perceived war with Phineas and Phineas’ internal conflict with World War II to be intertwined with each other through Gene’s misunderstanding of Phineas and Phineas’Read MoreA Separate Peace, by John Knowles1079 Words   |  5 Pagesaggressive nature of the people often cause it to proceed without justification. In A Separate Peace, wars such as these are seen between the characters and within th e characters of Gene and Phineas. These wars can be thought of as figments of imagination, founded on irrational assumptions, fears of the unknown, and nonexistent threats. Regardless of their origin, the enemy is always daunting. John Knowles’ A Separate Peace reveals Gene’s perceived war with Phineas and Phineas’ internal conflict with WorldRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles1078 Words   |  5 PagesAs Stephen King once said, â€Å"Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.† John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace which is also a movie by Peter Yates, both have the same theme and plot, however, there are minor adaptations that are made to the movie which fail to capture the nature of the characters. A Separate Peace is set at a boys’ boarding school in New Hampshire during World War II. It is the story of Gene Forrester, and his confused feelingsRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles Essay1463 Words   |  6 Pages In A Separate Peace, a realistic fictional novel by John Knowles, World War 2 gradually encroaches upon and finally dominates life at Devon. The War is an ever present focus, if not focus then presence, that fell upon the students of Devon. That was the whole point wasn’t it? Train hard in a boarding school to prepare for war. The war impinged itself upon the school through the boys’ views, jargon, and also was brought to the school. World War II infringed Devon through the boys’ views. This canRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles1148 Words   |  5 PagesA Separate Peace by John Knowles: Boys to Men The boys at the Devon school, in the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, are World War II influenced by making them mature and grow up more quickly than they would have had there not been a war. The war makes some boys stronger and more ready for whatever life would bring, while in others it disables them to the point that they cannot handle the demands of life. This novel shows a â€Å"coming-of age† story, especially with three boys. Gene startsRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles1442 Words   |  6 PagesIn his novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles demonstrates that, to achieve adulthood, one must lose innocence and acknowledge this loss.      Ã‚  Ã‚   For instance, John Knowles uses Elwin ‘Leper’ Lepellier and his time in the military to show that one must lose innocence and accept this loss to reach adulthood. Leper is, according to Gene, in â€Å"a protective cloud of vagueness† (Knowles, p. 204). This allows him to remain innocent throughout his time at the Devon School, though, after a ski troop attemptsRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles1908 Words   |  8 Pages From juvenility to maturity, A Separate Peace combines classic American Literature with a thoughtful plot-line that is developed to affect the readers’ mind and heart. The author, John Knowles of Fairmont, West Virginia, had one clear purpose for writing this book. This purpose was to show the disastrous mental and physical problems which arise as the result of war, specifically the repercussions they have on the home front. A good lesson to learn from this book is that even a war three-thousandRead MoreA Sepa rate Peace By John Knowles1529 Words   |  7 Pagesgrow, seeing conflicting sides of good and evil. A Separate Peace by John Knowles narrates the story of young boys growing up with World War II as the backdrop. The war impacts them dramatically and is constantly thought about as they are coming of the age since they will soon be enlisted. However, not only are they living during an era of war but are also struggling with the war inside of themselves as they search for the truth within. Knowles depicts the ability of war to affect teenage boys inRead MoreA Separate Peace By John Knowles1810 Words   |  8 PagesIn John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace, it begins with the protagonist, Gene Forrester coming back to his alma mater the Devon School in New Hampshire. Wandering through the campus, Gene makes his way to a tall tree by the river; the reason for his return. From here he takes the reader back to the year 1942 during World War II when he was in high school. During the summer session ofthat year, he becomes close friends with his daredevil roommate Finny who is able to convince Gene into making a dangerous