Telgen states John Knowles was born on 16 September 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia. At the age of fifteen, Knowles attended New Hampshire's prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy. The Devon school, where most of the actions of A Separate Peace take place, is based on Phillips Exeter.…
One of the most asked questions for A Separate Peace is: who exactly is the protagonist and antagonist? Most would agree that Gene is the protagonist, however is it Gene or Phineas that is the enemy? I believe that the real ‘bad guy’ in this book is Gene. He envied Phineas from the very beginning but didn’t admit it until a little later on. Whether it was getting away from trouble, having a natural athletic ability, or simply being modest and humble about things, Phineas seemed to have been better at almost everything.…
Everyday there is somebody fighting a war, be it with themselves or with outside forces. Wars can be started over even the smallest things such a jealousy or huge things like the pursuit of freedom. In a Separate Peace by John Knowles, we are shown a theme of war and rivalry. The theme is shown throughout the story in many ways, such as; Lepers was with himself over his insecurities and fears, Finny and Genes constant competition, Genes internal war with his actions, and Brinker Hadley’s internal war that creates the hostility that he pushes onto everyone else.…
Through out the novel, A Separate Peace, by Jonathan Knowles, a conflict between innocence and guilt is revealed. Gene Forrest, the narrator of the story returns to his school Devon, thirty years later to face the haunting memories of a past love-hate relationship. Though many people would argue the fact that Gene's character was not redeemed by the end of the novel, I on the other hand personally hold the opinion that Gene's character was.…
Maturity: One of the most prominent and outspoken theme in A Separate Peace is the struggle the young adult population must endure during their race to maturity from childhood. The reader can tell that it is difficult for the main characters to cope with the war, especially Finny, who refuses to admit the war actually exists, although deep down his true belief is that the war is more dangerous than ever. To be frank, the boys in the novel seem to have grown up in a very sheltered environment, and their maturity level is low to begin with. However, the constant pressure to become a man, join the army, and contribute to one’s country causes the race to maturity to be a key theme.…
The novel “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles focuses on numerous divergent themes throughout the book. Some of the themes in the book involve the the coming of age, acquiring responsibility as you grow older, and how you should always speculate before you do, because it could severely change your life for the worse. The author also uses numerous literary elements, techniques, and stylistic choices to convey the central idea he has intended for his work.…
In the book A Separate Peace written by John Knowles the main character attends an all boys school. The book is set during World War One and explains how life and how the boys at the school are effected. There are two main themes in the book and they are jealousy and friendship. The two themes are actually mainly between two friends that attend Devon. The two themes show up several times throughout the entire book. The two boys both experience the to themes and both have to over come their jealousy and keep their friendship…
Betrayal, one of the most horrible things you could do to anyone your family, a friend anyone. To me it’s one of my all time most hated things a person could do and it’s almost unforgivable. In this book A Separate Peace by John Knowles two boys Phineas and Gene who are best friends at a boarding school in New Hampshire experience some of the worst kinds of Betrayal you could think of. Gene commits a very bad betrayal when he jousts the tree limb they are both standing on ending up with Finny falling and badly breaking his leg. This was no accident because Gene can’t stand the guilt.…
I think the French Wars of Religion was more about religious differences because ever since the French nobles became Calvinists, they would show independence from the central power. It created the conflict between Catholics and Calvinists where power was the main struggle making religion become a way bigger issue. The last of the wars would be the war of the Three Henry’s where it showed the overall religious differences between the Catholics and the Protestants. Which this was between Henry III and Henry of Guise versus Henry IV.…
A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is a novel that takes place during the time of World War Two at a preparatory school in New Hampshire called Devon. The two biggest characters are Gene Forrester and his best friend Phineas and the differences between the two boys demonstrate how difficult friendship can be. Especially with the added struggle of finding personal identities while the war is present. But the envy Gene has for Finny complicated the boundaries between Gene’s personality and Phineas’. This question of identity is the center of the novel and created the theme of the creation of inner enemies as well as competition and the symbol the tree.…
Symbolism started as a loosely organized literary and artistic movement that originated with a group of French poets in the late 1800s. Within a century, symbolism will become a big influence on European and American literature. In the novel A Separate Peace, two rivers that are described are the Devon and the Naguamsett. The Devon river was filled with fresh water, flowed past hills, highland farms, and forests, passed the school grounds, then went over a little waterfall into the Neguamsett. The Naguamsett River was ugly, saline, fringed with marsh and seaweed, and its course ended in the ocean. These rivers and the relationship between the two have many important symbolic meaning in the novel. One interpretation of the rivers is Gene as…
In essence, a thing is characterized as an object having both physical and physiological components. As cliché as it seems, a picture has a thousand words. Although a person’s eyes tend to produce the same image over and over again, he or she will see things in a different perspective every time. In time, a person’s perspective on certain things will change overtime no matter how set in stone the status-quo is. Personal experiences play a large role in shaping someone’s outlook on things. In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, Gene states, “So the more things remain the same, the more they change after all” (Knowles 6). This quote is being used as much older and mature Gene returns to Devon and reflects upon his childhood at the school. Although Devon looks physically the same to Gene as it did 15 years ago, he comes to realization that his view of the school and the things inside of it have changed.…
Religion is one of the complex issues in the world. The aspects of religion diversity elaborate on how the society is diverse, which should be embraced. One of the debatable issues in the world today is whether religion causes war in the world. Other belief that religion is important in society and does not cause war. On the other hand, there are people who believe that religion causes war. Religion entails a collection of world views on humanity, beliefs, and cultural systems that focus on the order of existence. In the general perspective, religion has some aspects that cause war in society.…
Virtually every aspect of life in virtually every human society changed in some fundamental way or another during the twentieth century and for the first time, any individual could influence the course of history no matter their background. Arguably, the 20th century re-shaped the face of the planet in more ways than any previous century.…
Firstly, it is important to provide some sort of outline of what the term peace itself means. During my research I came across the notes of the Irenees’ Peace workshop held in South Africa in May 2007. According to these documents Peace does not mean the total absence of any conflict. It means the absence of violence in all forms and the unfolding of conflict in a constructive way. Peace therefore exists where people are interacting non-violently and are managing their conflict positively – with respectful attention to the legitimate needs and interest of all concerned. In terms of explaining the difference of negative and Positive peace this definition seemed the most appropriate.…