Preview

Phineas's Role In A Separate Peace

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
220 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Phineas's Role In A Separate Peace
Knowles is trying to comment that it is not possible to stay young and free as it is dangerous. Life is a survival of the fittest, and Phineas’s naivete ultimately leads him to his demise, because he cannot accept the reality of the war and the accident. Phineas undergoes three stages before acceptance: 1. denial, 2. anger, and 3. acceptance. He denies to accept the war’s existence and Gene’s role in his injury. Phineas believes it is better to be ignorant of Gene’s role in the accident because he does not want to doubt his friendship with Gene. He is also angry because he is forced to acknowledge the facts he has been avoiding and ignoring. He acts irrationally due to anger, like breaking his leg again by falling down the stairs. In the end,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Character Analysis: A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    As he losses his innocence he starts to lose himself, in this case to Phineas. His actions start to speak for him when he pushes Phineas of the tree it reveals a new side of him no one knew he had. Although he is in denial for a very long time he eventually reveals the truth. The challenges and experiences that he faces helps him realize that to move on he needed to accept what he did wrong. He finally learns to accept himself and his friendship with Phineas. Although his innocence has vanished, his way of life…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    'A Separate Peace': Phineas Idealism
    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page

    'A Separate Peace': Phineas Idealism

    In the book A Separate Peace, Phineas is a character who exudes idealism, as is shown in the rules of his game Blitzball. The rules of Blitzball can essentially be summed up in the third and most important of Finny’s commandments: “You always win at sports” (35). This is an undisputed rule of Blitzball; there is no winner, and the only purpose the game serves is for the players to have fun. This is shown when the ball is thrown at Leper Lepellier and Leper is scared and refuses the ball. Instead of ignoring this and possibly making Leper upset, Finny says “The reciever can refuse a pass if he happens to chose to …….We call that that the Lepellier Refusal” (39). In this passage, Finny is obviously creating rules just for the happiness of one…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Separate Peace Chapter 1-5 Summary
    • 2936 Words
    • 12 Pages

    A Separate Peace Chapter 1-5 Summary

    CHAPTERS 1-5: • Narrator introduces himself as a detective and claims he craves truth but lies • Manipulates his suspects into giving in and giving him the confession he wants • His name is Adam Robert Ryan • He grew up Knocknaree, Ireland • Book opens and it is 1984 • His best friends were Peter Savage and Jamie Rowan • Went into the woods to play but did not return in time for tea and as the night dragged on their parents grew worried and finally called the police • Adam Ryan was the only one who was found: 4 gashes in his shirt, legs all cut up, shoes soaked in blood, petrified and in shock • No DNA testing in Ireland at the time but blood is believed to be from a 4th person • Jamie and Peter are never found • Adam moves to London for boarding…

    • 2936 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    A Separate Peace’ by John Knowles is a coming-of-age novel of two young boys, Gene and Finny who live in a dormitory. The story is set in the backdrop of World War II and looks at the trials and tribulations of growing up. The story is narrated in flashback through its protagonist Gene. Gene goes back to Devon and remembers prominent landmarks in his dorm from several years back. He also remembers the people and events associated with them, especially his best friend and foe, Finny.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Finny's Eulogy
    • 675 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Finny's Eulogy

    Another thing unique to Phineas was his purity. It was once said that, “The truly innocent are those who not only are guiltless themselves, but who think others are.” Finny was not only sure of his own decency but of everyone else’s. He had the ability to see the good in everyone and everything. I admired Finny’s pureness to the point of envy because I realized I was not of the same quality as he. He was…

    • 675 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    In “A Separate Peace”,John Knowles shares his experience,and nerves throughout pages in the first chapter. He explains how frightened he was and also joy of old memories. As stated on page 10 “I felt fears echo, and along with that I felt the unhinged uncontrollable joy which had broken out sometimes in those days like Northern Lights across the black sky.” This is shows his feeling when he first comes across the school, which is fearful, but deep down, he seeks joy from past experiences. Some of his good experiences are shown earlier in the chapter and he reveals some of his past.…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis
    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

    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.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phineas 'Change In John Knowles' A Separate Peace
    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Phineas 'Change In John Knowles' A Separate Peace

    We see Gene go through a major change throughout the novel. Phineas is the key influential element of this change. Finny got into trouble easy, and he got out of trouble as fast as he got into it. “a model boy who was most comfortable in the truant’s corner” (Knowles 23). Finny was the type of kid teachers got a kick out of. He was the essence of the feeling of peace even with the world war. The pink shirt. Boys wearing pink in the 1940s was unheard of, unmanly. Though he didn't take any mind to it. He wore it as an “emblem” to celebrate the war. Gene felt envy towards this. Finny was the only person who could wear something like that with full confidence. “There was no harm in envying your best friend a little” (Knowles 25).…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace By John Knowles: Character Analysis
    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Separate Peace By John Knowles: Character Analysis

    The most significant of these troubles is, without a doubt, Gene’s struggle with his own identity. At first Gene is displeased with his personality, or lack thereof. He envies his best friend, Phineas’ (Finny’s), wit, charm, and leadership. Throughout the book, Gene repeatedly finds himself acting like his friend, a transformation occurring that Gene is unaware of. There are a number of significant transformations within this story. Phineas is transformed from an active athlete into a cripple after his accident and then sets out to transform Gene in his place. This change is the beginning process by which Gene’s identity begins to blur into Finny’s, a transformation symbolized by Gene’s putting on Finny’s clothes one evening soon after the accident. “I washed the traces off me and then put on a pair of chocolate brown slacks, a pair in which Phineas had been particularly critical of when he wasn’t wearing them, and a blue flannel shirt” (78). This is the first time in the book that we notice just how much Gene is codependent on Phineas, even when he is…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phineas 'Innocence In John Knowles' A Separate Peace
    • 205 Words
    • 1 Page

    Phineas 'Innocence In John Knowles' A Separate Peace

    One example of a major scene of Gene with Phineas is when they were the first people at their age ever at Devon to jump out of the…

    • 205 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In A Separate Peace By John Knowles
    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Jealousy In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    Because Gene was so suspicious of his friends being a revival it made him feel guilty and very ashamed of his actions and what he did to someone who honestly didn't deserve it at all. "and I thought we were competitors, it was so ludicrous I wanted to cry" (Knowles 58). Gene knows that Phineas is his friend and Gene also knows that Phineas isn't the kind of person who wouldn't put competition before friendship. Gene knows this so well that he thought it was silly that he ever assumed they were competitors, he wanted to cry about…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis
    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

    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.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Seperate Peace- Alter Ego
    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Seperate Peace- Alter Ego

    One night, before the society’s ritual tree jump, Phineas decides that instead of going one at a time, that Gene should join him up on the tree limb and they should jump together. At first Gene believes that Phineas is trying to sabotage his grades in school, and believes that the friendship the boys share is really a…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Rivalry in a Separate Peace
    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Rivalry in a Separate Peace

    <br>In the early pages of the novel, Finny confesses that Gene is his best friend. This is considered a courageous act as the students at Devon rarely show any emotion. And rather than coming back with similar affection, Gene holds back and says nothing. Gene simply cannot handle the fact that Finny is so compassionate, so athletic, so ingenuitive, so perfect. As he put it, "Phineas could get away with anything." (p. 18) In order to protect himself from accepting Finny's compassion and risking emotional suffering, Gene creates a silent rivalry with Finny, and convinced himself that Finny is deliberately attempting to ruin his schoolwork. Gene decides he and Finny are jealous of each other, and reduces their friendship to cold trickery and hostility. Gene becomes disgusted with himself after weeks of the silent rivalry. He finally discovers the truth, that Finny only wants the best for Gene, and had no hidden evil intentions. This creates a…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A separate peace: how Gene changed

    • 964 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A separate peace: how Gene changed

    In the beginning of the story, Gene was jealous of his best friend. He of envious of how attractive, athletic and how Phineas can get away with anything. “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little.”(Page 9 online) That feeling of jealousy soon became stronger and stronger and thinking of Phineas getting caught pleased him. “This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that.” (Pg. 10 online) This envious sensation even led to thinking Phineas was trying to ruin his grades, by distracting him, and that Phineas was jealous of Gene too. However, after confronting Phineas, Gene realizes Phineas never meant to hurt him, and that feeling made Gene want to be like Phineas. That’s exactly what happened. At first, Gene simply put on Finny’s infamous pink shirt to feel at peace, “I never forgot, and that evening I put on his cordovan shoes, his pants, and I looked for and finally found his pink shirt, neatly laundered in a drawer.” (Pg. 29 online) Later on, Gene actually became Phineas, from thinking like Phineas to feeling like Finny’s funeral was his own. “I did not cry then or ever about Finny. I did not cry even when I stood watching him being lowered into his family's strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case. “ (Pg. 104 online) It shows the revolution of Gene’s feelings towards…

    • 964 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics