Jealousy Essay
Nicole Hoard
Literature 9
Mrs. Fitz
March 4, 2012
Jealousy
Karl Kraus once said, “Jealousy is a dogs bark, which attracts thieves.” In this quote Karl is trying to express that jealousy is a trap. Once you become jealous, it attracts all kinds of bad events or actions. Jealousy can push people to do things, which they would normally never do. The young boys in the books A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, Waiting For the Rain, by Shelia Gordon, and Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, become very fond of the “attacks” of jealousy. In these books jealousy is a key factor in what defines the relationships, and how they are destroyed. In the book A Separate Peace, the best friends, Gene and Finny, are first hand witnesses to how jealousy can break apart two people. Gene really starts to dislike how easy Finny seems to have it. You can see Gene’s feelings in the quote, “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” (Knowles 50). Gene realizes that he is being hateful and envious of Finny so much that he tries to justify his actions by saying that it was “perfectly normal”. Also, Gene wanted to see Finny get in trouble, “This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that” (Knowles 76). This quote expresses how much it is bothering Gene that Finny gets away with everything; so much that he is excited to see him get busted. Later on in the book Gene starts to scheme, ‘but examinations were at hand. I wasn't as ready for them as I wanted to be. The Suicide Society continued to meet every evening, and I continued to attend, because I didn't want Finny to understand me as I understood him” (Knowles 89). Gene is thinking ahead about everything that he could possibly do to beat Finny in just one thing. Gene has become obsessed with the idea of himself doing
Literature 9
Mrs. Fitz
March 4, 2012
Jealousy
Karl Kraus once said, “Jealousy is a dogs bark, which attracts thieves.” In this quote Karl is trying to express that jealousy is a trap. Once you become jealous, it attracts all kinds of bad events or actions. Jealousy can push people to do things, which they would normally never do. The young boys in the books A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, Waiting For the Rain, by Shelia Gordon, and Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, become very fond of the “attacks” of jealousy. In these books jealousy is a key factor in what defines the relationships, and how they are destroyed. In the book A Separate Peace, the best friends, Gene and Finny, are first hand witnesses to how jealousy can break apart two people. Gene really starts to dislike how easy Finny seems to have it. You can see Gene’s feelings in the quote, “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” (Knowles 50). Gene realizes that he is being hateful and envious of Finny so much that he tries to justify his actions by saying that it was “perfectly normal”. Also, Gene wanted to see Finny get in trouble, “This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that” (Knowles 76). This quote expresses how much it is bothering Gene that Finny gets away with everything; so much that he is excited to see him get busted. Later on in the book Gene starts to scheme, ‘but examinations were at hand. I wasn't as ready for them as I wanted to be. The Suicide Society continued to meet every evening, and I continued to attend, because I didn't want Finny to understand me as I understood him” (Knowles 89). Gene is thinking ahead about everything that he could possibly do to beat Finny in just one thing. Gene has become obsessed with the idea of himself doing