some unknown evil inside them or does the world just slowly corrupt the innocent as they mature. In the novel A Separate Peace‚ the author‚ John Knowles uses a dual perspective on certain characters and events throughout the novel to help support the books main theme; the loss of innocence through growth into maturity. One example of this technique is seen through the comparison between the two rivers running on the Devon campus. "The Devon River represents goodness‚ beauty‚ even purity" (Mellard
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In John Knowle’s A Separate Peace‚ symbols are used to develop and advance the themes of the novel. One theme is the lack of an awareness of the real world among the students who attend the Devon Academy. The war is a symbol of the "real world"‚ from which the boys exclude themselves. It is as if the boys are in their own little world or bubble secluded from the outside world and everyone else. Along with their friends‚ Gene and Finny play games and joke about the war instead of taking it seriously
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Through his use of duality in A Separate Peace‚ John Knowles is attempting to convey to the reader that as we mature and come to realize who we are‚ we do many questionable things. It is not until we are older and reflect upon these things that we see what we have done and are able to accept responsibility for these actions. The narration of A Separate Peace alternates from the perspective of a younger Gene and an older Gene. Younger Gene’s opinion on life drastically changes as he grows as a
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A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age novel about two boys at boarding school and their friendship during World War II. There are three significant scenes of violence that occur in the novel; however‚ the core of the plot is based upon one. The first and most poignant is the incident where Gene‚ the narrator‚ jiggles the tree branch while he and Phineas‚ his best friend‚ are preparing to jump‚ causing Phineas to fall and break his leg. The next scene of violence is when Quackenbush calls Gene a lame
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Analysis on A Separate Peace 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. After graduating from Exeter‚ Knowles entered Yale University for the 1944 fall term before going into the U.S. Army Air Force. After being discharged from service‚ he returned to Yale
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22‚ 2013 A Separate Peace A Separate Peace‚ a fiction novel written by John Knowles‚ tells the story of a young man coming-of-age at an all-boys boarding school during World War II. The main character‚ Gene‚ struggles with who he is while his best friend‚ Phineas‚ is comfortable with himself. Gene creates a “friendly rivalry” in his mind between himself and Phineas‚ which does not actually exist. As the war becomes reality‚ so does Gene’s insecurities and ressntment toward Phineas. Gene’s actions
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The novel A Separate Peace focuses mainly around a 17 year old named Gene Forrester and his psychological development. The story is set in a boys boarding school in USA during World War II. There are four main boys in the novel and they all undergo major character changes through the story. One of them goes crazy‚ and the others experience severe attitude changes. Gene is caught right in the center of these changes. He is very close with all of the other three boys‚ and thus all of the changes affect
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A Separate Peace: The Descent into Adulthood “To the soul‚ there is hardly anything more healing than friendship” (Thomas Moore). In the young adult novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles‚ the main character‚ Gene‚ reminisces about his friends from high school and his most significant‚ vivid memories. The experiences Gene endures in high school result from each student’s apprehension of becoming enlisted in the ongoing war. This hidden sense of battle created within each boy gradually destroys
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Analysis of A Separate Peace 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
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2013 A Separate Peace Chapter 4 In chapter four the doppelgänger is starting to form. Gene is starting to believe that there is a deadly rivalry between Finny and him. Gene is striving to win the valedictorian which means he has to study hard. Gene thinks that when he wins valedictorian that Finny and him will finally be even. Gene asks Finny if he minds that Gene is trying to win valedictorian‚ Finny replies‚ “I’d kill myself out of jealous envy” (52). Gene believes this. Gene has a lot of
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