Essay about Finding Peace in A Separate Peace by John...

Finding Peace Peace only comes at the price of great struggle and sacrifice for most people. In essence, it only comes when you have defeated the enemy, or the enemy has defeated you. John Knowles was able to capture the subtle goal and essence of his novel by titling it A Separate Peace. A Separate Peace is a story about Gene Forrester, the protagonist of the story, and his constant struggle with the underlying emotional conflicts presented to him. He has to fight a war within his own mind that every man has to fight for himself. His battles eventually uproot underlying emotions of jealousy, envy towards his friends. These emotions then set off a series of events that change his life forever, and he has to fight more for peace amidst a†¦show more content†¦Phineas always represented an uninterrupted flow of strength and energy, like a river with nothing capable of changing its current speed. Not even rules were able to stop Finny’s consistent serenity. Even though Phineas was very fond of breaking the rules, he did it in a way that not even the Head Masters were able to resist siding with him. Throughout the book, no major emotional reactions are displayed by Phineas. In the novel, he did not reveal any change of emotions until the confession after the mock trial at the end of the book. His attitude was a polar opposite of Gene. Gene was in a constant conflict with himself. Gene acted with his emotions—anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, and guilt—while Phineas remained in constant control of himself. It is this unending flow that not only hints at his peace, but also proves he is the human manifestation of it. â€Å"Don’t be a sap...there isn’t any war.† After his return to Devon, Finny thinks up a conspiracy theory that denounces that there was a war going on. With this, John Knowles blatantly reveals his metaphor of a separate peace, because it is only Phineas who announces this theory beacuse he is at peace. While war hysteria is constantly enveloping his peers, he denies any idea of a war going on, and tries to resurrect the freedom of worries experienced in the Summer Session. Phineas begins aShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of A Separate Peace1309 Words   |  6 PagesSeparating Peace Character By Character A Separate Peace is a novel based around a group of high school boys in a private college preparatory school named Devon. Most of Devon’s students want, have, and search for peace throughout their time at school. Upon return from summer break, each character searches for and discovers their own peace. Each character has found or withheld a certain peace, in real life. Each separate peace is exposed throughout fatal or cheerful events. The words separate and peaceRead MoreA Separate Peace, by John Knowles Essay736 Words   |  3 PagesPeople frequently betray others because of the evil in their hearts. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses the pureness of the rakish Finny to portray the savage or bad side of the vulpine Gene. He also uses it to prove that peace is exceedingly difficult to acquire until a person accepts the ignorance in their own heart. That means that acceptance is the key to finding peace. Thus, Gene finds his peace when Finny forgives him and when Ge ne learns to forgive himself as well. Gene assumes thatRead More Genes Development in John Knowles A Separate Peace Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesGenes Development in John Knowles A Separate Peace Throughout life, there is always a person who one strives to beat, be better than or rise above. Little does each of them know that in the end the two actually make each other stronger. In John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace (1959), he addresses just this. The novel, told from Gene Forresters point of view, is based on a friendship and rivalry between him and his friend, Finny, during World War II. The two sixteen year olds attend DevonRead MoreNo Man s Knowledge Can Go Beyond His Experience1393 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"No man s knowledge ... can go beyond his experience.† John Locke once stated that for the human race to acquire knowledge, they must experience different things. Without doing, seeing, feeling, smelling, or hearing, man cannot learn. When a child is born, it is innocent. At that time, the child has no knowledge, as this must be attained as it grows and learns. A newborn child also is born without a hint of evil in it. As the child has not been through anyt hing in life, there is no chance for itRead MoreA 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 Essay examples1290 Words   |  6 PagesBrittany Schafer September 21, 2012 Period 4 A Separate Peace Final Draft In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, it relates to a complicated friendship of two young boys Gene and Phineas. Gene is jealous of Phineas’ achievements and lets his anger destroy their relationship. The boys at Devon in the summer of 1942 have to deal with the fear World War II brings. Each time the boys feel safe and peaceful, reality sets in and reminds them of the warfare around them. The boy’s mentalRead 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 dangerousRead MoreDependent Personality Disorder : A Separate Peace2447 Words   |  10 Pagescommonly misdiagnosed as Avoidant Personality Disorder, or APD (Faith). 43% of people that are diagnosed with APD also meet the diagnostic criteria for DPD (Faith). 59% of people diagnosed with DPD meet the criteria for APD (Faith). In the novel A Separate Peace, the main character Gene Forrester encounters dependent personality disorder, and also struggles with some of the symptoms himself. A personality disorder is an inflexible and is usually an unhealthy way of thinking or behaving (Carey). DependentRead MoreA Separate Peace1959 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 of 1942, he becomes close friends with his daredevil roommate Finny. Finny is able to convince Gene into making aRead MoreAnalysis Of The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini And A Separate Peace2096 Words   |  9 PagesOption 10 17 November 2014 Human Nature in A Separate Peace and The Kite Runner A person’s identity is what determines who he really is. His personality, behavior, and inherent characteristics are what makes one’s identity. Many people, mostly in their teenage years, have obstacles obstructing their views of who they really are on the inside, and their true human nature. In the novels The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main protagonists have a difficult time