A "Separate Peace" (published in 1960) takes place during the Second World War in a New England Prep School called Devon (based on Phillips Exeter Academy). This is around the year 1943, the time period where teenagers had to make a decision, either to enlist or wait and be drafted. In this novel the author John Knowles gives a good understanding of the war. The main characters Gene and Finny are always struggling between the "separate peace" and the real war. Even thought the story doesn't take place in a war battlefield, it just takes place in school. The war in Europe took away the peace from the boys, affected them, and influenced them to be ready for what was coming to them.
The war encouraged Finny and the others to prepare for the war ahead of them. Finny created two games to imitate the real war. The first one was the "The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session." It was the "entrenched institution of the Devon school" (pg.25) and "They signed up as "trainees" on the spot." (pg.25). It was like a real war institution for training soldiers to jump of boats or planes that were about to get bombed. The second game was called Blitzball. During its invention Bobby Zane said, "Let's make it have something to do with the war." (pg.29). So Finny invents this game which is something like football, where you knock the enemy with the ball, just like the real war where you also go after your enemy. So Finny invented these two games to substitute the war.
Gene was the one that felt the reality of the war. His four years in school was the war for him. He says, "For me, this moment-four years is a moment in history-was the war. The war was and is reality for me." (pg.32). Through the whole four years he felt the reality of the war. At the end of the story he says:.
"I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.
So they created a separate peace. ... Finny found his separate peace within his denial. ... This is where Gene and Finny find a separate peace. ... He wished to clear his separate peace. ... Given these facts, Gene received his separate peace through Finny. ...
Separate Peace In John Knowles book A Separate Peace he communicates how the war in him was taking its toll on him. ... (Knowles, 32) This is what Gene stands for in the book A Separate Peace. ... This is the start of a separate peace. ... This is like Finny's world of a separate peace. ... Finny has created a separate peace at Devon that he substitutes for the real war. ...
A Separate Peace is a mind riveting novel dealing with adolescent development and one boy's struggle to understand himself and the world in times of turmoil. ... I feel that the novel A Separate Peace is truly focused on two wars. ... I think it is interesting that John Knowles named his novel A Separate Peace. "A separate peace" refers to the Devon School that Gene attends. ... A Separate Peace is definitely a mind bending novel. ...
A Separate Peace was written by active author John Knowles from his real experiences and personal struggles. ... The primary setting of A Separate Peace is at the Devon School. ... A Separate Peace considers two conflicts: man against man and man against himself. ... The style of A Separate Peace is realistic. ... I would recommend A Separate Peace to everyone who has eyes to read it or someone to read it to them. ...
A Separate Peace was written by active author John Knowles from his real experiences and personal struggles. ... The primary setting of A Separate Peace is at the Devon School. ... A Separate Peace considers two conflicts: man against man and man against himself. ... The style of A Separate Peace is realistic. ... I would recommend A Separate Peace to everyone who has eyes to read it or someone to read it to them. ...
John Knowles's A Separate Peace was a wonderful story about friendship and life. ... I didn't really have a "favorite part" of A Separate Peace, nor did I have a favorite character. ... John Knowles A Separate Peace is a wonderful book that teaches a lot about friendship and trust. ...
A Separate Peace Symbols are often used throughout the novel A Separate Peace, to help the reader distinguish between who or what is moral and immoral. ... The second main symbol would be the Winter Carnival, which represented the peace and freedom that were considered as qualities of Finny. ... The Devon River symbolized peace because the war did not really affect the people in Devon, but the Naguamsett River represented Europe where the war was taking place with all the battles. ... He was trying to make it seem like he was infected with the filth, which represente...
A Separate Peace A Separate Peace true relates to a person going through adolescence. ... He seems to be at peace with him self when things around him are at peace as well. ... Him seeing the women's face on men's bodies and human parts on chairs and tables shows that he was not at peace anymore. He needs to be in the woods or oust side to be a peace. ...
In general the setting is its own separate peace. ... The winter carnival is an example that shows the students at the school creating their own separate peace. ... Finny successfully creates his own separate peace by creating a fantasy world. ... In this novel, A Separate Peace is shown through different examples. ... A separate peace for some is what resolves a problem that can have an effect on someone's life. ...
