..."Living as Those Made Alive in Christ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1-3 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Throughout this book, A Separate Peace, Gene found his true identity in whom he surrounded himself with, what his actions were, how he truly felt, and the effect the war had on him. When Gene first came to Devon School, the boarding school that he spent his entire high school career in, he quickly discovered himself and his true identity. In the beginning of the story Gene looked back on his days in this phantom school, and he relived...
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...It is difficult for many to define themselves during adolescence. It may take long time to discover who they are. In a Separate Peace, Gene Forrester experiences an identity crisis. He struggles with the complexity of his emotions that cause him to make mistakes that are too late to amend, so it is easier for him to transform into another person. The moment when Gene wears Phineas’ shirt showcases his aspiration to take over Finny’s character; through this, Knowles reveals that people who rely heavily on a codependent relationship are likely to alter their identity in order to escape from the realties that they will eventually have to deal with sooner or later in life. Gene wears Phineas’ attire and, subsequently, he feels as though Finny’s...
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...In this novel there are multiple themes, but the threat of codependency to identity is the most prevenient from the first pages. Knowles does not try to hind this theme, but it is cleverly worded into the story. Knowles depicts this theme, many times but the most noticeable is when Gene notes that Finny is a part of his being. Also insinuates that he needs him to live. Gene mentally needs Finny, but in the subconscious sense. What is intend to be seen is the Gene needs to be above Finny in some way. Gene feels nothing, but envy towards Finny just because of his personality and how athletic he is. Gene wanted to accentuate his academic progress, in the hope that he could satisfy his desire. Furthermore, a theme that is widely used in this book...
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...to others, but a torment to themselves.” Penn effectively conveys how jealousy has deeper effects on the person experiencing the emotion compared to the people interacting with them. Gene Forrester, the protagonist of A Separate Peace, learns to cope with the consequences of decisions rooted in jealousy. Throughout the novel A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, Gene Forrester undergoes significant changes in his identity by having positive and negative interactions with other characters and experiencing the aftermath of making decisions with jealousy and guilt as main motivators. At the beginning of the story, Gene felt insecure about relationships he had at Devon and let jealousy...
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...Codependency to Identity The central relationship in the novel—that between Finny and Gene—involves a complex dynamic of seeking to establish, yet being uncomfortable with, identity. Early in the book, the boys’ relationship seems fueled, in part, by Gene’s envy and resentment of his friend’s dominating spirit. As Finny demonstrates his physical prowess, Gene feels the need to accentuate his academic prowess. Finny’s fall from the tree, however, apparently purges Gene of his darker feelings and steers their relationship in a different direction so that codependency rather than envy characterizes it. The scene immediately following the fall symbolizes this evolution, as Gene dresses in Finny’s clothes and sees himself as looking exactly like him. From this point on, he and Finny come to depend on each other for psychological support. Gene plays sports because Finny cannot, allowing Finny to train him to be the athlete that Finny himself cannot be. This training seems an avenue for Finny simply to live vicariously through Gene. But Gene actively welcomes this attempt by Finny, for just as Finny derives inner strength from fulfilling his dreams through Gene, so, too, does Gene find happiness in losing his own self (which he seems to dislike) in Finny’s self (which he likes very much). Thus, the boys’ relationship becomes a model of codependency, with each feeding off of, and becoming fulfilled by, the other. This codependency preempts the development of their individual identities, perhaps...
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...Life is based on trying to find out your purpose and identity. Some people are pressured into being someone that they don't want to be because they are too scared or too frightened to stand up to their peers or family members. They may believe that their relationship with that person would be at stake. Others may try to find out who they are through rebellion and challenging norms. In both the Dead Poets Society and in A Separate Peace many characters construct their identities and personalities through rebellion and by opposing the pressure to conform. Finny, the character from A Separate Peace, and Charles, the character from a Dead Poets Society, shows little regard for following rules and show a lack of respect for authority. They both enjoy the attention they get from their peers when they openly challenge the school faculty. Throughout the entire book, Finny shows a real knack for breaking rules because he knows how to get out of any situation possible. He doesn’t care what other people think of him even if there is a risk of being isolated, ridiculed, or even punished. He even...
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...and the Christian Filipino government dates back over forty years. The Muslims believe that they have never been a part of the Philippines and that the struggle today can be related back to the war of independence from Spanish and then American rule. On the other side, the Filipino government argues that the Muslims have to obtain land that is in accordance with the law and is accepted by the community. This disagreement has been the underlying conflict between the state and the Muslim community. Among the reasons for conflict in Mindanao today, religious beliefs best represent why problems arose, not merely because it was the underlying factor for years, but because of its impact on all aspects of culture: its affect on the comminutes identity, the political roles, and the nationality of the region. The conflict in Mindanao began in the late sixteenth century when the Philippines were colonized by Spain. This colonial rule influenced the ethnic and religious structure of the Philippines, in huge part by bringing Catholicism to the country. The Muslims, who prefer to be called Moros, believed that this conflict resulted mostly from land titles, patronages, and prejudice amongst the two groups. As large Christian communities sprouted from the 1930’s onward, the Moros became the minority of the land they once considered their own and the total population of Muslims fell fifty-eight percent by...
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...has been affected by colonialism, when the land was governed by another entity. The importance of colonial history was evident in Sudan in January, 2011 when a referendum asked voters of southern Sudan to decide between separating from Sudan and maintaining a unified Sudan. Nearly 99 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot for independence thereby ending the 55 year existence of the largest nation in African (Hanzich, 2011). An extremely diverse country in which governmental decisions have favored the Arab population of the North, Sudan’s existence has been marked by strife. For all but 12 years, Sudan has been torn apart by civil wars. Since the colonial period ended, Sudan’s central government could not use violence, oppression, or peace agreements to minimize colonialism’s impact and establish a sense of unity in the country. Thus, the creation of South Sudan stems from colonization which confined opposing factions within one political boundary and created a history of civil war. The artificial political boundaries established by Sudan’s colonial powers—Egypt and Great Britain—brought together diversity for which Sudan’s central government could not build unity. Building cohesion has been difficult because colonial powers determined a country’s borders “according to colonial territorial holdings not along ethnic communities, and tended to practice the strategy of divide and rule to minimize local challenges against the colonial authority” (Ylonen, 2009, p. 39). In...
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...In John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, he reveals that conflict and jealousy causes immoral behavior through Gene’s actions towards Phineas and in they’re relationship. Gene’s innocence and Phineas’s experience create conflict and competition throughout the novel because following and breaking rules has its rewards and consequences. The internal war and jealousy that Gene has towards Phineas causes Gene to behave wrongly and and results in Phineas’s injury. “..My knees bent and I jounced the limb.” [60] The previous quote proves jealous causes immoral behavior. Gene is the type to follow rules and excel in academics, Gene only behaved the way he did because of the internal feeling he had towards Phineas.The incident in which Gene purposely...
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...novel, A Separate Peace. John Knowles based a lot of this book on Phillips Exeter Academy, which is an impressive boarding school located in New Hampshire (Literature and Times). The author John Knowles connects his life to his novel, and the connection between his life and this work makes this story more believable and more interesting. John Knowles was born on September 16, 1962, in Fair Mount, West Virginia. As a child, John’s parents worked in a coal business in West Virginia. (Exeter.edu) His brother, James Knowles, attended the Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and then college in Dartmouth. John’s parents thought that schools in New England would offer a better education than the ones nearby, so they decided to look at many catalogues of schools throughout this area. Out of the blue, John says, he, “pick[ed] up a catalog one day which was lying around the house, the catalog was for Philips Exeter Academy” (Exeter.edu). Phillips Exeter is an all-male boarding school in New Hampshire. After graduating high school in 1945, John decided to go to Yale, and there he earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1949. (NYT.com) Throughout his life, John wrote nine novels and eight stories. A Separate Peace was John’s biggest hit. This novel has received the William Faulkner Award and the Rosenthal Award from the National Institute of Art and Lectures. (“About the Author”). John Knowles passed away in 2001 at the age of 75 from a short illness. In the novel A Separate Peace, the Devon...
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...nature to keep secrets from those we care about. B. Some secrets we do not want our parents to know or we do not want to tell them. 1. Identity crisis 2. Dating dilemmas 3. Hanging out with friends 4. Love life 5. Internet life C. We need privacy. 1. Secrecy allows us to create our own identity. 2. Privacy is the most important development task of adolescence. Satisfaction step: A. Reasons why we should keep secrets 1. We form identity separate from our parents. 2. We learn how to make our own decisions and face our own mistakes. 3. To avoid parent’s disappointments. 4. Privacy in using our social networking sites. 5. Respect to secrecy. 6. Independence in our life. B. Benefits we can get from keeping secrets 1. The damage would be evenly spread. 2. Maintain peace between you and your parents. 3. We can have more freedom. Visualization step: A. What will happen if you keep secrets from your parents? 1. You will be more independent. 2. You will enjoy your privacy. 3. There will be low tendency for your parents to be disappointed. 4. You will develop your self identity. B. Telling secrets to your parents is not bad, but we still need to keep secrets from them. Sometimes, not telling them all that happens in our life maintains the “peace”...
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...European Identity The European Community, now known as the European Union, was created in the 1950’s after the world wars. After World War II europe wrose us and decided to come together to prevent anything like that from ever happening again. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands came together and established the European Coal and Steel Community to control these resources in order to control the countries’ production of weapons. This made sure that no country produced weapons to start another World War. The European Community was formed to keep Germany under control and make sure another Nazi Party never formed ever again. The European Union was supposed to make peace between these countries and slowly grow over time. The goal was to make the these countries codependent of each other economically, so that it would prevent them from going to war with each other. If the countries depend on each other to keep their individual economies alive they would not be tempted to start a war. However, an identity for all these joined countries is the most idea idea to keep them united and at peace. “The European Commision introduced the concept of European identity already at the Copenhagen summit in 1973” (Pawel Karolewski). The goal was the from a European vision of the United States by making requirements that need to be met to join the Union, like like democracy and human rights laws, and also bringing the people together with programmes that have government...
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...According to a recent study, about 63% percent of teens know they have “found their identity” or are in the process of “finding themselves”. But what about that other 37%? When asked this question, it’s easy to think of the minority as non existent, when in fact, that 37% is much larger than it seems. When thinking of this 37%, almost every boy in John Knowles's, A Separate Peace comes to mind, at least in the beginning of this coming of age novel filled with the pitfalls and adventures of adolescent years at an all boys boarding school in New Hampshire during the time of WWII. The boys must learn what it means to become “men” and what the purpose of their life after Devon will consist of, especially for main character Gene. What does it mean...
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...India’s first experience with the phenomenon of separatist insurgency, they were among the most severe. They required an untested government and military to adapt to a form of political warfare with which they had little experience. Through a process of trial and error, India developed an approach to political violence in the Northeast that would guide its response to future insurgencies. The Mizo case is also significant because it was India’s first successfully concluded counterinsurgency campaign, while in Nagaland, political violence was largely contained by the mid-1970s, yet it still continues at a low-level today. The Indian government’s approach was characterized by the use of military force to smother the insurgents and physically separate them from their supporters, while simultaneously making political...
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...1 (This paper was presented during the SEACSN Conference 2004: “Issues and Challenges for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Southeast Asia”, at Shangri-La Hotel, Penang, Malaysia on 12-15 January 2004) Muslim Minority in the Philippines By Abhoud Syed M. Lingga Executive Director, Institute of Bangsamoro Studies How the Muslims as a minority situate themselves within the Philippine national community is the subject of discussion in this paper. A look into their views on their relations with the national community is helpful in understanding the conflict in Mindanao for this is the impetus in their assertion for their right to self-determination. Minority Communities We find minority communities within the borders of many countries today. These minority communities can be classified broadly into three major categories (Che Man 1990:1). The minority migrant populations are in the first category. During the colonial period, workers were recruited from other colonies to work in plantations, mining and other industries. In recent years, migration of peoples who are induced by pull factors like economic opportunities and liberal policies of countries of destination and the push factors in their own countries like violent conflicts, lack of economic opportunities and repressive government policies are observable. The migrant populations have no attachment to any portion of the territory of the host country. Their concerns are the acceptability by and equal rights with the dominant majority...
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