...The Life of John Knowles “I went back to the Devon School not long ago, and found it looking oddly newer than when I was a student there fifteen years before” (Knowles 1). This was the very first statement that John Knowles wrote in his first published 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. ...
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...A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a novel about two boys, Gene and Finny, who are friends during the Second World War. The novel depicts many characters, yet two seem to be so similar yet different at the same time. Phineas and Brinker both have similar personalities, but have differing interests. Both characters, Phineas and Brinker, are extroverts that attract the attention of others. “It didn’t seem fitting for Brinker Hadley, the hub of the class, to be congratulating me on influence... almost everyone liked Brinker,”(Knowles, 87). Being the “hub of the class,” he was popular and well known by many. “‘Here’s my contribution to the war effort!’ and he sprang out, fell through the tops of some lower branches, and smashed into the water,”(Knowles, 16). He was the only one to thing of such a thing, and the people he had gathered around him all watched. Both also are manipulative. “‘That’s probably the strangest tribute this school has had in a hundred and sixty years.’ He seemed please or amused in some...
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...Psychology – A Separate Peace This is a book whose author John Knowles wrote it on the setting of the times during the World War II, at a place known as Devon which was a school where students could board privately in the New Hampshire on the Atlantic Coast. In the school’s campus ran scenery of two rivers mainly the Devon River which was known to be a fresh water body and the other river being Naguamsett River which was a salty and swampy like water body. The set of this work’s action rotates around an oak tree which is said to be predominate overhanging a creek ( Bloom 32). In this book, Gene and Finny standout to be the main characters. During the summer period at the Devon ( Bloom 32). The school worked towards making sure that the students would acquire their diploma before proceeding towards when they would be eighteen years. Gene and Finny are said to be acquaintances and at the same time roommates. Gene is a good student who is academically privileged on his own interests. Finny has the natural athlete physique which portrays him as a leader of all the other boys in school. His ability gives him the lee way to organize games such as Bitzball and Winter Carnival a factor which makes Gene jealous of his ability to do such. Main Characters. Gene Forester. He is the main ideal character whose behaviors are based on protagonist nature and his envious nature over his friend Finny leads to his untimely death. He is always suspicious of motivations bestowed by Finny since he has...
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...Forrester In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester experiences much personal growth. He starts off the book jealous and suspicious of his best friend Phineas, and by the end he has grown into a more mature adult, who thinks more rationally. He overcomes his insecurities and addresses his impulsive nature. This is all accomplished through Phineas’ injury and death. Gene fights this internal war and defeats his own demons before ever going overseas to be a part of World War II. In the first chapters of A Separate Peace, Phineas displays his abilities to talk his way out of trouble. About this Gene says, “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him...
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...once said, “the jealous are troublesome 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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...At the Devon School, Finny and Gene are the best of friends. During Devon’s summer session the boys experience an easygoing environment where they can avoid the rules and they deny the fact that WWII is going on. During the winter session, though, the boys experience a strict environment that brings to their attention to the reality that they may soon be drafted into the military. In chapter nine of this novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the boys of Devon put on a carnival in order to escape the hardships of life and the depression of winter. Although the festivities of the Winter Carnival suggest that the boys have been successful in creating a separate peace, Knowles’ use of war imagery in describing the setting, the prizes, and the...
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...and Peace, it’s like Day and Night; never stops just endless no one can stop either forces. War is like the Night it can take the ones you love in an instant, Peace like Day, it guides us towards the light which keeps us human it allows us to survive. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, we go through the book through the eyes of a boy, his name is Gene, Gene Forrester, 31 years old at the beginning of the book but when we look back at his time at Devon, he is a 16 year old boy who is thoughtful, intelligent and has a tendency to brood. His time at Devon shows what War does to people, and how Peace can protect people and keep younglings safe. His time at Devon is like a candle, flick its on, flick its out. The first example of War and Peace comes with Leper...
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...A Separate Peace In the 1940’s, World War II had a huge impact on the everyday lives of Americans. Many people had to sacrifice money, supplies, food and even lives to contribute to the war effort. However, the characters in John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” appear to be sheltered from the influences of the international conflicts as a result of attending an all-boys boarding school. The novel focuses on the friendship between Finny and Gene, two friends who bonded during the carefree summer sessions at the Devon School. When the winter approaches, the students find themselves having to deal with stricter administration and rules. The new order and increasing impact of the war causes the students to stress and worry. In an effort to relieve the misery, Finny decides to organize a winter carnival for the pupils. Although the festivities of the winter carnival suggest that the boys have been successful in creating a separate peace, Knowles’ use of war imagery in describing the setting, prizes, and the boy’s behavior suggests that this peace is illusory. Although the setting of the carnival seems serene at first, a closer look at the descriptive language reveals that the Devon school is in a war-like state. The brutal winter causes the students to have a depressing view of their school life. The despair that the cold weather has brought with it causes Gene to loathe winter, he compares it to a “corrupt…conqueror” who’s presence has “destroyed everything”. In spite of getting ready...
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...In A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses conflict as a gateway to adulthood. The characters must face each conflict before maturing. The characters grow, not necessarily physically, but grow mentally older. Finney and Leper, however, fails this challenge and therefore gets left behind as he has no place in the adult world. Gene, and Brinker, grow enough to move into the adult world. Finney, a physically talented boy, encounters many challenges during his time at Devon. First off, Finney cannot pass a class with A’s by just paying attention. He can study all day long, but cannot get a decent grade. Although, he really does not try to better himself academically, and accepts it. Finney excels in the physical aspect. This would make him a great...
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...A Separate Peace written by John Knowles uses many literary elements such as symbolism. John Knowles uses the object of the tree. The plays an important role to all the students enrolled at Devon High School. The tree was one of their sources of adventures. When Gene visited the school after fifteen years he realized how much change had occurred at Devon when he looked for the tree he realized after all the years the tree that stood as a massive steeple beside the river had shrunk and gotten smaller. The seniors at Devon jumped on the limb and splashed into the water as part of their training. Gene remembers when he jumped from the tree into the river because he was persuaded by Finny to contribute to the War effort. In order to be a member...
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...Change Under Crisis In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene and Finny have a lot going on. Have you ever acted differently or lied about something because you were under pressure? Well, Gene and Finny both act certain ways, something some would call, change under crisis. Gena and Finny became best friends with being roommates and all. They had a tendency to do just about everything together. One of their favorite things to do was jumping out of the tree into the river. Gene and Finny were climbing in the tree one day, both up on the limb. Gene accidently shook the limb while trying to move around finny, and made Finny fall. When Finny fell and hit the hard dirt and patchy strands of grass, he broke his leg. Gene was in shock. So much shock that he couldn’t catch Finny when he was falling. Gene had told Finny that he was the reason that Finny had fallen, but Finny wouldn’t believe him. They both started arguing and Finny was mad because he didn’t want to believe it, he couldn’t. “He needed me. I was the least trustworthy person he had ever met. I knew that; he knew or should know that too. I had even told him. I had told him. But there was no mistaking...
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...Around the time of World War II, teenagers from around the country and all over the world endured the answer to that very question. Gene Forrester is a prep student at the prestigious Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II finding his way in the world. He grows tremendously as a person and eventually becomes the perfect leading character for A Separate Peace by John Knowles. At the beginning of the novel, his uncomfortability in his own skin and inability and unwillingness to express his feelings openly and directly depicts him as a flawed leading character; however, over the course of the novel, he becomes more understanding...
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...A Separate Peace is a novel by John Knowles that delves into the world of youth and tells a tragic tale of happiness, jealousy, family, and overall the progression of a friendship. I examined the theme of envy and how it drives the Knowles’ characters. Phineas and Gene are analyzed in greater detail so that we can get a better understanding of these characters and what motivates them. Finally I conducted a psychological examination of the characters and how others view them and how that affects the characters. Gene Forrester, a boy from the south who gets the chance to study at Devon an extremely prestigious academy. He doesn’t quite fit in at first until he meets his roommate Phineas or Finny for short. They become friends quite quickly and the reader sees that Gene is held back or suspicious of this overly friendly guy. This shows us the first glimpse into the character that is Gene and how he is not as open to new people. As the story progresses we learn that Gene switches from adoring Finny, to envying him and his ways of persuasion. In this quote Gene states how everybody loves Finny and how lucky he is to be his best friend. “Finny could shine with everyone, he attracted everyone he met. I was glad of that too. Naturally. He was my roommate and my best friend.” (32) Later on when the boys are invited to the Headmaster’s Tea Finny manages to weasel his way out of trouble with his charm and persuasion. “Phineas was going to get away with even this.” (20) Finny had...
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...Is Gene a Killer? In A Separate Peace by John Knowles many wonder whether Gene was responsible for the death of his “best friend”(48) Finny. While Gene did feel some guilt for the death of his friend he never intended to kill anyone and cannot be held responsible for a series of chain events that lead to Finny's death which could have been prevented in many ways. The series of events that resulted in Finny's death can be traced back to when Gene “jounced the [tree] limb.”(60) With this action Finny fell off the tree and broke his leg. With no doubt Gene is responsible for breaking Finny's leg. If that incident never had happened then Finny would still be alive but it morally seems unfair to try someone for murder with an action caused long before with not only no intention to kill but also an action that no body could have foreshadowed being a cause of death. To say that Gene was responsible for Finny's death because he jounced a tree limb is unreasonable because Gene did not die from the fall. If he had died then and there from the fall then Gene could be tried with manslaughter. But Finny's death was caused by a set of chain reactions and if we want to start with this event it's arguable that neither Finny nor Gene would have been inside the tree if it had not been for Finny's insistence. With this is mind it's also very important to consider the true aspect of how he died in surgery with a doctor who didn't seem to care all that much about the death...
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...Literary Analysis of A Separate Peace John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” takes place in a high school called Devon, in 1940s, while the World War II was going on. The main characters, Gene and Finny, were superb friends. They were helping each other on parts they lacked; Gene helped Finny on studies while Finny helped Gene on sports. Then, what made their friendship break? What killed Finny? What made Gene to jounce the limb and hurt his best friend Finny? First of all, what is friendship? True friendship can mean that you trust your friend and be loyal to them no matter what, just like Finny was to Gene. When Brinker brought Leper, Finny, and Gene to inspect what had happened in the day that Finny fell from the tree, the evidence was making...
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