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A Separate Peace: An Analysis

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World War II was a period of time when life was depressing and difficult. Throughout this depression, people would come together and form a uniformity to surpass the negative emotions the war has caused.John Knowles, the author of A Separate Peace has revealed feelings of the war by showing different situations of the war through the use of diction, selection of details, and imagery.
The war has caused many negative feelings to the citizens in the United States. Instead of presenting America as a land of happiness, Knowles uses the word “cry” to show America as a land of depression. Because of the war, civilians have came together as a whole, thus, having the same emotions. Knowles has described this connection using the words “everyone” and “often”. Instead of breaking down the civilians into different groups, Knowles placed them in the same group to show no discrepancy. As a whole, they have suffered the depression together. The word “often” was used to describe the feelings during the war. When the war was going on, the daily …show more content…

Knowles has noticed the age sixteen group was viewed differently during this time period. “Sixteen is the key and crucial and natural age.” He describes this age as an important key factor and not just a number. Knowles observed how when age sixteen was reached, adults get intimidated. The age sixteen helps exemplify the impact the war has on the civilians. “...realization that they foresee your military future, fighting for them.” Knowles show the patriotic side of adults by changing the point of view towards the adolescents who have reached the qualifying age for war. Besides having different point of views towards age sixteen, civilians have also connected with the war several times a day. Instead of being in the war to support, they “...listen to news broadcasts five or six times a day.” This shows how United States was not only united, but also

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In the book, “Separate Peace” community is exemplified first through both Gene and Finny resided in a boarding school for young men/boys. The young men had future aspirations of moving forward in life by enlisting in the WWII. As we all know by enlisting into the military the men all share the same goal which is fighting and protecting our country. Secondly, community was presented through the boys being friends and never separated. Both individuals were a part of the super suicide society.

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A Separate Peace begins when Gene Forrester returns to Devon boarding school, the school in which he attended during world war two. It had been fifteen years since he had been there. Walking through the campus Gene remembers his time spent there. The one he remembered a lot was the summer session in '42 when he was 16.

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A Separate Peace World War II was a devastating war. The war affected so many people. People lost their family members, women were forced into the workforce, and students were worried about being drafted in the war like the boys in the book A Separate Peace where the teenage boys encounter the effects of war while the go to a boarding school. In A Separate Peace John Knowles demonstrates how the boys achieve a separate peace yet the setting and the boys behavior are tinged with war-like imagery. Knowles demonstrates how the boys achieve a separate peace through the setting of the winter carnival yet the setting is tinged with war-like imagery.

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How The War Influenced Lives At Devon A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a fictional novel that depicts life at Devon, a boarding school. Set during World War II, teens Gene and Finny’s lives at Devon are overshadowed by the fact that at the end of the four years, they will be going to the war. The influence of the war can be seen through the students helping out with the war effort, their friend Leper enlisting, and through Finny’s perspective on the war.

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Not only is the younger generation fighting to prove a point to the elders, but Yale students ran away to fight in the war. As the authors described the reality of the story, they both explain, “Yale students did rush away to get weapons and join the war in 1775” (Collier and Collier 214). The majority of the older generation did not go run to join the fight, but most young teens did. Even though the students think that they were doing something brave or bold, they did not listen to their parents to tell them otherwise.

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“Every thought and event caused by the outbreak of the war came as a bitter and a mortal blow struck against the great conviction that was in my heart: the concept of permanent progress, of movement towards even greater happiness” (Englund, 46.) The outbreak of the war evoked a new society and drastically changed the participants’ lives. The beginning of the war was a bitter blow towards society and most participants within the entries were not pleased with the outbreak; it evoked responses and accelerated changes in each society represented. Happiness and progress are common themes within the entries. The continuation of their happiness would change and the progress of society is evident.

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Strength develops in someone through their experiences which have the ability to make them an emotionally stronger person. A quote by Ernest Hemingway presents that “the world breaks everyone, then some become strong at the broken places.” Even those who suffer the most will have the ability to bounce back at a stronger state. This theme reveals its relevance in A Separate Peace by John Knowles as we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the main characters, Finny and Gene. Although some may insist that Finny’s emotional state fits the mold of a weak character, I have confidence that Finny has the most inner strength out of the two boys given his description and actions throughout the novel.

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While the effort of America was important in winning the war, there was a lot of discrimination and prejudice against blacks, Native Americans, women, and homosexuals within the military. The men who fought in the war saw terrible conditions and many had mental breakdowns. This chapter in the book explains the deaths that many soldiers witnessed and how many men became separated from humanity. This caused many soldiers to become insane. The final two chapters in the book talk about changes in the American society throughout the war and the results from the war.

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The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.

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War: Its Effects, and Disguises Every person can be a veteran of war at times, even if it is in personal battles rather than literal war. This is the case for the Gene as well as Finny in John Knowles 's A Separate Peace. The significance of the contrast of internal conflict with external conflict highlights Gene 's multiple conflicts with himself as well as Finny, building internal and external conflict through both characters. Ultimately, Gene becomes a veteran in the literal and figurative sense of war, regardless of uniform. Gene 's victory in this war with himself portrays how war can prevail in and out of uniform.

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