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A Separate Peace Compare And Contrast

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In John Knowles' historical novel A Separate Peace, Brinker, Gene, and Mr. Hadley have different opinions about war. The contrast of viewpoints are displayed through the tones and beliefs of each character. Mr. Hadley, having already served in the war, has a conversation with his son Brinker and Gene (upcoming draftees for World War II) that reveal each of their feelings. The boys are annoyed and uneasy with the concept of war throughout the conversation with Mr. Hadley, and so is John Knowles. Mr. Hadley, however, has a pleasant opinion toward the war.

Brinker and Gene are indignant towards the war. During the discussion with Mr. Hadley, Knowles uses to details to note how "[Gene] could see Brinker was more embarrassed by this than [he] …show more content…

Hadley welcomes the subject. Brinker would not have been embarrassed if he had a positive opinion, and Knowles would not have illustrated the fact that he is embarrassed, but this is not the case. Instead, he is humiliated only because Mr. Hadley keeps talking about it. Knowles uses logical appeals to represent how Gene imposes that everyone has shortcomings, and here, it is Mr. Hadley. Knowles clearly vouches that Mr. Hadley - who supports the war - has shortcomings. Knowles is transmitting a drawback in character, (Mr. Hadley) to the reader. Brinker also mumbles how "we'll do what we have to" in order to serve in the military. Brinker's tone is not showing much respect to Mr. Hadley and Knowles details that he is mumbling - a feeble effort to have a conversation instead of being optimistic and passionate of what Mr. Hadley has to say. Brinker has a negative tone toward Mr. Hadley due to his …show more content…

Hadley is content about it. He goes on to indicate that the "boys are the image of [him] and [his] gang in the old days. It does [him] good to see [the boys]." Instead of opening with a caustic remark, he elates the conversation by opening with a positive statement, almost as if he wants the boys to be excited about war. Nonetheless, it does not work and keeps the boys in an unhappy state of mind. Mr. Hadley also exclaims that there are "doggone many exciting things to enlist in these days." By emphasizing how terrible a situation can be, such as war, Mr. Hadley still attempts to enlighten the boys by proclaiming that there are many options in the military as compared to the old days, which he infers will help change the boys' opinions. He also asserts that "war memories will be with [the boys] forever" and he somehow knows that the "boys want to see plenty of action." Mr. Hadley is pursuing to make it seem like war is a great place filled with memories and that by experiencing war, the boys' lust for action will be diminished in an instant. War involves horrific memories that inflict permanent damage on a human. When confronted by Brinker's response of how the boys can only do so much, Mr. Hadley declares that "[they] can do more! A lot more!" Mr. Hadley is correlating war with extremely positive effects and that by joining the military and supporting the war, the characters will exhibit positive effects

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2. Gene says that Finny is not suited for war. Do you disagree or agree with this statement? I disagree with Gene’s statement that Finny is not suited for war. Finny was mentally prepared and seemed to want to enlist in some of the earlier parts of the book.

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In chapter seven of John Knowles novel, A separate Peace, readers finally see the story’s main protagonist, Gene Forrester, confronted about what his intentions actually were when he chose Phineas as his roommate, and later what his role actually was in the tree accident that led Finny to break his leg. Gene’s initial reaction was to laugh it off, but he later became defensive around others when the conversation transitioned into the “butt room.” Gene’s reactions show the effects of his guilt finally getting to him, and how it’s beginning to affect him in ways he never expected. After Brinker jokes with Gene about him “getting rid” of Finny, Gene finds himself suddenly overtaken with a feeling of guilt.

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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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This demonstrates the idea that Brinker is enjoying the power that he holds over Gene. However when Gene

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The juxtaposition Gene Forrester is caught up in is dealing with a love and hate relationship that causes him to enmesh in personal misgivings. Thus, people can be their own worst enemy if they don't learn to accept who they are. For in striving to be that, it can be said that insecurity is an invisible weapon that oftentimes kills our

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In John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, three main characters each suggest in their actions a different way to grow and develop into a more mature person and their growth manifests good or bad given the circumstances. Gene, Leper, and Phineas all mature or develop in different ways despite being close, as their lives intertwine they all have personal struggles to overcome and learn from Gene Forrester is one of John Knowles’ extremely complex characters. Gene is described as an intellectual, extremely gifted in academics. Gene may have the brains but this does not stop him from comparing himself to his best friend’s intellectually savvy personality and natural athletic ability. As Gene reflects on the summer of 1942 he states his distaste with his younger self’s affinity for sarcasm and

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The only way for Gene to change is for him to accept his friend’s death. Gene enters the war with Brinker which shows he is moving on from his life in Devon and from Finny’s death, and while he leaves he, “[leaves] the door ajar for the first time… My schooling was over” (203). Gene is the only character in the novel A Separate Peace that changes by releasing his anger and being less competitive. Gene informs, “My fury was gone…

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In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace, the main character, Gene Forrester, undergoes a traumatic journey to develop the aspects necessary for coping through adulthood. This novel is a flashback to the year of 1942, when Gene attends his final year at Devon High School, in New Hampshire. Although Gene appears to be Finny’s best friend, he follows in Finny’s steps so that his personality clones to be like Finny’s. Finny exposes new experiences that provoke Gene’s development into adulthood. As Gene engages in new experiences, he soon realizes that he envies Finny’s abilities.

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Overall Gene is known to be the character that has worries and lets emotional situations get the best of him. Continuously throughout the story Gene allows what happens to Finny and the world around him slowly bring him down. The war acts as another filler for disaster in society and can get the best of the boys who are preparing to fight in it. Therefore Gene’s identity in A Separate Peace defines him as the weaker one the one who is sensitive.

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The importance of war emphasizes not only the actual war taking place but also both Gene and Finny 's internal conflict with themselves, and their external conflicts with each other. This also expresses how even though considering the book takes place during World War II, The Devon School still tried to shield the boys from the war, that the residual effects of war can still seep through the cracks and reach everyone at the school. One person can only hide so much, especially if there is a war going on, emotionally or literally. People often try to reduce the appearance of emotions and shield personal battle scars from the public eye, similar to how Devon attempted to shield the war from the students attending.

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On page 201-202 of A Separate Peace Gene narrates “I myself had often been happy at Devon, but such times it seemed to me that afternoon were over now.” This quote shows how Gene was changed from a carefree student to a worried soon-to-be solider. The troops only add to the feelings of sadness because of Finny's death since Gene sees what the future holds. Overall, John Knowles’ fictional book A Separate Peace has many themes.

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