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Analysis Of The Novel 'A Separate Peace' By John Knowles

616 Words3 Pages

Anderson Lopez
Mrs. Trelease-Gordon
Honors English 1
22 December 2022
Impacts of War: The Emotional Struggles
War: the internal and external conflict one faces every day. Shown in the coming-of-age novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles tells the story of two boys: Gene and Finny. The two attend Devon School in New Hampshire during World War II. Their friendship is a strong bond until the day Gene jounced the limb of a tree and Finny falls out. This results in his arm being broken, causing their relationship to change forever. Throughout the story, many of the characters experience the hardships of war in one way or another, whether it is a direct or secondhand impact. The maturity the boys develop throughout the novel demonstrates the way war can negatively impact one’s mental health. …show more content…

Before his maturity, Finny explains that “there is no war” and that “it is all just a conspiracy” (Knowles 115). This quote shows that at the beginning of the novel, Finny does not believe that there is a war and thinks that people made it up. After experiencing the war at Devon and hearing about all the frightful deaths, his mindset completely changes throughout the story. Finny is adamantly against the idea of the war and explains in the early chapters how “he would never enlist in such a foolish thing” (Knowles 108). This quote connects to how Finny’s attitude toward the war changes from the beginning to the end of the novel. He goes from never intending to enlist in the war, which he considers a fluke, to sending enlistment letters to all branches of the military. Although his mindset about the war dramatically changes, we learn later in the novel, he says these things in part to dissuade Gene from enlisting in the war. This shows how young adults may not understand things at first, and sometimes require time to cultivate and refine their thoughts about complex

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During the late 1930’s and early to mid1940’s, Allies were fighting the axis powers in WW2. Along with the high tensions amongst countries, there was also high tension amongst civilian lives. John Knowles’ A Separate Peace clearly shows the tension within a friendship similar to that of Britain’s and Germany’s relationship. Through Allegory, John Knowles shows the tension within two friends that eventually leads to their inevitable demise. The symbolic items in the book are: Gene, the main character, Finny, the deuteragonist, and Finny’s pink shirt.

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The boys in the Butt Room react to Brinker’s accusation as a joke, and playfully accuse Gene of his attempt to purposely hurt Finny and knock him out of the tree. The boys start to question gene of what happened during the time of the fall, and if he was the one who purposely caused Finny to lose his balance. The reason Gene is to play along and make up a story about his attempt to murder Finny was to hide the truth of his actions and to keep them from finding out “ Oh, you know about the tree, I tried to let my face fall guilty, but I felt instead as though it were being dragged toward. Yes, huh, yes there was a small, a little contretemps at the tree” (Knowles 90).

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In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knolls Gene's and Finny's friendship with one another brings out each character's virtue or true self. Gene is the smartest kid at the Devon school , and Finny is very athletic. Finny's athletic ability is what leads to the rivalry because Gene wants to be able to achieve an athletic ability like Finny. This novel tells the story in Gene's point of view of how he has grown into adulthood during World War II. The author John Knolls does not give a very good view of Finny because the story is through Gene's eyes where Gene envy's Finny.

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John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace, uses both character development and setting to support his decision in selecting the title. He uses the main characters of Gene and Phineas (Finny) and their troubled yet deeply bonded friendship as a way to illustrate the separate peace that takes place both within the boys themselves and in the friendship that is built between the two. Knowles also uses the setting of the novel to demonstrate the vast difference between the peaceful Devon School grounds and the war raging outside of the school’s walls. The title, A Separate Peace, as chosen by the author is symbolic of the main characters, Finny and Gene’s, struggle to find peace within themselves and with each other while set in a place that significantly contrasts the events of the real world.

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Finny’s presence satisfies Gene and drives him towards the final steps till Finny’s defeat, his death. At the time of Finny’s demise, Gene “stood watching him being lowered into his family’s strait-laced burial ground” and “could not escape a feeling” that it is his own funeral (Knowles 194). This marks the end of their ongoing battle and proves Finny’s defeat because Gene receives what he desires, becoming Finny now that he is dead. Gene’s action of establishing the conflict without Finny’s presence signifies Gene’s success since he directs the events without Finny’s approval or attentive mind, proving those who construct their own battles are more prone to triumph. On the contrary, Leper a once observant and carefree character, loses his mind and personality in the depths of the war and begins hallucinating, declared mentally insane.

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