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Comparing Bluest Eye And A Separate Peace

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Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, and John Knowles’ A Separate Peace share the idea of inner conflict and develop it within the main characters. Inner conflict is presented to the main characters in different forms; these forms pertain to the theme of their respective novels. The effect of the conflict on the characters escalates as the novels progress; the effect is also shown in the characters actions. Although inner conflict differs among each character, the cause of the conflict remains the same: the environment in which the characters reside. Inner conflict also causes the characters behavior and thought process to change at some point throughout the three novels. This leads the characters to their condition that is described at the end or the beginning of the novels plots.
Toni Morrison shows Pecola’s inner conflict …show more content…

The event that contributes most to Gene’s change is causing Phineas’ fall from the tree, which cripples Phineas and puts him completely out of sports. This “accident” constantly reappears during the remainder of Gene’s time at Devon, and it is even referred to as a casualty. Shortly after the incident occurs, Gene recalls Phineas’ astonishing physical condition before he falls from the tree, and, on several occasions, acknowledges the cast and crutches Phineas uses.
After Phineas dies, Gene maintains his connection to Phineas, saying “… he was present in every moment of everyday” (Knowles 202). The decision Gene has made earlier in the novel, to become part of Phineas and take his place in sports, lasts after Phineas’ death and Gene’s graduation from Devon. After fifteen years, Gene returns to Devon to see the tree from which Phineas fell and notices that the tree looks smaller, weathered-down, and aged; the severity of Phineas’ incident changed with the

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First, we will start Gene’s actions leading up the death of Phineas. As stated indirectly by Leper, the kid who never lies: he recalls seeing two shadows up on the tree branch, one was Finny, and the other could be inferred as Gene. Gene stated right before Finny’s first traumatic fall, “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step

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Gene can't match his physique but after Finny's accident Gene goes through Finny's clothes and looks at himself in a mirror. He looks like Finny and “was Phineas, Phineas to the life. I even had his humorous expression in my face, his sharp, optimistic awareness. I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again. ”(Knowles 29).

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Which makes Gene quite an annoyance. When the doctor tells Gene and FInny that Phineas would never play sports again Gene bursts into tears, whereas Phineas tells Gene “What are you looking so sick about?”(65). Phineas understood what happened to him is horrible but frankly Gene feels worse than he does about the situation. This is because Gene is depressed, and feels completely responsible for the situation that ruined his friend’s goals for the

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Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

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Gene narrates, “I nearly did. But something held me back. Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth” (48). Gene admits his yearning to reciprocate these emotions, but implies that there is something complex that prevents him from doing so. For Gene, admitting his feelings for Phineas is akin to Gene admitting that he is gay, which comes with stigma that could be detrimental to

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Internal Conflict In A Separate Peace

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Gene’s relationship with his “best friend” Phineas describes how the relationship resulted in the killing of Gene's enemy, his own youth, and innocence. Gene is plainly described in the novel as envious of Finny, he is also depicted as the position of much hatred and dismay by his peers. Therefore, the fact that Gene kills his own youth is likely considering Finny’s success, Gene’s jealousy towards

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Gene Forrester describes his best friend Phineas' fall from a “tremendous tree, an irate steely black steeple beside a river,”(Knowles 6) Gene is an young

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Essentially, the purpose of this group was to demonstrate their capabilities and preparation for when they enlisted into the army by jumping off a tall, tremendous tree onto the Devon River. One day, Gene and Phineas climb up the tree to jump down together as a sign of unity; however, Gene acts out on his envy and anger and subtly shakes the tree causing Phineas to stumble onto the branch and fall into the river leading to a rupture in his leg. As an athlete, performing outstanding in sports and having plans to go to the Olympics, Phineas was certainly devastated but remained optimistic for his journey of recovery. Gene soon feels the overwhelming guilt and shame of shattering his own best friend’s leg and dreams; therefore, Gene agrees to train for the Olympics for Phineas and later confesses “the grace of it was, that it has nothing to do with sports. They were barred from me, as though when Dr. Stanpole said, ‘Sports are finished’ he had been speaking of me.

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It is this realization that prompts his conscious shaking of the tree, which casts Phineas to the earth and which serves as Gene’s initiation into the ignorance and moral blackness of the human heart” (Ellis 82). On a level of purity and innocence, Finny outweighs Gene by a lot, and it was Gene’s realization of his jealousy and his inferiority to Finny that led to the injury. This symbol of loss of innocence continues to come back and haunt both Gene and Finny throughout the novel. They both continue to grow and mature, but now it is different. Even though he never says anything about it until later in the novel, Finny knows that Gene purposefully shook the branch that caused him to fall and injure him.

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His desires and needs counter each other, creating an internal conflict. While Phineas is in care for his injury, Gene is left alone with his thoughts and, out of curiosity, puts on Phineas’ clothes. Wearing his clothes causes Gene to feel he “would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again”(62). Gene feels better as Phineas and unsafe with himself. He strives to have Phineas’ confidence within himself.

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In the beginning of the novel, Gene returns to Devon to understand what happened in 1942. This is important because Gene seeks to console the guilt he has faced. Furthermore, Gene shows his shame after Finny was jounced off the tree. Remorse over Finny's injury ate Gene up, causing Gene to not participate in sports. Gene feels disgrace while in the infirmary thinking, "If Phineas had been sitting here in this pool of guilt...what would he have done?"

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Gene’s envy and imitation not only affects himself, but also their friendship as a whole. As Gene continues to question Phineas and his true intentions, their friendship begins to decline. Gene begins to believe that Phineas is out to destroy him, and becomes less trusting. “Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies,” (Knowles 53). Gene convinces himself that Phineas hates him, and wants to destroy his grades.

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Jealously Kills In A Separate Peace, By John Knowles

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Gene’s jealously towards Phineas really gets into his head whenever he decides to push Phineas out of a tree. Phineas breaks his leg from the fall. Once he gets out of the hospital, questions start to form that affects Gene and Phineas’ friendship. Gene realizes that Phineas might have a clue about how the fall was not an accident. In the novel, it states “Have you ever thought that you didn’t just fall out of that tree?

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Toni Morrison, the first black women Nobel Prize winner, in her first novel, The Bluest Eye depicts the tragic condition of the blacks in racist America. It examines how the ideologies perpetuated by the dominant groups and adopted by the marginal groups influence the identity of the black women. Through the depictions of white beauty icons, Morrison’s black characters lose themselves to self-hatred. They try to obliterate their heritage, and eventually like Pecola Breedlove, the child protagonist, who yearns for blue eyes, has no recourse except madness. This assignment focusses on double consciousness and its devastating effects on Pecola.

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