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How Does World War 1 Change Throughout The Novel

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The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles takes place during World War II in 1942. The World War II may not have directly affected the characters for the majority of the novel, but though out the novel, we see its effects on the characters' actions indirectly. The war also changes the characteristics and attitudes of certain characters of the novel, causing them to adapt and change of the thought of enlistment for the war. World War II also seems to affect the characters' interactions with others and seems to change the relationships that they share with each other. World War II is a major factor for the boys that attend Devon. Almost every choice or decision made revolve around the War. In chapter 7 the boys have to do work to replace the …show more content…

An example of the war's affect on the characteristics of a character is with Leper who is timid, and pleasant before his enlistment in the war. After the war, we see that Leper mental state have become very aggressive in his treatment of others. This aggression of Lepers’ was in the mock court in chapter 12 where he refuses to give the name of the person who shook the branch stating on page (176) "You always did take me for a fool, didn't you? But I'm no fool anymore.” This is another example of Leper actually standing up for himself, something that he would have done scared to do before his experience in the war. The war also affects Brinker similar to Finny he decides to form a deep hatred towards the war to convince himself from the fact that there really is a war. This is seen in the second last paragraph with Gene's comment "or else, like Brinker, develop a careless resentment towards it" (204) which meant that Brinker dislike the war. The war also prompts the main characters of the novel to develop a sort of defense wall in their characteristics to deal with the war which is seen with the closing remark by the adult Gene in the last chapter. Adult Gene comments "All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier" (204). This quote refers to the characters' attitudes

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Oh Captain, My Captain John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is a moving story about a young man and his friends at a preparatory school in the midst of World War II. World War II puts a lot of stress on the boys, while the main character, Gene, is also struggling with internal conflict. Knowles’ beautifully crafts the story around Gene’s inner struggle. This story is much like the movie Dead Poets Society, which is about boys at a preparatory school during the 1950’s who are challenged by their teacher to go against the flow of society.

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The entire time Finny and Gene are boarding at the Devon School, WWII is taking place. There are students enlisting and being drafted into the war and are surround by stress because they are worrying about being involved in the war. “The far common could be seen from my room, and early in June, I stood at the window and watched the war moving in to occupy it” (196). This quote is showing how resources at Devon School were being occupied and handed over to the unforgiving war. War, a scary thought and even a scarier reality during this time period.

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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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World War One was one of the most vicious and brutal battles of the time of this novel. Men like Paul Baumer and his comrades were made to believe that joining the war would be a heroic and idealistic experience. For instance, Baumer’s old schoolmaster, Kantorek, encouraged his students to become soldiers. However, Kantorek did so with a complete and utter ignorance of what the war is actually like. Moreover, Paul describes the many horrible aspects and consequences of the war.

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Differences in A Separate Peace Novel and Film Everyone at some point has felt envious of their bestfriend. In the novel, “A Separate Peace”, envy leads to many problems and changes in the film. Phineas is a main character that is bestfriends with Gene; he is athletic, a leader, and goes by Finny. Leper is a student that is viewed as weird. When he came back from the war he is portrayed differently in the film than in the book.

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A Separate Peace “ Explain how the title relates to the events of the novel and the themes of A Separate Peace. “ The title of this novel , A Separate Peace by John Knowles, relates to the story in a way that is not directly stated. Each reader must decipher the text to find the true meaning of the title. Each reader may have a different opinion on the underlying connotations of the title in relation to the novel. I have chosen to focus on the war aspect of this book, rather than the relationships between characters for I feel the novel would have a very different outcome, or overall feeling if the setting were anything but World War Two.

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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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Leper asks Gene, “Would they bother you if you did, if you happened to keep imagining a man’s head on a woman’s body, or if sometimes the arm of a chair turned into a human arm if you looked at it too long, things like that?” This had a large impact on readers as it strikes some of the scariest, and deepest fears that we bury within society. The picture of a innocent person being completely dismantled and thrown back together changes our whole perspective on what the war really did to people. It relates back to Devon as an example of the unpreparedness of the whole school for what was to come. Although many of the boys understood their fate, they did not understand that it was something that could envelop their mind and destroy their sense of peace.

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“Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time of school; I killed my enemy there” (Knowles, 204). A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, was taken place at Devon High in the mid 1940’s, in the New England area during WWII. The main character, Gene, is a very smart, but envious and imitative kid that returns back to his school later in life to find peace within himself and past conflicts. Gene’s envious and imitative actions have had many affects within himself, others, and his future, but has found peace throughout everything. Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affects him a lot throughout the novel.

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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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A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a fictional book about Gene Forrester, a student at Devon Private Boarding School. This story takes place during the 1940s when World War II was becoming more and more a part of daily life at Devon. The war encroaches and finally dominates the lives of the boys at Devon. Starting with the boys shoveling snow off of the train tracks, then their friend, Leper, enlists, and finally troops get permanently stationed at Devon.

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