...The Life of John Knowles “I went back to the Devon School not long ago, and found it looking oddly newer than when I was a student there fifteen years before” (Knowles 1). This was the very first statement that John Knowles wrote in his first published novel, A Separate Peace. John Knowles based a lot of this book on Phillips Exeter Academy, which is an impressive boarding school located in New Hampshire (Literature and Times). The author John Knowles connects his life to his novel, and the connection between his life and this work makes this story more believable and more interesting. John Knowles was born on September 16, 1962, in Fair Mount, West Virginia. As a child, John’s parents worked in a coal business in West Virginia. (Exeter.edu) His brother, James Knowles, attended the Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and then college in Dartmouth. John’s parents thought that schools in New England would offer a better education than the ones nearby, so they decided to look at many catalogues of schools throughout this area. Out of the blue, John says, he, “pick[ed] up a catalog one day which was lying around the house, the catalog was for Philips Exeter Academy” (Exeter.edu). Phillips Exeter is an all-male boarding school in New Hampshire. After graduating high school in 1945, John decided to go to Yale, and there he earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1949. (NYT.com) Throughout his life, John wrote nine novels and eight stories. A Separate Peace was John’s biggest hit. ...
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...Morgan Ilsley 6th period November 17, 2016 A Separate Peace Essay This book “A Separate Peace” was written by John Knowles. The genre is naturalism. The setting of the novel, “A Separate Peace”, reveals that Finny is athletic, unmotivated, and brave. In the this essay you will see how John Knowles reveals how Finny is all three of these characteristics. Now I will be telling how Finny is athletic. This book reveals that Finny is athletic. One example would in chapter three when Finny broke the school swimming record without even trying to, but sadly no one was there to confirm that he did it so it didn't count. Another example would be in chapter 3 when he created the game blitz ball, he made it very challenging and he was the only one...
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...The human nature has intrigued philosophers since the ancient Greeks with Aristotle. This is exactly what John Knowles explores in his novel, A Separate Peace. A Separate Peace begins with the main character, Gene Forrester, coming back to the boarding school that he attended 15 years ago, Devon. When he arrives his memory flashes the reader back 15 years in the past, to the summer of 1942, where we are introduced to Finny, Gene’s best friend, and the reason of Gene’s return to the school. As the story develops, the reader discovers that Gene is subconsciously jealous of the near perfect Finny, leading Gene to cause an accident that would cripple Finny for the rest of his life. The rest of the story explores the friendship between the two boys...
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...Gene’s Separate Peace Envy can drive a man insane. John Knowles, the author of A Separate Peace wrote a story that takes place during WWII where everything changes. Gene, who is a brilliant kid, is best friends with the coolest kid in his grade, Finny. Gene believes Finny is jealous of him, for his excellent skills in school. Truly though Gene envy’s Finny. Gene loses a part of himself with Finny. Gene gets so involved with Finny that Gene loses himself. Gene then realizes that Finny gets away with everything. In the story it reads, “He gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment.” (Knowles 13). Finny never got in trouble. He was the perfect poster child. Gene’s deep hatred for finny led him to shake the tree branch that made Finny fall. The narrator says “knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone” (Knowles 32). Gene wanted to feel better than Finny. Gene wanted Finny to finally fail at something. Gene needs to act like his own individual, and not like Finny....
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...Things Are Ever Changing We all see the world and know how things rarely stay the same for long periods of time. The trees change in the fall and again in the spring, your friends come and go, your likes and dislikes change just as consistently as the seasons change. You may believe that you will have a person in your life forever, but then something happens and can take them away from you. Perspectives change, people, change, and time is forever moving so there are not very many things that you can say stay the same. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, many of the characters experience change. Gene’s life changes dramatically from the beginning to the end, Finny’s life and outlooks on things changes with the things he experiences, and the atmosphere of the school itself changes along with thte boys and what they deal with....
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...A Separate Peace In the 1940’s, World War II had a huge impact on the everyday lives of Americans. Many people had to sacrifice money, supplies, food and even lives to contribute to the war effort. However, the characters in John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” appear to be sheltered from the influences of the international conflicts as a result of attending an all-boys boarding school. The novel focuses on the friendship between Finny and Gene, two friends who bonded during the carefree summer sessions at the Devon School. When the winter approaches, the students find themselves having to deal with stricter administration and rules. The new order and increasing impact of the war causes the students to stress and worry. In an effort to relieve the misery, Finny decides to organize a winter carnival for the pupils. Although the festivities of the winter carnival suggest that the boys have been successful in creating a separate peace, Knowles’ use of war imagery in describing the setting, prizes, and the boy’s behavior suggests that this peace is illusory. Although the setting of the carnival seems serene at first, a closer look at the descriptive language reveals that the Devon school is in a war-like state. The brutal winter causes the students to have a depressing view of their school life. The despair that the cold weather has brought with it causes Gene to loathe winter, he compares it to a “corrupt…conqueror” who’s presence has “destroyed everything”. In spite of getting ready...
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...said, “In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart.” This means that even if people do bad things, deep down they are still good people that care for other human beings and have feelings. I agree with this statement. In the novella The Pearl by John Steinbeck and the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the characters Kino and Gene are still good at heart despite the bad things they may have done. In the novella The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino is a young Mexican man who finds a valuable pearl. Before finding the pearl, Kino has a peaceful life with his wife, Juana and his son, Coyotito. Kino finds a pearl and people try to take advantage of him to get their hands on the pearl. Because of this, Kino is driven to do things he normally would not and the mood of the story turns dark. He beats a man who tries to attack him, he beats his wife for trying to get rid of the pearl and the bad luck it is causing Kino’s family and finally, he kills a man who tries to take the pearl away from him. This story is told from a third person point of view that allows the reader to get to know Kino before and after he finds this pearl. The reader sees that Kino is a good person who, because of the bad fortune this pearl is bringing him, is forced to do things that he normally would not. Despite all of his mistakes and the bad things that happen in the story, Kino is still a good...
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...A Separate Peace Essay Introduction John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is the story of Gene Forrester who struggles to come to grips with the guilt over his role in a traumatic event from his childhood. The novel, told as a flashback from the perspective of an adult Gene, looks back on his friendship with a private school classmate and Gene’s destructive feelings of jealousy, fear, and anger. Assignment Write a 3-5 page literary analysis that explores one of the attached essay topics. Structure You might want to think of a five-paragraph structure, but because of the length requirements, you may need to expand on that to adequately explore your topic. Intro: This should include a “hook,” background information, and a thesis. It should clearly lay out what you are going to discuss in your essay. Body: Provide analysis and supporting evidence. Mention several key events or moments from the novel. Include at least three carefully chosen quotes to help capture larger ideas from the novel. Blend them in with your own writing. Conclusion: Finalize your argument with final thoughts related to the main idea. Reminders: This is a literary essay so there should be no uses of “I” or “you.”Include an original title to capture interest. Requirements Your essay should have the following: ✓ A clear argument of opinion and purpose expressed in a thesis statement and introduction...
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...Psychology – A Separate Peace This is a book whose author John Knowles wrote it on the setting of the times during the World War II, at a place known as Devon which was a school where students could board privately in the New Hampshire on the Atlantic Coast. In the school’s campus ran scenery of two rivers mainly the Devon River which was known to be a fresh water body and the other river being Naguamsett River which was a salty and swampy like water body. The set of this work’s action rotates around an oak tree which is said to be predominate overhanging a creek ( Bloom 32). In this book, Gene and Finny standout to be the main characters. During the summer period at the Devon ( Bloom 32). The school worked towards making sure that the students would acquire their diploma before proceeding towards when they would be eighteen years. Gene and Finny are said to be acquaintances and at the same time roommates. Gene is a good student who is academically privileged on his own interests. Finny has the natural athlete physique which portrays him as a leader of all the other boys in school. His ability gives him the lee way to organize games such as Bitzball and Winter Carnival a factor which makes Gene jealous of his ability to do such. Main Characters. Gene Forester. He is the main ideal character whose behaviors are based on protagonist nature and his envious nature over his friend Finny leads to his untimely death. He is always suspicious of motivations bestowed by Finny since...
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...A Separate Peace Essay Introduction John Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace is the story of Gene Forrester who struggles to come to grips with the guilt over his role in a traumatic event from his childhood. The novel, told as a flashback from the perspective of an adult Gene, looks back on his friendship with a private school classmate and Gene’s destructive feelings of jealousy, fear, and anger. Assignment Write a 3-5 page literary analysis that explores one of the attached essay topics. Structure You might want to think of a five-paragraph structure, but because of the length requirements, you may need to expand on that to adequately explore your topic. Intro: This should include a “hook,” background information, and a thesis. It should clearly lay out what you are going to discuss in your essay. Body: Provide analysis and supporting evidence. Mention several key events or moments from the novel. Include at least three carefully chosen quotes to help capture larger ideas from the novel. Blend them in with your own writing. Conclusion: Finalize your argument with final thoughts related to the main idea. Reminders: This is a literary essay so there should be no uses of “I” or “you.”Include an original title to capture interest. Requirements Your essay should have the following: ✓ A clear argument of opinion and purpose expressed in a thesis statement and introduction. ...
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...A Separate Peace By John Knowles #2. What does my enemy mean? “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform. I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed there. Only Phineas never was afraid, only Phineas never hated anyone.” At the very end of the book, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester mentioned that he killed his enemy at Devon, before the war. An enemy, according to Gene is someone or something that they have to destroy in their personal war. For Gene, his enemy was his inner self. Gene Forrester had an inner devil that was jealous of Finny because Finny was born with good talents. His physical abilities and his oral talents to get away from troubles were outstanding. “He probably thought anything you were good at came without effort. He didn’t know yet that he was unique” (Knowles 58). When Gene realized this, he became jealous and wanted to kill Finny. However, after he pushed Finny off the tree, Gene realized that Finny wasn’t his rival. Therefore, Gene “killed” his enemy, the jealousy inside him by pushing Finny off the tree. Another enemy of Gene was resentment towards Finny. Gene didn’t like how Finny had lots of freedom and his special way of thinking. Because of this hatred, he pushed Finny off the tree. “Of course you didn’t do it. You damn fool. Sit down, you damn fool (Knowles 70). However, when Finny denies the fact that Gene pushed...
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...Friends are not just people to talk to, but they are also people that one can rely on even when they are not on the best terms. In the novel, A Separate Peace, the author, John Knowles, creates a controversy of whether the two main characters, Gene and Finny, are truly friends. Knowles inserts many instances that tell if Gene and Finny have a real friendship. Throughout the novel, Gene and Finny exhibit that they are not true friends because of the jealousy and hate involved in their relationship. Gene and Finny display a fallacious relationship through the envy that builds up throughout the novel. Gene shows signs of jealousy when Finny gets away with an act, “He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment,” (Knowles...
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...Forrester In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester experiences much personal growth. He starts off the book jealous and suspicious of his best friend Phineas, and by the end he has grown into a more mature adult, who thinks more rationally. He overcomes his insecurities and addresses his impulsive nature. This is all accomplished through Phineas’ injury and death. Gene fights this internal war and defeats his own demons before ever going overseas to be a part of World War II. In the first chapters of A Separate Peace, Phineas displays his abilities to talk his way out of trouble. About this Gene says, “It was hypnotism. I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him...
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...different people. Due to this, many conflicts arise, raising the question, who usually is victorious in those conflicts? This usually ends up deciding who can survive in this world and who can’t. In a Separate Peace however it varies due to what the situation is. In John Knowles A Separate Peace, the author proves that Gene is strong enough to survive in the modern world due to his actions, his personality, and how it contrasts to Finny’s. Firstly, Finny has always been a really nice person, he has never been even slightly related to a boor while Gene has been a very quiet and conservative of his thoughts. Gene reveals his secret personality too Finny when Knowles creates the scene between both of them where they discuss their relationship between themselves and the war. Whiling they are contemplating about the war, Finny keeps...
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...It is said that people who love the snow are addicted, by traveling to be with the snow. Winter was a rough season in A Separate Peace written by John Knowles, because it is about unraveling the truth between Gene and Finny relationship. The relationship between Gene and Finny’s is put on the test by their friendship, their true personality, and the forgiveness between one another. Gene and Finny went to the Devon river, and at the river Finny told Gene, “we'll jump together to cement our partnership,” (Knowles 31). Knowles specifically uses the words “cement our partnership”, because he is trying to explain that Finny is telling Gene that when they jump off the tree together they become closer friends. Friendship is moreover shown when Knowles...
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