A Separate Peace - Resentment and Change In the novel "A Separate Peace," by John Knowles, a boy named Gene visits his high school 15 years after graduating in order to find an inner peace. While attending the private boys school during the second World War, Gene's best friend Phineas died and Gene knows he was partially responsible. Phineas, or Finny as he was sometimes called, was the most popular boy in school. He was a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. Gene, on the other hand, was a lonely, self-sufficient intellectual. Somehow the two became good friends, or so Finny thought. Gene, unfortunately, was bitten by the green-eyed monster of jealousy. Gene just couldn't come to grips with the idea that a person of Finny's stature would want to be his friend. Gene's envy grew to a point where he was willing to severely injure Finny for being too perfect. Unfortunately for Finny, Gene succeeded. Finny's seeming perfection, his strong beliefs, and his ability to forgive trace his development throughout the novel. Finny's seeming perfection was the basis for Gene's resentment towards him. Gene thought that everything Finny did was perfect, which just upset Gene all the more. Finny was so perfect that he didn't care what others thought, like when Finny wore a pink shirt as an emblem after the bombing of central Europe. " '...Pink! It makes you look like a fairy!' 'Does it?' He used this preoccupied tone when he was thinking of something more interesting than what you had said." One time Finny and Gene were at the swimming pool when Finny noticed that a boy named A. Hopkins Parker had the record for the 100 yards free style. When Finny realized that A. Hopkins Parker had graduated before they came, he remarked, "I have a feeling I can swim faster than A. Hopkins Parker." He was right. Gene was ecstatic that Finny could do such a thing without any training or anything. All Gene could say was, "You're too good to be true." In certain ways he was. Throughout the book Gene knows that Finny has some strong beliefs. The first three he noticed were: "Never say you are five feet nine when you are really five feet eight and a half"; "Always say some prayers at night because it might turn out that there is a god"; and "You always win at sports." The latter of the three was amazing because to Finny all you had to do was play to win at a sport. Unfortunately, this all added up to a point where jealousy overcame Gene and caused him to injure Finny. Gene and Finny had started a Super Suicide Society which included a jump from both Finny and Gene at the beginning of every meeting. This time Finny came up with the idea that they both jump at the same time. They were in the tree with Finny farther out on the jumping limb when Gene's "...knees bent and I jounced the limb." Finny fell and shattered his leg. Gene became overwhelmed by sorrow because he had caused his best friend to shatter his leg. The most athletic person in the school could no longer play sports. Gene eventually got up the nerve to go to Finny and tell him the truth about causing the fall. However when he got to him it was Finny who apologized, saying, "I'm sorry about that, Gene," Meaning, he regretted the feeling he had that Gene had actually caused him to fall. Finny believed that a friend would never do a thing like that. Finny was a great person and one of his best qualities was his ability to forgive. Gene and Finny became friends again once Finny was able to return to school. All seemed well until the boy in the room across the hall started to get suspicious that Finny didn't accidentally fall out of the tree. He wound up tricking Gene and Phineas into going to a investigation to find out what really happened. The investigation included the testimony of a witness who was at the meeting when Finny fell. He said, "they moved like an engine... The one holding on to the trunk sank for a second, up and down like a piston, and then the other one sank and fell." Finny realized what had happened and took off out the door, but then slipped on the marble steps and rebroke his leg. Gene felt terrible remorse and he hid in some bushes just so he could talk with Finny. Finny was still upset the first time Gene was able to talk to him through the window at the infirmary, saying, "You want to break something else in me!" Gene was able to speak with Finny, face to face, when he was asked to bring some of Finny's clothes to the infirmary. "It was some blind impulse you had in the tree there, you didn't know what you were doing. Was that it?" "Yes, yes, that was it. Oh, that was it, but how can you believe that?" "I do, I think I can believe that. I've gotten awfully mad sometimes and almost forgotten what I was doing...It wasn't anything personal." "No, I don't know how to show you, how can I show you, Finny?" "I believe you. It's okay because I understand and I believe you. You've already shown me and I believe you." Finny forgave Gene and all was well, at least for a little while. Finny's development can be seen throughout the novel by tracing his seeming perfection, his strong beliefs, and his ability to forgive. Finny changed from being the best athlete in the school to being the only one who couldn't go to the war. Finny was a very good person. Finny was a very firm believer in what he thought was right. Finny was a very forgiving person, believing in the forgiveness of friends. Unfortunately, Finny died due to the negligence of the school doctor. When Finny's leg was being set some bone marrow escaped into his blood stream stopping his heart. When Gene heard this news he didn't cry. Gene felt that, along with Phineas, he himself had died, and you don't cry at your own funeral. Gene went back to his school to come to grips with the fact that he was partially responsible for Finny's death. Finny was not perfect; D's on his tests and bad grades show that. But to Gene, Finny was perfect and always would be.
is important to the theme because Gene longs to have that same whimsical way that Finny
A person often gains new insight as a result of a specific incident that he or she experiences. This point is clearly demonstrated in the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Gene learns the profound meaning of friendship when he pushes Phineas out of the tree. When he learns that Phineas has this unconditional love for him, he becomes very guilty for what he has done. The author foreshadows many events from the beginning of the book.
Phineas spent a couple of weeks in the infirmary before he was allowed to have visitors. When Phineas was finally accepting visitors the doctor requested Gene to go visit him. When Gene is able to go visit Phineas they talk about the fall and if Phineas remembers it. Phineas doesn’t remember Gene being the one to push him off and denies it being Gene’s fault. Of course, Gene feels very guilty about being the one to cause his best friend to break his leg.
... why I think that is, we need to discuss their portrayal or Raymond “Red” Reddington, and Elizabeth Keene juxtaposed to the writers’ vision for the characters. Let’s start with James Spader. As Raymond Reddington, in the very first episode we see him striking a deal with the FBI to take down a “blacklist” of criminals that is only if he gets to work alongside new agent Elizabeth Keen in return. Reddington is but a man of smooth sophistication, one that appreciates a bit of aged scotch, timeless poetry, and beautiful women. Similar to James’ more recent roles he is an alluring and strange mixture of charm, intellect, audacity, and self-possession. Red could have been played by another actor, that hypothetical actor could not bring the same degree of “smug satisfaction” that Spader does. It will be a shock if the Spader does not get yet another Emmy for his work here.
...iendship between Gene and Phineas is amidst themes such as lack of reality, low maturity levels, and false appearances. Their relationship deteriorates and leads to death because they fail to learn these valuable life lessons. The purpose of Knowles’ novel is to exaggerate the life of two young boys to the extreme in order to reveal the unfortunate things that can occur in a relationship when these themes are not taken seriously. As stated in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, "It (A Separate Peace) can be viewed, for example, as a tale of Original Sin, with the Devon School as an Eden enclosing the great Tree of Knowledge through which humankind falls far from innocence but is redeemed by the suffering of a totally innocent one. It may also be approached as a reworking of the classic tale of the need to accept the potential evil within everyone and thus make peace with one’s self."
Dionysus, god of wine, in ancient Greek and Roman mythology is argued to have come late to the divinity family. Scholars continue to debate the idea. Myth scholars, fascinated by his stature and appearance believe that Dionysus was perceived as a god, and yet there are images of Dionysus that depict him as a goddess as well. The divine family tree of Dionysus begins with Dionysus as a gender specific male. I merely argue that, perhaps it is not a question of gender, but of perception. In order to receive the full understanding of Dionysus, one must start at the very beginning of Dionysus's "divine story."
After Phineas, also known as Finny, falls from the tree, he slowy begins to change. He begins to lose his innocence, It can be seen in the beginning of the novel that Finny acts very innocent. For example, Finny's game of Blitzball shows his spontaneous style of play, and his innocent child like personality. However after Finny's tragic fall from the tree, he begins to seem less innocent and childish. He begins to reveal secrets to Gene, such as when he tells Gene about trying to enlist in the war. “I've been writing to the Army and the Navy and the Marines and the Canadians and everybody else all winter..”(Knowles 190). War is not an event for innocent little boys. When readers find out that Finny had been trying to enlist in the war all winter it shows that after the fall Finny becomes less and less innocent. He no longer begins to play his childish games, and no longer tries to preform his crazy stunts. Though he is hurt, he does not seem to want to watch or help participate in any of these activies. On the day Finny fell from that tree, he did not just plument down into the river beneath him, but also fell from innocence.
Although Gene hurt Finny, he never questions Gene's loyalty and friendship. Showing how true friends will always believe and trust each other. During a school
Knowles further manipulates Finny and Gene’s relationship in their escapades together. At the beach, Finny shares his inner emotions with Gene, an act likened to “the next thing to suicide” (48). Surprised, Gene attempts to share his own feelings, but hesitates and does not follow through. Knowles uses Gene’s hesitant, distrusting nature, to suggest dishonesty in his relationship with Finny. In the scene where Finny saves Gene from falling out of the tree, Knowles continues to imply power disparity. Realizing that “Finny had practically saved [his] life” (32), Gene feels personal debt to Finny. This widens the power gap even further ...
In the early pages of the novel, Finny confesses that Gene is his best friend. This is considered a courageous act as the students at Devon rarely show any emotion. And rather than coming back with similar affection, Gene holds back and says nothing. Gene simply cannot handle the fact that Finny is so compassionate, so athletic, so ingenuitive, so perfect. As he put it, "Phineas could get away with anything." (p. 18) In order to protect himself from accepting Finny's compassion and risking emotional suffering, Gene creates a silent rivalry with Finny, and convinced himself that Finny is deliberately attempting to ruin his schoolwork. Gene decides he and Finny are jealous of each other, and reduces their friendship to cold trickery and hostility. Gene becomes disgusted with himself after weeks of the silent rivalry. He finally discovers the truth, that Finny only wants the best for Gene, and had no hidden evil intentions. This creates a conflict for Gene as he is not able to deal with Finny's purity and his own dark emotions. On this very day Finny wants to jump off of the tree branch into the Devon river at the same time as Gene, a "double jump" (p. 51), he says, as a way of bonding. It was this decision, caused by Finny's affection for Gene and outgoing ways that resulted in drastic change for the rest of his life.
I saw this poem as Dickinson's attempt at describing the process of mourning over a loved one. I had inclinations to believe that she is describing her own death, but then I had too many contradicting thoughts on that interpretation. Therefore, I believe that the poet has undergone a serious loss of some sort, and is either figuratively or literally describing the process of recovering from the pain that such a loss ignites inside the survivor.
...of what he sought to be right; because he had guidance by only one creature who was evil. Grendel’s evil shaping is not not his wrong doing but by humans, because the they did not give him a chance.
The paralegal field is thought to be a high paced glorious career of working alongside an attorney and getting recognition for their work. In reality a paralegal job is nothing like Erin Brockovich (A movie where a paralegal was able to investigate and played an immense part in winning a large case) envisioned from the movie. Becoming a paralegal is appealing because it allows a quick entrance into a professional career field and offers a wide range of daily and career experiences. However, the work-life balance can be poor, the career path often stagnates without continuing education, and the pay is insufficient for the work load. Also, while there are a wide range of paralegal jobs there is also competition and an applicant must possess the ability to step right into the role with little or no training. While expecting much of the work to be comparable to administrative work and document reading.
"I," she told him, "can believe anything. You have no idea what I can believe."
There are three categories of offended people. There are people who are always offended. There are people who truly are offended. And, there are p...