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Symbolism in a separate peace
A literary analysis of a separate peace: a novel of conflict.”
Phineas a seperate peace traits
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Recommended: Symbolism in a separate peace
John Knowles' "A Separate Peace" and Struggle for Power
John Knowles' A Separate Peace depicts many examples of how power is
used. In A Separate Peace, two opposing characters struggle for their own
separate might. Gene Forrester, the reserved narrator, is weakened by his
struggle for power. While, Phineas was inspired by his own power within. The
novel conveys how peace can weaken or inspire during a mental war.
Phineas, a natural rebel, is known as the best athlete in school. For
example, he and three others come to look at a tree, which is considered among
the Upper Middler students at Devon an impossibility. Phineas demonstrates his
supreme power by stating that the tree is, indeed, a "cinch" (p. 6). No Upper
Middler had dared to do the unthinkable, vaulting off a tree to land in a
shallow river. Phineas is the first to do this. This single statement tells us
much about him. He doesn't mind taking risks, enjoys intimidating others, and
over exaggerates. It tells that he is very strong and powerful to be able to do
what others can not do. The denotation of power is "the capability of achieving
something." Not only is Phineas achieving something from jumping off this tree,
he is achieving power by gaining the respect of fellow classmates. Phineas'
spontaneity inspires many others to be like himself and jump off the tree.
Another example of Phineas' power is his character establishing scene of
disrespect to the school by wearing his pink shirt and the Devon School tie as
his belt. We here, again, see him as the spontaneous individual who "can get
away with anything" (p.18). Phineas' nature inspired Mr. Patch-Withers, a
teacher at Devon. Phineas has an eloquence about himself, allowing him to get by
with so much. Phineas "might have rather enjoyed the punishment if it was done
in some kind of novel and known way" (p.20). Even with negative actions,
Phineas can enjoy a situation if it presents something new and different. It is
this spontaneous and contradictory nature which Gene cannot understand and
which ultimately contributes to his attempting to destroy Phineas.
Gene Forrester, after being gone for fifteen years, returns to the Devon
School to recollect his past memories of the summer session when he was sixteen
years old. As stated before, Phineas was considered the best athlete in school,
but Gene tried to compensate by being the best student in school. Gene's
continuous competition with Phineas weakened his personality, hence causing
Gene's rebellion on Phineas. Gene begins to think that his purpose is
"to become part of Phineas" (p.
In the novel A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the narrator, Gene Forrester struggles to earn and preserve a separate peace. The story takes place in a remote boarding school named Devon, in New Hampshire. While Gene and Finny are in school, World War II is taking place. The author clearly explains an important story about the jealousy between Gene and his best friend, Phineas. Gene suspects that Finny is trying to sabotage his grades, and Gene allows his jealousy to control his actions. Therefore, Gene misinterprets their relationship by thinking that they shared enmity towards each other, and this caused Gene to enter a world of jealousy and hatred, which ultimately leads to Finny’s death. By examining this jealousy, John Knowles
Friendship is a necessity throughout life whether it is during elementary school or during adulthood. Some friendships may last a while and some may last for a year; it depends on the strength of the bond and trust between the two people. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main characters, Gene and Finny, did not have a pure friendship because it was driven by envy and jealousy, they did not feel the same way towards each other and they did not accurately understand each other.
Beyond the basic need for a sense of control, people are driven by their sense of identity, of who they are. Each person lives in their own universes, which are centered upon their feeling of self-purpose. There are multiple types of identities such as individual and group identities. Each person's identity is formed differently because of the unique experiences every individual encounters. The formation can be affected by many things such as their home environment, social concurrences, and physiological health. This story, A Separate Peace, exhibits interesting main characters which establish the frequent struggles of personal identity in adolescence.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles shows that Gene, Finny, and Leper set up Maginot Lines that are ineffective and eventually lead to their own destruction.
The quote, “Ignorance is bliss,” by Thomas Gray is a seemingly adequate description of the lives of Gene, Finny, and Leper until they are all roughly jolted out of their fantasy world and brought back to reality. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles does an acceptable job of showing how disillusionment can greatly impact and, thus, change the lives of people. The book showcases the cycle of disillusionment and the ramifications it implies. Throughout the book, we see Gene, Leper, and Finny’s views on the world change. This all culminates in Gene being elevated to a higher level of understanding of the world and seeing the truth about Devon and the war. The illusions created by Finny and Leper are also taken on by Gene, and he, in turn, shares in their disillusionment. Overall, disillusionment is a part of life and often serves as a tool to help many people grow and learn from the past.
De Luca, H., & Miller, T. J. (1991). Punishment vs. rehabilitation: A proposal for revising sentencing practices. Federal Probation, 55(3), 37.
Tuberculosis or TB, referred to by some as the White death due to the epidemic that arose in Europe that lasted two hundred years, is usually caused by in humans by a microorganism by substrains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s hard to determine the exact years in which TB first infected humans, but since the disease leaves traces on the bone in can be found in archeological record and it is believed to go all the way back to the B.C. era. Although it is hard to tell if the bone damage was truly from TB, there is research that shows that it has been around since the 17th and 18th centuries with a high number of incidences of TB, and in 1882 Dr. Robert Koch announced that his discovery of the causing factor of TB, which is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A tuberculosis bacterium is spread through the air by an infected person speaking, coughing, or sneezing. Due to the fact the bacteria is protected by a waxy cell all, the body’s defense takes weeks to develop any kind of immunity and it allows the bacteria to exponentially multiply freely within the body. If TB it’s left untreated it will eat rapidly through many tissues, usually beginning with the lungs, lymph nodes, and kidneys. As the infection spreads to the lungs, it causes a cough and fluid between the chest wall and lungs, which leads to chest pains, severe shortness of breath, and potential heart failure. TB also infects bones and joints that can produce arthritis like pain and characteristic bone damage. Another possibility is that it may affect the fluid around the brain, causing meningitis, which can lead to fever, drowsiness, and eventually coma and death (Wingerson, 2009).
My hypothesis on Tuberculosis is that it is a very deadly disease that causes a persons lungs to fill with blood. This can harm the body by making the body suffocate itself when the lungs fill with blood.
Power, the perception of superiority over another human, is the source of many conflicts between people. Feeling inferior causes people to act beyond their normal personality. John Knowles strongly demonstrates this point in his work, A Separate Peace. In the relationship between Finny and Gene, Gene sets himself up to be inferior in the balance of power which motivates him to act irrationally to take power back from Finny.
These germs, or organisms, are often living in or on our bodies. Most of the time they are harmless, and sometimes they are helpful.2 These organisms are often called microorganisms because they are so small they can only be seen through a microscope. There are millions of microorganisms living in your body that help with body functions. The problem is when a microorganism that can cause disease enters your body and starts to multiply. These unwanted microorganisms are called pathogens. Pathogens can be bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans and insects or animals.3
In my mind the word discipline can mean so many different things. It’s actually quite hard for me to explain exactly what it means. If I were to look the word up in Webster’s dictionary it might say that discipline “is control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior. I somewhat agree with that definition. As a prior soldier I most definitely respect rules and order. I know that my life and the lives of others I served with relied heavily on discipline. I think that when most men think of the word discipline a few images come to their minds. Some men think of R. Lee Ermey the Drill Instructor in Full Metal Jacket. Some men think of Vince Lombardi the Super Bowl winning coach. I often think of these tough in your face men with larger than life personalities. I also think of other men like Frederick Douglass, Thomas Edison, Clarence Thomas, Ronald Reagan,
Alcoholism is a disease in which a person has an overwhelming desire to drink alcoholic beverages. A person who has this desire is called an alcoholic because he/she feels forced to drink. Alcoholism is considered one of the most serious problems in the world. Alcohol creates many problems in our society and people's personal lives. A large number of people in the world die from different diseases caused by alcohol. According to the Maclean's magazine, " In 1993, 3,062 people died from diseases directly related to alcohol consumption such as cirrhosis. Alcohol was also involved in almost 16,000 other deaths in fires, motor vehicle accidents, acts of violence and other incidents." (37) Many people think that alcoholism in an incurable disease, but they are wrong. An alcoholic can be treated in many ways, but of course, he/she has to recognize that he/she is an alcoholic and wish to be cured. Some ways of treatment, such as Alcoholics Anonymous(AA) and psychotherapy are possible solutions of alcoholism. Also government should take some acts to solve this problem.
3. Chapter 1, page 5, #3: “Moving through the soaked, coarse grass I began to examine each one closely, and finally identified the tree I was looking for by means of certain small scars rising along its trunk, and by a limb extending over the river, and another thinner limb growing near it.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in which bacteria may invade many parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, and the spine. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a rod shaped, aerobic bacterium that is resistant to destruction and can persist in necrotic and calcified lesion for prolonged periods and remain capable of reinstating growth (Porth, 2011). However, the most common target is the lungs (Wouk, 2010). The Tuberculosis bacteria severely damage the lungs that it is difficult for a person to breathe. According to Wouk, there are two main types of Tuberculosis. The first type is latent, which means a person carries the tuberculosis germ, but he or she is not sick and can not pass the germ on to the other person, and the other type is active tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is an infection caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, an acid-fast Gram-positive bacillus, and “is characterized by progressive necrosis of the lung tissue” (Tamaro & Lewis, 2005). Tuberculosis is caused by many debilitating conditions like immunosuppression and chronic lung disease, among others. Nevertheless, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), remains the leading cause of tuberculosis worldwide. Tuberculosis can present in one of two types: active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis. Prompt treatment prevents latent tuberculosis from evolving into active tuberculosis. (“Basic TB Facts,” 2012).