They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but that is actually one of the first things we’re supposed to notice. If the cover doesn’t have an intriguing title and captivating cover then it is unofficially deemed unworthy of reading right away. People don’t want to read the back of every book they read, so in order to make the selection process quicker they judge the title and cover image first. I feel like John Knowles book, A Separate Peace, has both a decent cover and title; however, I think the cover could have been a little better in certain areas.
A good title comprises of these things: intrigue, length, relevance, and (sometimes) relation to the story. Intrigue is probably the most important element of a story’s title because this feature forces people to ask questions. For example, Ferris’ Day Off is a title rich with intrigue. It makes us start to wonder on matters such as, “Who is Ferris? What is he getting a day off from? What does he do during his day off?” and before you know it, you’re reading chapter nine! A Separate Peace has some intrigue hidden as well; however, I feel like it doesn’t make the reader wonder enough. I like how it makes the reader question why “peace” is spelt the way it is, but some mean potential readers may even excuse the book for being second rate while holding firm to the belief that “peace” was a typo. This is somewhat of a Win-Lose scenario considering the possibility that you can both gain and lose readership being something many authors will want to avoid altogether. Length isn’t THAT important; therefore, it isn’t often known for gaining or losing readership. This does not mean in any way, shape, or form that you can just name your book anything and disregard the length of the title. N...
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...such as, “What happens with Finny and the other character? What makes Finny so special? What sort of relationship does Finny and the other character share?” These questions are answered throughout the book so that any and all readers can come to terms as to why the title is relevant to the book itself. The title is, not unlike A Separate Peace, only three words long so that the name itself is not ridiculously extensive. This title I created includes each of the properties and I believe that it displays the book’s main idea perfectly. This coming of age story not only talks about the two boys and their contrast in character but how they both must overcome obstacles in the lifeless drone of war and school. I have firmly decided that this title possesses every aspect that A Separate Peace lacks and that is why I would prefer the identity of the story to be Finny and I.
A Separate Peace is a coming of age novel in which Gene, the main character, revisits his high school and his traumatic teen years. When Gene was a teen-ager his best friend and roommate Phineas (Finny) was the star athlete of the school.
In the novel A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, Gene and Finny have boarding school experiences during World War II. Finny helps Gene mature throughout the story. Finny is an archetypal Jesus because of he preaches his ideas to his peers, his death is similar to Jesus’s, and his charismatic personality.
After reading the story, I found I had mixed emotions about it. To explain, when we were getting into detail and finally finding out what really happened the day of June 28th, I found myself completely interested and glued to the book. I also enjoyed the way the incident was explained because I felt like I was there watching it all happen from the great detail. I enjoyed Phillips style of writing because through his writing, he really came off as an intelligent person who is very familiar with the legal system. The book is an easy read, and I liked the non-pretentious style of writing. I did not find myself struggling with reading the book at all, which made the overall experience that much more enjoyable.
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.
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." BIBLIOGRAPHY "A Separate Peace." Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Vol. 78, No. 1, pp.
The book A Separate Peace follows the lives of two boys going to an all boys prep school called Devon. The few similarities they did have were their codependency on each other, and even though Gene wasn’t the best at sports they both enjoyed sports. They could not have been better friends, but had vast differences including how they were raised, they excelled in different things, and they act differently. Because of their many differences their friendship changes throughout the story.
A Separate Peace shares the lives of students at Devon that are forced into an unknown world of fear, problems, and uncertainty as they head off to World War II in training to fight and represent their country where they will find or lose themselves and make important decisions that will impact their future. The students at Devon are put into adulthood at an early age, having to fight and make their country proud, but they are left feeling pressure for a war they do not start. The students enter a world of unexpectedness and dread where they are forced into adulthood through war, and are exposed to self sacrifice, physical awareness, and patriotism.
Technically a book cover isn’t necessary at all, and could be seen as excess ornamentation, quite similarly to what a frame is to a painting. A book without a cover is still the same book, as a painting is still a painting without its frame. A film on the other hand needs it’s title sequence for legal reasons, this being the primary reason for its appearance at the beginning of the film. The primary differences of a book cover and a frame are that a frame does not cover the work entirely and is seen by the viewer together with the painting, adding visual aesthetic to the pai...
John Knowles writes a compelling realistic fiction about the lives of two teenage boys throughout the start of World War II in his novel A Separate Peace. Peter Yates the director of the movie plays the story out in a well organized theatrical manner. There are similarities and differences in these two works of art. However; there are also similarities.
Many works of literature use the idea of coming of age to represent the characters growth and change. This coming of age allows the characters to see an aspect of their lives differently after experiencing something that changes their view. John Knowles uses this coming of age idea in his novel A Separate Peace. In the story, almost all of the character exemplifies this idea. Two of these characters are Leper and Finny. Knowles uses many details in the text as well as quotes to show for their coming of age. Both Leper and Finny experience events that impact their lives greatly.
The protagonists in A Separate Peace, Gene Forrester, and The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Claufield, make them coming of age novels by the struggles that they come across as they grow up into becoming mature, adult like men. Gene Forrester attains his maturity by dealing through the confusion he has from cooperating with his best friend, Finny, and the guilt he inherits as he blames himself responsible for Finny’s death. On the contrary, Holden Claufield, in The Catcher in the Rye, illustrates his attainment of maturity by growing with the depression he possesses and his alienation from the people in the novel.
A Separate Peace and Dead Poets Society revolve around a group of young boarding school attendees who form groups during their sessions. Although the book and the movie have different plots, they portray similar ideas as well as include some of the same scenes. The characters in these works; Todd, Gene, Phineas, and Neil have numerous similarities though their personalities and behaviors.
In "A Separate Peace" many characteristics of becoming a man can be seen. For example, as the novel progresses, so does Gene's maturity. Gene's first seen in the novel as a boy, not yet brought on by nature, but as one gets deeper into the novel, one sees change; Gene embarks on life change that all men journey through once in their life. Gene begins to see his life and others from a totally new standpoint, as though even from a newer perspective. In Chapter two and chapter three, Gene, develops a sheer envy for Finny, and acknowledges it as the truth. He is extremely envious of the methods in which Finny uses to escape his unusual actions and his popularity. He embeds himself in a pool of self-assurance, by repeatedly telling himself over and over again that having
Monsters under the bed, drowning, and property damage are topics many people have nightmares about; nightmares about a dystopian future, on the other hand, are less common. Despite this, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s 1984 display a nightmarish vision about a dystopian society in the near future. Fahrenheit 451 tells of Guy Montag’s experience in a society where books have become illegal and the population has become addicted to television. Meanwhile, 1984 deals with Winston Smith’s affairs in Oceania, a state controlled by the totalitarian regime known as the Party. This regime is supposedly headed by a man named Big Brother. By examining the dehumanized settings, as well as the themes of individuality and manipulation, it becomes clear that novels successfully warn of a nightmarish future.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book that everyone at some point in their life will be able to relate to. The book contains everyday conflicts and lessons that people in the world today deal with. Huck goes through life changing situations where he can show anyone who reads the book what you can get out of the good and bad times. Huck will have to make decisions that ordinary people in his time would not have to. Part of the reason this is the case is because of Huck's incredible personality and how he makes his decisions. Some will praise him, others will be filled with disappointment. A key point in this book is mistakes. Huck makes mistakes but he does not dwell on the fact that he made the mistake but that he has to make the best of it and work it out. It proves that so many people make a mistake then keep on looking back on it and they end up not trying to make the best out of the the mistake.