Short Story on Peace There was once a time when peace reigned. Magic was common, and there was no such thing as war. Queen Retine of the Verla, and her advisor, Kashar, commanded the powers of the Serpents Tear and the Dragons Claw. With these powers, there was no homelessness, food was abundant, and no such things as rich or poor existed. Ten years after assuming the throne, a stranger came, garbed in outlandish clothes, and tried to steal the Serpents Tear. He was stopped and executed. Many others tried to take the Serpents Tear, and they all failed. Those in the palace were confused. The Serpents Tear kept everything safe. Why would someone want to steal it? Security had been increased on the royal family, in case any of them were kidnapped and tried to ransom them for the Serpents Tear. But they were all of them deceived. They were lulled into a false sense of security. One night after Kashar had finished her rounds, she was attacked and brutally murdered. The Dragons Claw was stolen. Destruction reigned across the eastern lands. Everyday, more reports came of the destruction. Villages destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people dead. Scorched land covered in the blood of their people. Endless clouds of pungent black smoke covered the eastern skyline, poisoning the very air. The beautiful landscape of wooded valleys, groves and tumbling streams were gone, brutally transformed into a barren wasteland of brambles, sere grass, and thorns. It was in this time that Queen Retine created what she swore she never
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.
The literary analysis essay for A Separate Peace entitled Chapter 7: After the Fall notes that Gene’s brawl with Cliff Quackenbush occurs for two reasons: the first reason being that Gene was fighting to defend Finny, and the second reason being that Quackenbush is the antithesis of Finny. Cliff Quackenbush calls Gene a “maimed son-of-a-bitch”, since Gene holds a position on the team that is usually reserved for physically disabled students, and Gene reacts by hitting him in the face (Knowles, 79). At first, Gene remarks that he didn’t know why he reacted this way, then he says, “it was almost as though I were maimed. Then the realization that there was someone who was flashed over me”, referring to Finny (Knowles, 79). Quackenbush is “the adult world of punitive authority personified”, his voice mature, his convictions militaristic (Chapter, 76). Quackenbush reminds Gene of the adult world and all of the things that Finny and Devon protected him from, such as war.
A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age novel about two boys at boarding school and their friendship during World War II. There are three significant scenes of violence that occur in the novel; however, the core of the plot is based upon one. The first and most poignant is the incident where Gene, the narrator, jiggles the tree branch while he and Phineas, his best friend, are preparing to jump, causing Phineas to fall and break his leg. The next scene of violence is when Quackenbush calls Gene a lame and Gene pushes him into the water. Lastly, Gene pushes Leper out of his chair while visiting him after he is accused of causing Phineas’ injury. All of these occurrences contribute to the overall meaning of the work.
“The more sure I am that I 'm right, the more likely I will actually be mistaken. My need to be right makes it more likely that I will be wrong! Likewise, the more sure I am that I am mistreated, the more likely I am to miss ways that I am mistreating others myself. My need for justification obscures the truth." This sentence is one of many quotes from the book I really liked and agreed with. After reading The Anatomy of Peace, I realized that the Arbinger Institute was deeply insightful helping me to understand the reality and myself. I also realized that the moment I start to agree with this statement, I walked out of my box.
Throughout the novel, A Separate Peace, the author John Knowles conveys many messages of symbolism. The symbolism can be found in an array of ways, ranging from internal war, to the theme of human aggression, and a variety of religious principles. The main characters, Gene and Phineas, and their story could be paralleled to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The similarities can be seen in the way in which in both of the stories, everyone is living in perfect harmony and peace until something comes along to disrupt it. Also in how the main characters do something out of jealousy, greed, and selfishness; and in addition, how Finny's fall out of a tree relates to the “Fall of Mankind.”
Gene Forrester, the narrator of the story, visited his previous school where he studied 15 years ago during the World War II. He wandered around the Devon school in New Hampshire and noticed that everything there seems to be coated with varnish and is well preserved. As he walks through the places in the school, he remembered the memories from his childhood, and he was reminded of how fearful they were. Then there, he decided to visit the places which he most closely associates with fear. The first one is the marble staircase which shows little sign of wear over the years. And the second one is the river where a specific tree is located.
“…It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.”
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.
Through out the book A Separate Peace, Gene, his growth and harmony seem to change. His opinions, and outlook on life also seem to change as his relationship with Phineas does likewise. Gene’s self-perception changes from insecurity to imitation to independence as his relationship with Phineas changes.
was so much a part of the other. To Finny, Gene has always been an
Separate Peace What really happened in the tree? Gene and Finny were very good friends; however, whatever happened in the tree the day the Finny "fell" out, is the actual cause of Gene “…My knees bent and I jounced the limb…” page 52. In fact, Finny did not fall out of the tree, but Gene had actually pushed him out. Gene had very good reasons to push him out “Finny had put him up to it, to finish me fro good on the exam.” Page 49. He pushed him out of jealousy for two things. For athleticism, and for his popularity, and also for his ability to talk his way out of anything.. First, Finny was a very athletic person; however, Gene is just a normal average day person. Gene couldn't stand attempting to compete with Finny because he knew that he would always lose.
A friendship without mutual love and respect leads to selfishness and jealousy. In A Separate Peace, Gene remains envious of his best friend: Finny’s good looks, his ability to charm everyone that he meets, his ability to take charge, and his natural athleticism. As their friendship flourishes, Gene becomes desirous of Finny’s physical appearance and his build. Finny uses his ability to take charge and organizes the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. Before each meeting, Finny and Gene jump from the tree that overlooks the river. Prior to one meeting, both climb the tree to begin the meeting; when they make it to the top of the tree, Gene takes the opportunity to wiggle the branch. As a result, Finny falls, which ends Finny’s athleticism and changes his life. Gene’s guilt leads him to lie multiple times to cover his spiteful endeavor. His guiltiness causes him to confess to Phineas. Finny never accepts Gene’s reason for an apology; Phineas only agrees to the fact after Leper explains in detail what happens on that dreadful day. In a rage, Finny falls down the marble stairs, which causes another break and ends his life. In the novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles illustrates the contrast between a friendship of jealousy and one of love through foreshadowing, metaphors, and symbolism.
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.
What is peace? To Ronald Reagan peace is “not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” Peace is harmony in relations, and a state of tranquility (Merriam-Webster). Throughout history, many men have fought to have peace in this world. Meanwhile, many have destroyed the peace, wanting power. The ability to control struggles in nonviolent, peaceful ways is a gift that has appeared in history multiple times. Martin Luther King, Jr. had this gift. He also had a dream. A dream to inspire others, bring them to work for peace, and lead them to live his vision of equal rights.
The lives and prosperity of millions of people depend on peace and, in turn, peace depends on treaties - fragile documents that must do more than end wars. Negotiations and peace treaties may lead to decades of cooperation during which disputes between nations are resolved without military action and economic cost, or may prolong or even intensify the grievances which provoked conflict in the first place. In 1996, as Canada and the United States celebrated their mutual boundary as the longest undefended border in the world, Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows over a rocky island so small it scarcely had space for a flagpole.1 Both territorial questions had been raised as issues in peace treaties. The Treaty of Ghent in 1815 set the framework for the resolution of Canadian-American territorial questions. The Treaty of Sevres in 1920, between the Sultan and the victorious Allies of World War I, dismantled the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and distributed its territories. Examination of the terms and consequences of the two treaties clearly establishes that a successful treaty must provide more than the absence of war.