Literary Elements in A Separate Peace Essay

A Separate Peace

The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, is based on Gene Forresters flashbacks of his younger years at Devon High School. Throughout this novel, we read about the feelings and perspectives of Genes years at Devon. While Gene was attending Devon, World War II was taking place. Gene had a best friend named Phineas, also known as Finny. Phineas was everything Gene wished to be. While Gene was academically successful, Finny was better known for him athletic abilities. Their friendship is a mixture of admiration, jealousy, respect and resentment.

One of the themes of this story is friendship, this theme also relates to the title in many ways. The theme of this story reflects the way the boys, in a private school, took the actions of the world around them. While Finny and Gene were having their own little war, a world war was going on. Gene had become co-depended on Finny, all through the story.

When the boys created The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session, they met almost every night.(Knowles34). Gene attended every meeting, although the plain truth was that he had no interest in going. To be a member of that club, Finny had established the need of jumping the tree. During one of those attempts, both Gene and Finny, were to jump together. But Gene jounced the limb while Finny was still on, and Finny lost his balance and landed flat on the ground.(Knowles60).Finny had shattered his leg and Dr. Standpole had declared him as unable to exercise athletic abilities. With this great chaos, came great guilt to Gene. He had felt the need to assimilate the life of Finny. He even remembers the evening he dressed as Phineas. I decided to put on his clothes(Knowles62) He also recalls his reaction to his reflection in the mirror. But when I looked in the mirror it was no remote aristocrat I had become, no character out of daydreams. I was Phineas, Phineas to the life.

Another theme that relates well with the title is warfare. The time in which this novel is based on , has to be taken into consideration. Before anyone of the boys enlisted, none of them truly had an affirmation that the war was really going on. It was not until Lepers enlistment, that the boys realized the war was indeed taking place.(Knowles123) Gene, whom Leper had telegrammed for help, could not believe what Leper had said about the war.(Knowles145) Before Finnys accident, he was all about the war. He talked about war as if it were a subject he knew like the palm of his hand. He exercised just to be in shape when enlistment time came about. But once he was declared invalid, he pretended as if the war did not exist. After Finnys second accident, he states .. I wish to God there wasnt any war..(Knowles189) He admits he had been writing to military bases to enlist, but the answer was the same everywhere, no. (Knowles190)

The final theme of this story deals with the fact that after 15 years, Gene still can not get over the guilt or memory of Finnys death. He blamed himself for the first accident, and felt a bit of guilt when the second accident occurred. The memory of both accidents haunt him. When Finny was being lowered in to his familys strait-laced burial ground outside of Boston, Gene did not cry then or ever. I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that caseStated Gene.(Knowles194)

The title of this story mostly describes the differences between both boys. The friendship of both boys, is reflected a whole lot overall. Gene envied some of Finnys characteristics and abilities. While Finny envied Genes intellectual abilities. Also, the boys abstraction from the outside world from their little private school environment relates to the title. Gene ended up enlisting in the Navy and was sent to Pensacola. 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 my uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there. Gene stated.(Knowles204)