Write a speech for a class presentation evaluating A Separate Peace as a war novel.
             War, conflict, fear, deceit and death. What are they? What do these words really mean? John Knowles took these words and created the novel 'A Separate Peace'. One quote taken from the novel depicts human nature at its weakest, reflecting both your and my nature at its worst.
             "...it seemed that wars were not made by generations and their stupid stupidities but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart."
             Knowles explores the concept of war and conflict, and uses that idea to create the world of Devon. Not only are we introduced to the idea that Devon was a world away from the war, a world where the war did not exist except only on radio and in newspapers, but we are also influenced to feel the internal conflicts between the boys of Devon and their ignorance towards the 'war' that they are creating.
             When reading the novel what was your impression of Gene? Was it one of uncertainty and confusion or was it one of a youth, lost to the terrors of what a young mind can do when placed in problematic situations. Gene fought an internal war. He fought with his own jealousy, his own malice, and his own fear. Gene convinced himself that Finny was so preoccupied with ruining his academic studies that he was blind to the fact that Finny "saw himself as an extension" of Gene. Finny saw himself not only as a friend to Gene, but a brother and a soul mate. It was perhaps Gene's ignorance of this and his blinding jealousy that led to Finny's death, no matter what the circumstances.
             Yet Phineas himself even had an internal conflict. He had a conflict of life and of realisation. Finny was so deep in denial over his injuries and the fact that Gene may have been the catalyst of the accident that he was willing to believe that the war said to be fought against the Germans was not truly h...