Separate Peace - Symbolism
In John Knowle's A Separate Peace, symbols are used to develop and advance the themes of the novel. One theme is the lack of an awareness of the real world among the students who attend the Devon Academy. The war is a symbol of the "real world", from which the boys exclude themselves. It is as if the boys are in their own little world or bubble secluded from the outside world and everyone else. Along with their friends, Gene and Finny play games and joke about the war instead of taking it seriously and preparing for it. Finny organizes the Winter Carnival, invents the game of Blitz Ball, and encourages his friends to have a snowball fight. When Gene looks back on that day of the Winter Carnival, he says, "---it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and separate peace" (Knowles, 832). As he watches the snowball fight, Gene thinks to himself, "There they all were now, the cream of the school, the lights and leaders of the senior class, with their high IQs and expensive shoes, as Brinker had said, pasting each other with snowballs"(843). Another of the principal themes in this novel is the theme of maturity. The two rivers t
The Devon River is preferred by the students because it is above the dam and contains clean water. I'm really glad I saw that movie in time, you bet I am'" (826) Leper is amazed by these men and how they, with their recognizable and friendly faces, give a clean response to war. A Section Eight discharge is for the nuts in the service, the psychos, the Funny Farm candidates" (837). He is unprepared for the gory, gruesome things he sees when he arrives for training, and the change is unbearable for Leper who is used to the traditions at home and at Devon. Gene, on the other hand, is a follower. Gene subconsciously was jealous of Finny's success as an athlete at Devon, which probably motivated him in wanting to hurt Finny. 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. Leper sends Gene a telegram as his call for help. hat are part of the Devon School property symbolize how Gene and Finny grow up through the course of the novel. However, he has a breakdown of emotions after joining the troops. The friendship between Gene and Phineas is amidst themes such as lack of reality, low maturity levels, and false appearances. He is kind, considerate, compassionate, and an excellent friend to Gene. He becomes psychotic, goes AWOL, and is given a Section Eight.
Common topics in this essay:
Gene Phineas,
Devon Academy,
Phineas Gene,
Funny Farm,
Winter Carnival,
Devon River,
Finny Finny,
Leper Gene,
Gene Finny,
Section Eight,
separate peace,
gene finny,
themes novel theme,
leper enlists,
real world,
students war,
section eight,
devon academy,
tree limb,
war symbol,
gene phineas,
snowball fight gene,
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Acceptance Essays
