I. Authorial Background At the age of fifteen John Knowles started attending school at Phillips Exeter Academy. This was a well-known boarding school in New Hampshire. Exeter was very similar to Devon, the fictional school he describes in his novel "A Seperate Peace". Knowles graduated in 1...

A Seperate Peace The line between friendship and hatred can sometimes be very unclear. Where exactly does one cross over this line? Could it possibly be when one discovers envy within himself for his friend, or is it when he begins to wish he is somewhere other then where he is? In the novel A S...

A Seperate Piece The Idealist I would say that Finny(Phineas) was the biggest idealist in the story. His feelings and many things on many issues, made me think of him this way. The actions that Finny take in the novel make him seem as though he is the happiest person on the planet, like for...

The Transformation of a Friendship. In John Knowle's A Seperate Peace , the main characters, Gene and Finny have a unique friendship that transforms throughout chapter four. According to Webter's dictionary the word "friendly" means not hostile; amicable. One could assume ...

The whole situation stemmed from Gene's jealousy. All he did was reverse the situation, and put himself in Phineas's shoes (and his clothes). Now it was Gene who would be changed forever from Phineas's hurt and jealousy towards him. Gene almost had to make up for the fact he had hurt ...

A Separate Peace A Separate Peace by John Knowles describes what it is like for two young boys to go through a challenging time of battle, World War II, and how the war reflected on them. The two best friends, Gene and Phineas (Finny), attend Devon school together and strive to live at peace whil...

Do you remember where you were on September eleventh, 2001? Do you have vivid memories of where you were and what you were doing when you heard about suicide bombings in other countries? Most Americans probably remember their experience with 9-11 better than any other tragedy. This is because we ...

The tragic flaw: one of Shakespeare's most recognized trait of his characters. They could be the most perfect being, but their tragic flaw would always overcome them in the end. Although he wrote a great many poems and plays, throughout all these writings, one flaw Shakespeare did not address...

Journal #1 A Separate Peace 196 Pages This is a very well-written book. From my first immpression on it, John Knowles still really knows what it is like to be a kid. I think that the theme of this novel so far is Civilian Life During the War. It tells a story about two young american boys goi...

The novel A Separate Peace is a perfect example of literature that involves deep thinking and understanding. John Knowles does not use obvious hints in his writing that allow his readers to understand situations. Instead he uses lots of subtle ideas, and tends to use his characters quite a bit to sh...

Friendship in A Separate Peace In John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, friendship is a distinguished theme. Friendship is exhibited when two people share many common interests, do not turn on each other, and are not envious of each other. Due to the fact that Gene and Finny's relationship does no...

A Separate Peace was written by active author John Knowles from his real experiences and personal struggles. Knowles attended Phillips Exeter Academy, an exclusive New Hampshire prep school, for two summer sessions in 1943 and 1944. This book vaguely outlines his experiences at Exeter with himsel...

In my opinion, in order to mature you must lose your innocence. I say this because in the process of growing up you learn things about life and do things that lead up to losing your innocence. In the book "A Separate Piece" by John Knowles there are three good reasons that support this. ...

Friendship is the main theme in John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace. Gene Forrester, an intellectual student and Finny, his roommate at Devon School who is usually misbehaving, has charismatic ways, which usually exempt him from punishment. The two have opposing interests and personalit...

A Separate Peace is a different type of voyage of discovery. Here we have two boys, Gene and Phineas, or Finny, and it is Gene who will be on his own voyage of self-discovery. Gene is a serious boy, perhaps too serious, and he hasn't really lived much or experienced much. Finny is a sort of misc...

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, two school-aged friends, Phineas and Gene, go through many trials and tribulations together that mold Gene from a very dependent person to a very independent person. During World War II, Phineas (Finny) and Gene are juniors at a New England prep school called Dev...

"Why was it Necessary For Phineas To Die?" In A Separate Peace, there were two main characters: Gene and Phineas. Phineas was a fun loving soul, who didn't like to follow the rules. While Gene was a hard working, good student, who did almost everything Phineas said to. Gene bega...

The novel A Separate Peace is set against the background of World War II. The book depicts a peaceful New England's boy's school by the name of Devon. It is confining place, surrounded by enormous playing fields. However, it brings a peaceful atmosphere as it is filled with sunshine, and has a peace...

Another Version of Society "A little world; an individual man or a community that is a miniature universe or a world in itself"; a microcosm... Phineas and Gene, along with the other boys of Devon School formed a universe of their own during World War II. In A Separate Peace, John...

Everyone in the world has a slice in their soul that is pure evil. For some people it is larger than others. Some of this evil is represented in the characters of A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Some of this evil may also be represented by the Mrs. LaBombard when she reads this because it is no...

As a result of people's dependence on things their personalities are brought down. In "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles and "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton Finny's and Dally's dependence is negative because it makes them both vulnerable, contrastingly Finny's...

Phinny In the book "A Separate Piece" the character Phinny grows a lot both mentally and physically. These changes only occur in the later part of the book because the author has yet to show use how Phinny acts. A few examples of physical changes are that he has to wear a large cast ar...

A SEPARATE PEACE Throughout the book A Separate Peace we see many of Knowles characters struggling with different aspects of their lives. One prevalent battle these characters are fighting is that between the savage, and civilized nature. These characters choose to either become the savage or c...

What is meant by the title of the book? Focus on the symbolic meaning. John Knowles's A Separate Peace tells a story of growing up fueled by the impulsing emotions of adolescents that burst from the seams of friendship, envy, violence, and hatred. All these emotions are explored as Finny an...

Finny How Things Change In the novel "A Separate Peace," by John Knowles, a boy named Gene visits his high school 15 years after graduating in order to find an inner peace. While attending the private boys school during the second World War, Gene's best friend Phineas died and Gene knows he was ...