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A Brief Analysis Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

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A Separate Peace is a fictional book written by John Knowles that takes place in the early 1940s in New Hampshire at the Devon school. High school boys attend Devon to prepare for the war physically and mentally. Gene, a graduate from Devon, returns to the school to visit two specific places. Flashing back to his summer session and fall term as a senior, Gene recalls all of the competitive moments he experiences. Both the good and the tragic memories he mentions include him and his friends. Knowles, in A Separate Peace, displays competition through Gene, Finny, and Brinker both physically and mentally. Gene is very competitive on the academic side, striving to be the best of the best. Stress develops Gene and he begins to compare himself to Finny. Gene confirms that they are equally balanced …show more content…

As the summer session drifts away from Devon, the school year begins. Brinker, who holds an office of almost every club, settles into a couple of dorms down from Gene. Gene states, “Now the official class leaders and politicians could be seen taking charge, . . . , here Brinker had established his headquarters. Emissaries were already dropping in to confer with him” (Knowles 74). Brinker display his competitiveness through holding many class offices and his desire to be in charge. Anything and everything important goes through him. Gene, Finny, and Brinker all display competition physically and mentally in A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Gene demonstrates competitiveness through his have to be atitude academically. While on the other hand, Finny displays competitiveness through his athletic accomplishments. Finally, Brinker portrays competitiveness through his roles as club and class officers. Knowles writes about these boys’ competitiveness while attending Devon, to indicate that the war is not as far away as they think. Rather, they all have their own competitive

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