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A Separate Peace A Bildungsroman Analysis

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A Separate Peace: a Good Example of a Bildungsroman Someone once said “Falling asleep is a lot like growing up, it just happens and you never remember the exact moment.” A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a prime example of a novel about growing up, or coming of age. This story is classified as a bildungsroman. According to an online resource, literarydevices.net, the definition of bildungsroman is, ...a special kind of novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of its main character from his or her youth to adulthood…starts with a loss or tragedy that disturbs main character emotionally... the protagonist gains maturity gradually and with difficulty. Usually, the plot depicts a conflict between the protagonist and the values of society... A Separate Peace matches this definition. It is a bildungsroman because the protagonist, Gene, is describing his story in flashback about how much he has changed now than when he was in school, Gene becomes worried about getting older because he will have to go into the approaching war, and he loses innocence throughout the story. The book is told as a flashback in which Gene is telling his story. The reader sees that he changes as he grows up. The story begins with Gene …show more content…

Gene expresses how he is a whole new man when he grows older in his flashback. Also, the reader sees that Gene is mostly forced to grow up and get ready to join the war. Lastly, Gene has to figure out who he is and how to cope with and without Finny along with his guilt. The next time you read a bildungsroman such as this one, remember to look for the major change in the character you can best relate to and see how they come of age, just as Gene

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