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A Separate Peace And Lord Of The Flies Analysis

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John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” and William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” have striking parallels that are evident in both novels. The most obvious similarity is the loss of innocence throughout both stories. Both novels take place during a time of war and both contain characters that reveal their inner savagery as the book progresses. These themes play a huge role in determining the outcome of each story. Leper Lepellier from “A Separate Peace” and Piggy from “Lord of the Flies” are two characters with very similar traits. Leper and Piggy are both described as outcasts among their respective groups of friends. Leper is quiet and weird, but mostly keeps to himself. Piggy is fat and has asthma, keeping him from participating in a lot of …show more content…

Ralph dives out of the way and dodges it, but Piggy does not react fast enough. The boulder crushes Piggy and kills him. Both of these events represent an end to the small portion of rationality living amongst the boys. After rationality is wiped out from their communities, savagery and evil arise. The theme of inner savagery plays a very prominent role in both novels. Throughout “A Separate Peace” we learn that Gene is envious of Finny and essentially wants to be him. Gene is jealous that Finny is so popular, talented, and can get away with anything. Gene wants to see Finny get in trouble at least once for his actions. We see a prime example of Gene’s jealousy at the Headmasters’ Tea. Finny is talking to Mr. and Mrs. Patch-Withers about World War Two. Mr. Patch-Withers confronts Finny about his belt. Finny decided to use the Devon school tie instead of a belt that day. When Mr. Patch-Withers asks about the belt, Gene says “This time he wasn’t going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that.” (27). Gene wants to see his best friend get in trouble, which is when we first see an example of his inner savagery. His jealousy of Finny will build up and cause him to intentionally hurt Phineas.

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