A Separate Peace Optimism Essay

This shows when Gene becomes the crew manager. Throughout the story Finny is always saying things that Gene doesn’t really like. Gene doesn’t like this so he makes sure he changes that. “But

Finny’s choice to be ignorant and deny the truth allows him to continue being abused by Gene. He enables Gene and allows himself to be the victim in the relationship because of his feelings. This unhealthy trait adds to the complexity and toxicity of the

Notably, Gene, the main character does not appreciate his own self. Rather, he yearns to be Finny, a person whom he simultaneously envies and adores. Charismatic and full of life, Phineas is a character out of Gene’s dreams, and so when Gene gets the chance, he transforms into Finny; “I felt like some nobleman, some Spanish grandee” (Knowles 62). Thus, “To deny the true self is to deny the best us” (Heshmat). Apart from Finny, Gene views success as being the best in the class and in enlisting for the war.

The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a fictional book about Gene Forrester, a student at Devon Private Boarding School. This story takes place during the 1940s when World War II was becoming more and more a part of daily life at Devon. The war encroaches and finally dominates the lives of the boys at Devon. Starting with the boys shoveling snow off of the train tracks, then their friend, Leper, enlists, and finally troops get permanently stationed at Devon.

Guilt is a funny concept, that has a different affects on different people. Guilt can cause some to confess and it releases the burden, but for those who take long to confess, it can turn into a negative reaction that can cripple your emotions. A Separate Peace is set in a boarding school in New England. Gene, a main character, is an incisive introvert whose best friend, Phineas, is a handsome athlete. When an accident occurs over the Summer, that leaves Gene and Finny hurt in some way, what comes next could take a toll on their friendship.

He still encourages Gene to do the things that Finny no longer can because he wants to see someone else flourish, and most importantly: his friend. After Finny’s death, Gene even declares that “nothing … had broken [Finny’s] harmonious and natural unity” (Knowles 203). Since Gene exclaims this, the reader understands that Finny

In John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace Identity is shown as what defines us and makes us be placed in other peoples perspectives. An author can use identity to place characters in the readers mind to portray them a certain way, just as John Knowles did in A Separate peace. An identity can be defined as who a person is inside and out.

Therefore, Gene always tried to make Finny jealous and that pushed him to hurt him in the

One way Gene’s jealousy and imitation is an effect on his relationship with Finny is that it caused lots of jealousy towards Finny because of his abilities, appearance, and actions. An example of this is when Gene stated “He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it. " (Knowles).

The information asserts the idea that Gene’s true battle is growing up. It also confirms that fighting an inner battle can be the key to achieving a new outlook on life. In the end Gene sees himself as an extension of Phineas and lives with his view of the

On the other hand, Gene has a strong superego, meaning that his moral and ethical views are more important to him. Furthermore, he always has the push to do the right thing and especially in terms of his academics such as his determination to be head of the class. Also, the superego's goal is “to suppress entirely any urges or desires of the id that are considered wrong or socially unacceptable” (What is the superego?) This pertains to Phineas and Gene because Gene is always trying to get Phineas to do the right thing. For example, when Phineas proposes going to the beach, Gene somewhat questions the idea because he understands the consequences: “Going there risked expulsion, destroying the studying I was going to do for an

He shows how man can destroy, as in war, and that man must remove hate in order to achieve a “separate peace.” Finny sacrifices himself so Gene doesn’t end up like Leper, the outcast of society. Leper, a “naturalist,” represents the fragile, innocent people who hide from the horrors of life until one day they “meet it, the horrors face to face, just as (they) had always feared, and so give up the struggle completely” (196). Leper comes to one realization; people must evolve or perish. Gene, unlike Finny and Leper, can evolve.

The inevitability of change is an important theme in The Wars. War itself is an agent of change. It violently and aggressively pushes into people 's private lives, intermingling the private with public life. Robert sees this change in the physical landscape of his hometown. Gone is the idyllic small town he once knew, replaced by factories working tirelessly for the war effort.

To start, Gene’s envy and imitation of Phineas affect him in many different ways. One example of this is when Gene decides to play sports for Finny because Finny told him to. After this, Gene explains that he “lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring