Diction In John Knowles A Separate Peace

Finny’s Finny’s private and emotionally connected confession of truly caring about Gene revealed a whole new unaccepted side of Finny: “...‘I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can’t come to the shore with just anybody and you can’t come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal.’ He hesitated and then added, ‘which is what you are,’ and there was silence on his dune” (21). At Devon, Finny is admired for his strength and slightly egotistical confidence. During this time in society, men were not supposed to show strong variability, especially in times of war. This declaration of their friendship takes place alone on a forbidden beach representing their forbidden best friendship.

The text, unlike the previous, provides agency to the two students as it allows them to openly discuss their thoughts and experience, in turn providing a new perspective on Polynesian teenagers. 'We just saw him do something which looked like he was about to hurt the people around that corner so we just decided to go’ says Tevita. This comment evidently contrasts the Islander stereotype constructed by Chris Lilley as it challenges the representation of Tongans being careless and self-centred, demonstrated by Isaac’s explicit concern of the safety of others. Moreover, Tevita quotes that ‘I didn’t save anyone so I don’t feel like a hero.’ His humbleness is made clear from this statement as he does not deem himself worthy of hero status after risking his life in a valiant attempt to impede such an erratic and dangerous driver.

(Krakauer 170). This includes words that make the reader sympathize with Chris, due to the situation he was in. After all, who does not fear isolation and death? Krakauer intertwines the ideas of Chris’ isolation to make the readers commiserate with him, as proven by both of the quotes.

After all, the narrator “began to piece together this version of the story” through information given to him by Ethan Frome. Of course Zeena appears to be the epitome of the quintessential antagonist. It is only natural that bias was introduced, for Ethan would certainly not paint himself in a negative light, and due to his infatuation with Mattie, she too is spared from any condemnation. Through no fault of Ethan Frome or the narrator, the narrator’s “piecing together” of Ethan Frome’s life is incredibly unreliable and it is incredibly subjective. Unless a reader mulls over the effects of utilizing certain types of narration, Zeena will forever be seen as the villain of the story.

Many people think of their best friends, and they are happy to see them, want to do things with them, and are just generally glad to have them around. However, in John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, this is not the case with friends Phineas and Gene. In this novel, Knowles uses the protagonist, Gene forrester, to help show how betrayal can ruin friendships.

Huck, therefore, sees Jim as his friend and ignores society’s expectations to treat him less than human. After tearing up the letter he writes to Miss Watson, Huck “... studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’” (214). Huck realizes that Jim is in need of assistance so he decides to do what is morally correct, which is to help Jim escape.

A Correct Transgressor “It is a sin to write this.” Is the quote used to begin the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, and the start of its symbolic story. Which now is also how this analysis will start, to explain how Equality changed his mindset about his first words in the novel, and how his eventual change is the correct one.

After Finny shatters his leg, Gene goes back to his room and tries on Finny’s clothes. As he studies himself in the mirror, Gene notices he looks similar to Finny and states, “I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusions of my own character again” (62). At this moment, Gene

Nick Carraway’s passive nature leads to the many mishaps in the novel, which stresses the idea that not being evil does not necessarily make someone a good person. “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements” (1) Nick states at the beginning of the novel, which instantly sets up his passivity. His passiveness sparks complications early on, such as when Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle in secret. Nick tags along because he “had nothing better to do” (24) and seems to have little qualms about the fact that Tom is cheating on Daisy openly. As Daisy’s cousin, it is expected that he stands against Tom’s infidelity.

For example, when Finny calls Gene his best friend, “‘I hope you’re have a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you here at the point of a gun, but after all you can’t come to the shore with just anybody and you can’t come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in your life the proper person is your best pal.’ He hesitated, and then added, ‘which is what you are,’ and there was silence on his dune” (802). Here, Finny calls Gene his best friend, yet Gene is not able to say this back to him, even though it is true. Gene’s jealousy of Finny does not allow him to reciprocate this emotion for Finny, his pride gets in the way of him being able to have a friendship that is based around trust.

First of all, violence rarely solves any conflicts. On page 117 in the book, Randy the Soc states, "I 'd fight if I thought it 'd do any good." He

The turning point in this book is when Huck makes a conscience decision to help Jim escape no matter what herm that would be putting himself into. This is significant because before this point, Huck felt good for helping Jim but internally he still had the conflict of what was the right thing to do by society’s standards and buy his own. This was the first time that he looked straight into the face of society and turned down its hold on him. It is slight ironic because really Huck had already made that decision a few times over subconsciously like when Huck first ran into Jim on the island. There he choose to help Jim with no questions asked, so I doubted that he would ever have turned Jim in anyways.

In the book bystander by James Preller I believe a very prominent theme is ignoring the situation even if it doesn 't affect you is not the right thing to do. In chapter 18 of the book, the very wise Dr. Martin Luther King Junior is quoted " In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends". This quote can be strongly associated with the theme of the book. What does "means in the simplest terms, is that it is far more important to us, the people who look at as friends defend us, then the petty insults of our enemies.

Gene comes to discover that all along Phineas is the kind of person he wishes he could be. After his death, Gene notes that Phineas “was never afraid” and that only “he never hated anyone” (Knowles 204). Phineas is the only one that did not create his own inner-demons. While every other student and teacher Gene knew had the same made-up enemies and the same dark nature, Phineas stood out as someone different, someone apart from the crowd. His death is the exemplification of his own good natured character.

Within the pages of A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the main character Gene goes through a multitude of changes; in his life and in his being. Living at Devon, an all-boys private school in scenic New England, gives his changes even less room to grow and adapt in such a secluded environment. At the center of these dramatic changes is his relationship with his closest friend Finny. A tipping point in this relationship is when Gene makes the decision to “jounce the limb” of the tree he and Finny are standing on, causing Finny to fall and cripple himself.