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Summary Of A Separate Peace By John Knowles

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Throughout the novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles uses the character of Leper to symbolize the loss of innocence and the challenges that come along growing up. When Leper is first introduced as a student at Devon, he is interpreted as an introvert, spending most of his time skiing throughout the countryside, looking for beaver dams, and sketching. Because of this, when Leper enlisted in the war, everyone at Devon was confused and caught off guard. Someone as innocent and pure as Leper didn’t seem to belong in a war. However, Leper’s innocence vanished before he even entered battle, causing him to flee home in fear. “Psycho. I guess I am. I must be. Am I though, or is the army? Because they turned everything inside out.” (150) Leper attended Devon as a young man slowly transitioning into adulthood. In the safe environment …show more content…

When Leper returned to Devon, he brought his knowledge of the real world with him. While Gene was held on trial, Finny mentioned Leper’s location on the Devon campus. They were trying to figure out the true story of how Finny fell, and Leper possessed this information. “The one holding on to the trunk sank for a second, up and down like a piston, and then the other one sank and fell.” (176) The confusion on the fall prevented the characters of Finny and Gene from growing as individuals. In order to become adults, they needed to stop avoiding the truth. Leper, who had been to the war, a place of harsh reality and truth, was the one to reveal the truth about Finny’s fall. It made sense for Leper, the bearer of reality, to introduce this truth to Finny and Gene. He took away the perfect world they were living in and opened them up to a whole new stage of life. They couldn’t hide their entire lives, otherwise they would never become adults. Knowles used Leper as a pathway for Finny and Gene from the safety of innocent Devon into the actual world they eventually had to

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