A Separate Peace

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Summary: A Seperate Peace
Review: The novel a Seperate Peace, by John Knowles, is a story about a young boy's struggle to find himself in an everchanging world. This first person narritive revolves around two central characters, Gene Forrester and Phineas. Gene,the narrator,is the intellectual, who is basically reserved, tends to go with the crowd. Phineas, on the other hand is the natural athlete, who is very extroverted and tends to hold a special power over people. However, when the boys become roommates Gene can not stand living in Finny's shadow. Then something takes over gene, and he develops an intense resentment toward Finny. The odd thing is that he still admires him. It boils over, and Gene causes Phineas to break his leg and lose all of hi previous athletic prowess. Over the next few months, Gene deals with his guilt and begins to become more honest with himself. During a mock trial, Gene is accused of Finny's fall. Phineas becomes so upset that he trie to run away, but falls on the slick marble floorof the First Academy Building, and breaks the same leg. Although a cleaner break, while the doctor was setting the the bone, a few particles of marrow escaped into his bloodstream causing his heart to stop immediately. Through this Gene matures into a responsible, and kills his enemybefore ever putting on a uniform, his own youth. The previous paragraph summarizes very briefly the basic storyline of this detealied and complex novel. Throughout the rest of this review, I will list and explainthe reasons why I liked and disliked A Seperate Peace. In my own opinion what made this a classic is its symbolic language, and it evolved with the story. At the center of this story is the infamous tree whose branches extend over the Devon. Described by Gene as "...tremendous, an irate, steely black temple," this is the tree that allows Gene tro mature into an adult. In symbolic terms, the tree represents the tree of Good and Evil in the book of Genesis. Another prominent theme is falling. when Finny is pushed from the tree, gene "falls from innocence" and thus begings acquring knowledge, of both himself and the world. It is only through his "friend's" accident, that he could move away from Finny's fantasy world where the war was a practical joke on the younger generation, an into the world of reality. Searching inside himself he is able to understand "...that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart." This he realizes was the same thing that causes conflicts among men, and boys to push each other from trees. Other symbols include the school's two rivers, the Devon and the Naguamsett. The Devon is sweet and pure, with its "dreaming summer calm," sharply contrasting the "ugly, saline" Naguamsett. The devon represents the good in the in the world and the innocence of youth, while the Naguamsett shows the ugliness of reality. The Devon is an extension of Knowles' Eden motiff, with his exaggeration on the beauty of this river. After his fall from innocence, Gene is "baptized" in the marshy Naguamsett. This forces Gene to think about how he has been acting. All of the symbols are interconnected, and reflect what is happening to the characters. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoyed this book. however it was not perfect. I found the beginning of the book to be very slow and boring. Although I did like the descriptions of the scenery, some parts were drawn out, and had no real importance to the book. Considering everything, I think that A Separate Peace was a well written book with an important message that all of all of us can learn and benefit from.

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Summary: A Separate Peace
Review: A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a great book. in his writing he uses metaphors about nature and his surroundings. Also in his writing he has a great choice of words or diction. " I felt fear's echo, and along with that i felt the unhinged, unontrollable joy which had broken out sometimes in those dats like Northern Lights across the black sky." ( page two ) The characters in the book are characters we can relate to. Gene is the main character, he tells the story as an adute looking back at his teen years. He struggles with his friendship and the way has to deal with the war going on. Phineas is supposedly Gene best friend. ' Naturally Finny was going to be the first to try, and just as naturally he was going to inveigle others, us , into trying it with him. " ( page seven ) The plot happens mostly at their school, Devon. Devon is an all boys school. " Devon is sometimes considered the most beautiful school in New England, and even on this dismal afternoon its power was asserted." ( page four ) This book is wonderful and that's why I give it four stars. If you have not read the book you don't know what your missing.

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Summary: A Great Novel
Review: I really enjoyed the novel, A Seperate Peace, by John Knowles. The book starts off with any ordinary event, but leads into a deep and meaningful story. For myself, the story definitely became easier to comprehend as I realized that the description of scenery was actually Gene's adult side reflecting on what happened in his past. This also made the story become more and more interesting as I read on. The characters are not necessarily easy to relate to, but are very real and believable. The setting of the Devon School is well chosen. I believe that this novel is very well written and I give it five stars.

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Summary: ZZZZZZZZZ!
Review: I am a high school teacher and I have to say I agree with the kids. This book is horrible. It is simply boring. I do not know why high school teachers torture their students with this book. It is simply boring. There are many fine books students should read in High School: Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbirg, MacBeth, Iron and Silk, and Lord of the Flies to name a few. This book should be taken OFF the list. Kids, if you have been assigned this book there is no way around it...its boring just grin and bare it. Teachers, find a better book for the kids to read.

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Summary: "My View on A Separate Peace"
Review: The book"A Separate Peace" was a book that I gave four stars. What I liked about the book was that the book was filled with significant, good, and powerful symbolism to describe the characters, especially Phineas ans Elwin"Leper Lepellier, I liked the way the characters change in the book. It is smething that especially interested me because I could identify with the characters' development. What I didn't like about the book was that in the beginning the book seemed dull, and this caused me to miss things, which thankfully I found later. The symbolism n the book was significant, good, and well done. The symbolism was significant because the sybolism described things I needed to know about the characters that Gene won't describe simply in black and white. The symbolism was good for that reason. The symbolism was well done because it had thought in symbolism, and made me think deeply. Here's an example from page 61 about Phineas: "Here the small window panes shone from much polishing and the walls were hung with minatures and old portraits. The chairs were either heavily upholstered and too comfortable to stay awake in or Early American and never used. There were several square, solid tables covered with family and random books and agazines,and also three small elegant tables not used for anything. It was a compromise of a room, with a few good 'pieces" for guests to look at, and the rest for people to use." Mainly what this passage means is Finny is useless. This passage was significant in describing Phineas. In the book the characters changed because in the beginning if the book they gave off a feeling of innocence and youth, but toward the end they became less innocent, and more mature which is something that happened to me, in the beginning if the school year, when I was younger, I was happy and friends with everyone, but at the end of the year our relationships become more sophisticated, and we mature. So in conclusion the book was filled with significant symbolism. The characters grew in an interesting way, and I could relate.

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Summary: My Thoughts
Review: I give this book three stars. It was not my favorite, but it did have good points. This book consisted of love, hate, jealousy, devotion, confusion, and mixed emotions. When I read a book i want there to be phisical action, not only emotional action. This is for a person who has a deep mind and has the time to pick apart each sentence and find how the metaphor applies to the past, present, and future of one character opposing another. Even though I didn't particularly enjoy this aspecy of the book, it was all well designed. All of the metaphors were deep and complex. They made me think, which is great and i do enjoy it, however, there was so much of this metaphorical lingo, sentence after sentence with secret meanings and hidden points that it becomes dragged out and repetitive and boring. I think that use of metaphors in sentences should be used sparingly so it becomes something special and has a stronger meaning. It was a good book. It helped me learn about other people, the way they are, and how they function. About people coming, going, and changing. While they change, their opinions and views of their friends change and vary as well. A very good novel, but be prepared for a headache.

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Summary: The Deeper Meaning
Review: I gave this book a significant total of four stars because of the overall meaning of the book. The overall meaning of the book consists of a series of metaphors and similes for the average (or almost average) life of a pre-adult. The basic essence is carried out through a series of characters who are experiencing the different aspects of the war through adolescent minds. Throughout the course of the story, Gene becomes an adult through his realization of the direct relation of the scenery around him to his life. Finny, however, has an overall appreciation for himself and his talents. The rest of the characters, seem to symbolize the world of chaos surrounding them that they cannot or choose not to experience while at the Devon School. World War II plays a significant role in this book as well. Noone really ever understood it until they realized what it could achieve in the very souls and minds of those who faught in it! In conclusion, I enjoyed this book because it made me think... ponder over the deeper meaning behind the story.

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Summary: The Positives and Negatives About A Separate Peace
Review: This book was fairly good. John Knowles is very fond of describing every single thing that comes across the main character, Gene. He mostly uses nature in his metaphors like trees and rivers. In this book, you have to go beyond the words that are right in front of you. Most of the metaphors stand for parts of Gene's life. Knowles is a great writer and puts all his feelings into his writing. My favorite character was Finny. He is very athletic, cheerful, and spontaneous. He always cares about everyone. Especially those who are closest to him. Finny would never do anything to hurt someone...unlike Gene. To me, I hated the mian character, Gene. He was so competitive with Phineas. He had to be on top. To get him to that point, he would have to get rid of Finny. So he made him fall out of a tree and break his leg. Gene was not very caring either. When Leper, his friend, needed help and someone to talk to, Gene told him that he didn't care and left him on a sidewalk crying. The best part of this book was the last couple chapters. The beginning was boring. It moved very slowly. There weren't enough events. The book is basically about a boy and the people at Devon school during WWII. It has the ups and down; all meaningfully written. Altogether, I say that this is a good book. I enjoyed most of it. But to really enjoyed it, you need to understand what is happening and why. I recommend others to read this book too.

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Summary: Identifying with Peace
Review: A Separate Peace has an equal amount of positive and negative points and, therefore, I could not be one-sided. In my opinion, there are just as many bad sides as there are good. I can really relate to the characters in this book. The author, John Knowles, makes it possible for the characters' situations to be transferred into a group of seventh graders. As a 12-year-old, I am going through maturity changes along with the rest of my classmates. I found the book to be boring and dull in the beginning, and then get better toward the end. But, this can also be interpreted that as the main characters life got more interesting and he got more mature, so did the book in quality.This book had a very good lesson to teach,but it was not very obvious. However, if you do notice it, you feel driven to achieve it. In order to teavh the lesson, this book used many metaphors. Many were difficult to comprehend. I had to have them explained to me throughout the book. There are many situations in the book that were to complex to understand, and some people and situations were not needed. one point that is widely focused onis the changing of people within, as the seasons turn. The main characters in the book were naive and immature in the beginning. But, as you turned the pages, you would see the major differences in their feelings, attitude, and pints of view.This book had good and bad points, but that is arguable. If you want to make a decision for yourself, read it!

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Summary: A Contridicting Novel
Review: A Separate Peace was a very contridicting novel. There are both negative and positive aspects that are equal in presence. One thing I liked about the book was the lesson it teaches teenagers today. In the beginning, the main characters were both imature and childish, much like teenagers today. They make fun of peopls, proclaim themselves cool, and play a game of follow the leader. As the maturity level of one main character grew, so did the interest of the book. These are all positive stand points of this novel. There are always negatives and positives in everything we try to pick apart. In this novel there are lots of metaphors. Once an adult, or educater, explained the metaphors to me, I understood them. Before they were explained, the novel seemed confusing and less interesting. If you did not understand the metaphors you did not understand the book, because there were too many. Some characters and situations were difficult to understand, also. That is because there was no need for them. World War II also had an effect on the story. It brought out the real personality in the boys. I learned what a war can do to us when we do not want to join. The war also showed the boys' patience and maturity. They had waited a lonng time to fight in the war. When they realized how much it affected their country, they not only wanted to join for the fun of it they wanted to join to save lives and help thier country out. All and all the book was not that bad, but it was not that good. I would give it three stars.