Resumo de A Separate Peace (part 1 Of Abstract)

Ever since the birth of man, something impalpable and unaware has dwelled in the deepest moors of his heart that makes him so quick to lash out and harm others. It is a place where fear and envy churn, and hate and evil boil. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, this truth can be found both at the private academy where the story takes place, and on the World war II battlefields some thousand miles away. Knowles? book is essentially a cry against the implications of war, why it happens, and why it will never cease. And he uses the literary devices of character, plot, and tone to convey his theme of man?s unfailing inhumanity to his fellow man. In a story, such as this one, teeming with conflict both physical and mental, it is significantto populate it with interesting and plausible characters. These characters play fundamental roles in shaping the story?s gradual theme. The two main characters are Gene Forrester and his best friend Phineas, called Finny, both of whom are students at Devon School. Gene is the protagonist, who narrates the book fifteen years after it?s main storyline. He is generally a good, honest person, but is deeply flawed beneath the surface. His heart becomes ravaged by jealousy, and although his thoughts and actions are the wellspring of the central violence in the book, he is ultimately the victim of the circumstance of war. Finny is foremost a nonconformist, both outspoken and rebellious. He is able to get away with nearly everything, like donning a pink shirt, and using a school tie for a belt. His comments range from smart and especially clever, ?Always say some prayers at night because it might turn out that there is a God?(17), to heartfelt, as in his admission to Gene that ? best pal?is what you are?(25). Because of his likable and memorable persona he becomes the target of Gene?s inhumanity and premature assumption that they were ?even in enmity?(29). But Finny is also flawed; most notably in his urgency to declare that ?there isn?t any war?(67). Of course, his only reason for saying this is because he cannot bear to subscribe to the truth that he is actually a casualty of it. Others in the novel include Brinker Hadley, a character foil whose arrogance and own personal vendettas (accusing Gene of ?rankest treachery?practically fratricide?(50)) set the stage for the story?s ending; Mr. Prud?homme, who adopts a sort of leniency toward the school rules as a result of the ongoing war; and Leper Lepellier, a quiet naturalist, who briefly rises as a symbol of patriotism when he enlists in the war effort, only to abscond in a fit of fright. All of these characters are in one way or another affected by the consistency of war, and their own separate developments play crucial parts in substantiating the story?s theme. Along wih character, plot is another vital element in etching out the major theme. Although this book might be interpreted as dull or uneventful, it is actually quite the opposite. The plot is complicated, and takes its time to slowly unfold, so that, in the end, the theme has a greater and more profound impact. Both inhumanity and conflict are evident from the story?s beginning to its sad, quiet conclusion, starting with Gene?s return to Devon. Here, the tomb of his memory is rent open as he remembers the events that occurred back in 1942. Gene is still haunted by the war he waged toward Finny even after all these years, indicating a sort of post-traumatic stress disorder. Even though he did not ever fire any kind of weapon, he is still tormented by his own personal inhumanity. The story then settles into a long flashback of what happened to happen when Gene, Finny, and the others were still pupils there.

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