John Knowles, the author of A Separate Peace, chose Gene as the narrator of the story. The author uses Gene as the narrator of the story because Gene was the cause of the climax. It gives the reader a different perspective to what the person was actually thinking when this happened. This was an effective way to tell his story because of how we get to actually see what is going on in the mind of the main character.By seeing what is going on inside the main character’s brain, it gives the reader a way to determine if the main character really meant to do the thing he did to his best friend. The narrator's’ actions that he did in the past refine who he is like in the present. However, one question remains. Can this source or narrator be reliable. For this specific situation, the narrator or main character is seen as reliable and he gives the reader the truth about what he did in his past. Therefore, John Knowles choice of using Gene as the narrator was a smart decision and …show more content…
was an effective way to describe what the main character is truly like. The author John Knowles, uses Gene as the narrator and main character of the story. By using Gene as the narrator of the story, this is an effective way to tell the story. For example, it gives the reader the opportunity to find out why Gene does not trust Finny. The reader finds out why Gene does not trust Finny because the narrator explains how he believes that Finny is using Gene by making him not study for his classes, he will be able to be number one of his class. Another significant reason for why choosing Gene as the narrator is successful in telling the story is because the reader will be able to see how others reacted around Gene and to see how Gene reacts to certain situations. The reader will be able to identify if he did the right thing and to be in the place of the main character. The most important example to explain how this is a powerful way to tell the story is because of how we get to see what Gene was thinking and how he pushed Finny out the tree, causing Finny to never achieve his dream of being in the military and the olympics. The narrator describes the scene saying that “I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud… With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten.”(Knowles 52). This gives the reader an interesting perspective to look at the main character and to how the accident occurred. The narrator, or Gene gave a detailed explanation to how Finny looked at Gene pleading for him to catch him but he just lets him fall, shattering his leg and his chance of living a normal life. Therefore, the author picked Gene as the narrator of the story because of how Gene can give a different perspective on the actions he makes. The narrator, Gene, can be considered a reliable source because of many reasons. The first reason being that this gives Gene the chance to show his true emotions and to what he did in the past. This gives the reader an opportunity to see if the character was justified by their actions. Another reason to why Gene is a reliable source is because he confesses his actions and gives detailed explanations to what happened at each scene. He gives the reader a sense to what he was thinking in his head at the time of the event. The greatest reason to why Gene is a dependable source is because of how he reflects on everything in the past. The quote that he states in the end of the book is “All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way--if he ever attacked at all; as if he was indeed the enemy.”(Knowles 196). This shows how Gene thought highly of Finny at the end and he realized what horrible mistakes he made to his best friend. Everyone except Finny made enemies which made them lose a part of themselves while Gene states that Finny kept strong and maintained peace. In conclusion, Gene is in fact, a reliable resource because of how he expresses his experiences and his true feelings that he experienced over a certain time. Throughout the book, A Separate Peace, the author chose Gene as the narrator of the story.
By choosing Gene as the narrator of the story, it gives the reader a unique perspective of the character. Most books do not do this and instead they do a third person view of the main character. This way Gene can express his feelings about certain things and how over time he slowly understands who Finny truly is. The reader in the end understands Gene better because throughout the story they could see how before Gene was jealous of Finny because of how perfect he was. Gene was a reliable source to be the narrator because then he could tell the story from his point of view and how he hurt Finny and why. This was an effective way to narrate this story and a creative way to give the reader a better picture of who Gene is. In conclusion. by using Gene as the narrator of the story, it is an effective way to explain the story and Gene is a reliable source because of how he shares his experiences with the
reader.
Friendship is a necessity throughout life whether it is during elementary school or during adulthood. Some friendships may last a while and some may last for a year; it depends on the strength of the bond and trust between the two people. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the main characters, Gene and Finny, did not have a pure friendship because it was driven by envy and jealousy, they did not feel the same way towards each other and they did not accurately understand each other.
Have you ever read a book where one of the main characters was so envious of another? Well, here you have it. In John Knowles “A Separate Peace”, Gene is all for the jealous rage and resentful ways. Throughout the book, Mr. Knowles places the boys in a boarding school and sets the tale so that the reader knows all the focus is set upon Finny and Gene’s relationship. Speaking of relationships and Gene’s way, the storyline takes a turn and Finny actually ends up being almost physically pushed out of a tree. I say that shows a large characteristic of Gene. He is without a doubt, resentful towards Finny.
In a Separate Peace, the main character, Gene Forrester, is constantly pressured into rebelling against the school rules by his best friend Phineas, or “Finny”. Throughout the story it is obvious that Gene is jealous of his friend and therefore succumbs to the pressure Finny puts on him to temporarily find peace with himself. Because he is constantly following the crowd, Gene begins to lose his individuality and finds himself overwhelmed with jealousy. He risks Phineas’ life by shaking the branch of a tree they jump off of, which disables him and ultimately leads to his death. The boys’ friends feel that they need someone to blame for Finny’s tragic injury, so they hold a mock trial to investigate. Gene is under constan...
expressing individualism is elicited by Gene and Finny actions. Some ways the characters are forced to conform are by peer pressure, as evident in the excerpt,. In this citation, conformity is shown through Gene’s decision of complying with what Finny orders, due to peer pressure of jump off the tree, therefore nearly injuring himself. Furthermore, he realizes it wasn’t his culpability of being in that position, due to if Finny wasn't there none of this would have occurred. Even more, this led to Gene feeling a desire to assert his individualism, due to he feels that Finny has surpassed him in every way, and cause his failure, such as in his academics. As well, Phineas
Gene is right in the center of these changes. He is very close to all of the other three boys, and thus all of the changes affect him very much. Due to all the tension occurring in this novel because of the war and events going on at the school, there is a lot of denial of truth happening. Three of the four boys mentioned earlier denied the truth at some point in the story. This denying of truth sometimes ends with the person who committed the fault in a bad condition at the end of the book, and sometimes in good condition.
Have you ever had negative thoughts or feelings towards a friend? Envy is a natural condition and likely has evolutionary roots. John Knowles’ book, A Separate Peace, focuses on the complicated friendship between two teenage boys, and the resulting loss of innocence of the protagonist, Gene Forrester. Gene struggles with inner wars such as jealousy, inferiority, and guilt towards his best friend, Phineas.
After the highly athletic person Finny “Falls” from the tree, Gene begins to wonder who his friends are, and why his friends are his friends. At this time Gene starts to create a part of his enemy, “Jealousy”. Gene didn’t know if it was an accident when Finny fell from the tree, or if it was the jealousy that hurt his pal. Gene reflects “Could it be that, he might even be right? Had I really and defiantly and knowingly done it to him after all?” (70, Knowles). Gene is unsure and begins to question himself and weather his best friend is truly, his best friend. Gene is jealous of Finnys natural athleticism, Gene isn’t very athletic but does well in school, Finny is the opposite. Gene wonders to himself if he had been so jealous to just hurt, or possibly even kill his roommate and best friend. This was an internal battle, between his jealous side VS. his moral side. The jealous side wanted Finny out of the way, so he could become good at everything, and the moral side wanted to stay morally straight. Unfortunately his jealous side won this battle.
...em at the end of the novel. Gene’s firm defense systems enable him to cripple and betray his best friend. Additionally, Finny’s denial of the evil in people allows him to get jounced off the limb leaving him injured. I believe that people are able to contain both good and evil within them. Therefore, my opinion is that people should incorporate both perceptions of Gene and Finny. They should be able to contain some sorts of defense mechanisms to protect themselves since some people cannot be trusted. Before deciding to shield someone from entering your life, it is best to get to know them well. The lesson achieved in this novel is that people should seek out positive traits in others, but at the same time be aware of their intentions. Investigating a person’s positive and negative qualities is the ideal defense mechanism I that I have finally learned to accomplish.
Power, the perception of superiority over another human, is the source of many conflicts between people. Feeling inferior causes people to act beyond their normal personality. John Knowles strongly demonstrates this point in his work, A Separate Peace. In the relationship between Finny and Gene, Gene sets himself up to be inferior in the balance of power which motivates him to act irrationally to take power back from Finny.
In the novel A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the narrator, Gene Forrester struggles to earn and preserve a separate peace. The story takes place in a remote boarding school named Devon, in New Hampshire. While Gene and Finny are in school, World War II is taking place. The author clearly explains an important story about the jealousy between Gene and his best friend, Phineas. Gene suspects that Finny is trying to sabotage his grades, and Gene allows his jealousy to control his actions. Therefore, Gene misinterprets their relationship by thinking that they shared enmity towards each other, and this caused Gene to enter a world of jealousy and hatred, which ultimately leads to Finny’s death. By examining this jealousy, John Knowles
... age of Gene Forrester. Because Finny causes Gene to grow up, we are able to realize that one must grow up to move on in life. In that process of growing up, several people impact your life. This novel shows us how our identity is basically created by those who are present in our lives; however we must not measure our abilities against another person (Overview: A Separate Peace 2). We are shown how the impact of one person can make a great difference. The goodness in people is what one should always take away from a relationship. This is shown in the relationship between Gene and Finny. The experiences Finny gives Gene cause him to grow up and become a better person because of them.
In John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, the theme of loss of innocence is skillfully developed through setting, character, and symbols. This story simply details a young man's entering the adult world as all children do. Everyone suffers loss of innocence.
Beyond the basic need for a sense of control, people are driven by their sense of identity, of who they are. Each person lives in their own universes, which are centered upon their feeling of self-purpose. There are multiple types of identities such as individual and group identities. Each person's identity is formed differently because of the unique experiences every individual encounters. The formation can be affected by many things such as their home environment, social concurrences, and physiological health. This story, A Separate Peace, exhibits interesting main characters which establish the frequent struggles of personal identity in adolescence.
A Separate Peace is a coming of age novel in which Gene, the main character, revisits his high school and his traumatic teen years. When Gene was a teen-ager his best friend and roommate Phineas (Finny) was the star athlete of the school.
In "A Separate Peace" many characteristics of becoming a man can be seen. For example, as the novel progresses, so does Gene's maturity. Gene's first seen in the novel as a boy, not yet brought on by nature, but as one gets deeper into the novel, one sees change; Gene embarks on life change that all men journey through once in their life. Gene begins to see his life and others from a totally new standpoint, as though even from a newer perspective. In Chapter two and chapter three, Gene, develops a sheer envy for Finny, and acknowledges it as the truth. He is extremely envious of the methods in which Finny uses to escape his unusual actions and his popularity. He embeds himself in a pool of self-assurance, by repeatedly telling himself over and over again that having