John Knowles included Gene noticing the changes in the Devon school because he wanted to show that people change and so do their memories of the places they visit along the way. Knowles was very smart the way he started the book A Separate Peace because he brought in the theme of nostalgia which can be a very emotional topic. A key scene was when Gene said, “I reached a marble foyer, and stopped at the foot of a long white marble flight of stairs. Although they were old stairs, the worn moons in the middle of each step were not very deep. The marble must be unusually hard” (Knowles 11). A reason why the marble may have felt harder is that he is now older. This is because when he was younger he wasn’t as heavy as he is now so he may have felt like he glided across the stairs when he still attended the school. He also said that the moons in each step weren’t very deep, and he explains how they are worn, which might relate to the theme that he grew up with the stairs and when he turned away they grew old and worn. Another key scene was when Gene talked about the tree by the river and he said, “The tree was not only stripped by the cold season, it seemed weary from age, enfeebled, dry” (Knowles 14). He seems to feel moved by how the tree is weary from age, enfeebled, and dry. This is because in his flashback he just saw the tree as strikingly tall and strong, but now it seems like it is out of its prime. It is interesting why he uses the word weary to describe the tree’s age. Knowles does this because he sees from the tree's perspective as well. He might say this because the tree has been forgotten after the war and weary seems like something someone would say about someone's else's loneliness. Gene’s experience when going back to Devon also relates to the themes of friendship and peace because of his flashback and relationship with Finny, and when he walked through the school it was quiet. Knowles knowingly included these scenes to remind people of their pasts and to never forget how they got to where they are today.
Questions For Commenters
What did you think of my analysis? How would you change it? Do you agree? Disagree? Is there anything I left out?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric. However, I want to add more to his thoughts. I believe that Knowles meant more when he said "The marble must be unusually hard” (Knowles 11), I think that the narrator is referring to something that has happened in the past. I think that something significant happened on these marble stairs that scarred Gene. Perhaps someone close to him (maybe Phineas) fell down this certain set of stairs and got badly injured. The "hardness" of the marble is one of the things from the accident that still remains.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric about the importance of the tree to Gene. I think in a way, the tree also represented Finny and Gene’s relationship which is partially why it is so important to him. Finny seems to be the leader of their friend group and, in a sense, the leader of Gene. Gene doesn’t seem to like Finny very much, yet he is constantly seeking his approval. The tree represents Finny constantly peer pressuring and controlling Gene. When Finny gets to the top of the tree, he begins thinking about why he is up there before Finny yells at him and pulls him away from his thoughts,
ReplyDelete“Why do I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me?
‘Jump!’” (Knowles 17). In this passage we can clearly see how Finny controls Gene and how Gene can barely think before Finny can find a way to control and take a hold of him again.