Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Assignment #8: Question 4 Re-read the last paragraph on the bottom of 136 and on to 137. Paraphrase what Gene is saying and interpret the usage of “separate peace.” What is a “separate peace”? Why is included here? What is it’s significance?
In Chapter 9 of A Separate Peace, Gene mentions how he and his friends at Devon have escaped from the darkness of war, and live in their own safe place. Earlier in the chapter, Finny had the idea of creating a Winter Carnival to celebrate winter. At first, his friends are a little confused, but end up following along anyway. Finny ends up having a lot of fun with hosting his dream of an olympics type event. This gives Gene his thought about being in a little safe bubble from the rest of the world, “the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary illusory, special and separate peace”(Knowles 137). This text is important because it shows that even though the war is going on and people are suffering, almost everything(except for the maids being missing that Finny is constantly complaining about) is the same. Separate peace means that there is some form of brutal violence going on and that there is some place where it is all safe. The kids at Devon don’t really notice this and take advantage of it. In the last lines of the book, this is proven as Leper explains how he “escaped” from the war, meaning he most likely didn’t realize how bad the war was and couldn’t handle the pressure. Separate peace is included in this book to prove that people need to be grateful for what they have, because in the rest of the world, things can be much worse.
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Yeah, I totally agree with you here. Even the title, A Separate Peace hints to the story being about separation from some conflict. Here its the war, like when they are planning their carnival, they are at a time of peace separate from the war. Its like they don't have to worry about whats going on in the world, and they get to be in their own secluded environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that Gene, Finny and the other characters take their separate peace for granted. But even their separate peace in the winter carnival is shattered when they receive Leper's telegram pleading for help, "I have escaped and need help" (Knowles, 137). I think that the separate peace that the characters experience at Devon can be broken at any moment. Leper's innocence and peace was broken when he decided to enlist and then as it seems, desert. A Separate Peace, is a book about the loss of innocence which can come even in times of relative peace.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mike, Rohan, and Cordella that Gene, Finny and the other characters take their separate peace for granted. They don't realize that at devon they are separated from the war. Their separate peace was shattered when leper sent the telegram but what they need to understand is how they are sheltered from reality and need to face the facts that it is wartime and not everything is happy and peaceful. Their separate peace at devon can be broken at any time, and they shouldn't take moments of peace for granted.
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