What do you make of the title A SEPARATE PEACE? Why do you think this is what John Knowles chose? What are the different ways you can take it? If you were to rename the book, what would your title be?
Even though we've only read until page 60, I think that the title "A Separate Peace" could refer to a lot of things. In this section especially, I think it references the peace and understanding that Gene and Finny have in their friendship. Gene and Finny are 16 and struggling to uncover who they think they are, stuck in that grey area where you aren't a kid anymore, but aren't quite an adult either. There's a war going on. Gene is competing to "be equal" with Finny by working even harder on his academics. They are both stressed out and even at war with themselves, but when they are with each other, laughing and joking around and talking, they can relax and let down the barriers they've set up. In this section, Gene and Finny go to the beach and Gene watches the sunrise and the ocean while Finny sleeps. He describes the ocean first as grey and dead, (which is like the world they live in and the time in their lives they are at), but then describes the sunrise and a fresh, pure burst of color, (which is like the happiness Gene and Finny have when they are together.) It's a feeling of relaxation that's different, (or separate, like the title) from what they feel anywhere else.
So I took the title to mean that because you don't have peace in the world, like no wars or fights, doesn't mean you can't have peace within yourself, or in another place. In this book, there is a war going on, but they are in a place where there is no war, and it is a kind of peace that is separated from the rest of the world. I also think of it as being separated from the rest of the world, and in a way, it seems almost naive and unharmed by the wars and fights.
I think the title "A Separate Piece" refers to Gene and Finny. In my opinion they are two people but they seem the same. They are both pieces that could become one. In my opinion, Gene is separate from Finny, making him the separate piece. Gene is jealous of Finny in many ways and that is what makes them different from each other. They remind me of brothers. They compete against each other and one is good at something then the other gets jealous. Like i said before, they are alike, but Gene is the separate piece.
Also, I was thinking that it could be a separate kind of peace from the other kinds of peace. So it may seem like peace to someone, but it may seem like something different to someone else. It doesn’t seem very peaceful right now, with Finny shattering his leg, and all of Gene’s jealousy feelings. That is why I think it could also mean that.
So instead of looking like the normal peace to most people, it may just look like peace to some people. Maybe it could be talking about Gene and Finny's relationship, and how peaceful it is.
I think that the book is called 'A Separate Peace', because I think that it represents Gene & Finny's friendship, which is a main focus of the story. I think that the title represents their friendship because I think that Gene is more at peace with himself when he is separate from Finny, because his jealously isn't there when they are apart. I also think that Finny is more at peace even though he still thinks of Gene as his best friend, because Finny wouldn't have to worry about get injured when he is separate from Gene. I also think that the title could represent how Devon is a separate peace from the war because all of the boys in Devon don't really realize how bad the war really is, and they are all very innocent because they are safe at Devon. At the end of this section (p.137) I think that it shows that the title could represent Devon being peaceful from the war because of the telegram from Leper, because that shows the reality of the war.
I think that it's called A Separate Peace because it is Finny's separate peace. Finny has a separate peace because he has been the only to stay innocent until the end of this chapter. He made up the war story, which says that there isn't a war, that there is peace. Also, he didn't ever blame Gene for his fall, he didn't want to see the truth. He was blocking scary things out. His separate peace is now broken in the end of this chapter because he has lost his innocence. He is betrayed by his best friend. His Separate Peace has ended, and it has turned to war.
This post is for the last section. I believe the title, A Separate Peace, refers to the lesson Finny taught Gene before he died. Finny always took difficult things in little by little, ignoring the truth, such as he did with the war and Gene pushing him off the tree. Finny had a removed, separate peace inside of him. Gene never used this strategy; he always fought a war of jealousy inside of himself and it was shown in unhealthy ways such as pushing Finny and acting psychotic and violent. When Finny died because of Gene and the war he fought within himself, the conflicted, angry, warring part of Gene died with him. As he said, he was burying part of himself. Gene says when he enlisted and went off to war he never killed anyone because his war "ended before ever putting on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there." Gene learned how not to hate anyone, as Phineas did, and ignore all the strategies others in the book used to do so, such as Mr. Ludsbury, Quackenbush, Brinker and Leper.
195 to end. In this section it was made more clear what the title actually means. I think it refers partly to the different ways that characters create peace for themselves. Finny's innocence allows him not to realize the reality of war and he doesn't truly hate anyone. Gene in some ways, sort of lives off of Finny's innocence because he has so much war and conflict inside him that he needs Finny. In ways they are opposites. I also think the title refers to the peace that they have created at Devon, because at a lot of times, he talks about Devon being peaceful. In this section he said it was "blanketed in peace". But he also says that with winter comes turmoil and the peace leaves with summer. So that separate peace can change.
Now that I have finished the book, and the overall themes of the book are the most clear, I will write about the importance of the quote "A Separate Peace."
The most major seperate peace, obviously, was Finny's perception of reality. Finny was living in his snowglobe of a perfect world with sports (which everyone won), snowball fights and pink t-shirts. The war makes the boys around him grow older, and challenges his own perception of reality. The war was changing his surroundings too fast- on the verge of a breakdown, he rejected the war and pretended to live in his favorite world.
Through the novel, Finny goes through a metamorphisis of the following: 1) An innocent mind of a boy 2) The war pushes in on him along with the evilness of Gene. Feeling overwhelmed, he stops believing that Gene pushed him out of the tree and the war is real. 3) He gradually grows, beginning to believe the war and Gene's hate are real.
for section pgs.165-177 I think that the title has a lot to do with the fact that there is a war going on and the boys in the book really want nothing more than Peace. Although they act as if they want to serve their country, I think that inside they know that they would prefer peace. This is shown by Leper's reaction to the army. Before he had even been sent to war he began to lose his mind, and i think that as one of the more innocent characters at the start of the book in this section it is shown that he has now realized that he wants Peace. I think the reason for A separate is that in this book there are many things that are separated. Devon is separated from the war, Gene's actions are separated from his emotions and Finny ends up being separated from them all when he dies.
Even though we've only read until page 60, I think that the title "A Separate Peace" could refer to a lot of things. In this section especially, I think it references the peace and understanding that Gene and Finny have in their friendship. Gene and Finny are 16 and struggling to uncover who they think they are, stuck in that grey area where you aren't a kid anymore, but aren't quite an adult either. There's a war going on. Gene is competing to "be equal" with Finny by working even harder on his academics. They are both stressed out and even at war with themselves, but when they are with each other, laughing and joking around and talking, they can relax and let down the barriers they've set up. In this section, Gene and Finny go to the beach and Gene watches the sunrise and the ocean while Finny sleeps. He describes the ocean first as grey and dead, (which is like the world they live in and the time in their lives they are at), but then describes the sunrise and a fresh, pure burst of color, (which is like the happiness Gene and Finny have when they are together.) It's a feeling of relaxation that's different, (or separate, like the title) from what they feel anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteSo I took the title to mean that because you don't have peace in the world, like no wars or fights, doesn't mean you can't have peace within yourself, or in another place. In this book, there is a war going on, but they are in a place where there is no war, and it is a kind of peace that is separated from the rest of the world. I also think of it as being separated from the rest of the world, and in a way, it seems almost naive and unharmed by the wars and fights.
ReplyDeleteI think the title "A Separate Piece" refers to Gene and Finny. In my opinion they are two people but they seem the same. They are both pieces that could become one. In my opinion, Gene is separate from Finny, making him the separate piece. Gene is jealous of Finny in many ways and that is what makes them different from each other. They remind me of brothers. They compete against each other and one is good at something then the other gets jealous. Like i said before, they are alike, but Gene is the separate piece.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was thinking that it could be a separate kind of peace from the other kinds of peace. So it may seem like peace to someone, but it may seem like something different to someone else. It doesn’t seem very peaceful right now, with Finny shattering his leg, and all of Gene’s jealousy feelings. That is why I think it could also mean that.
ReplyDeleteSo instead of looking like the normal peace to most people, it may just look like peace to some people. Maybe it could be talking about Gene and Finny's relationship, and how peaceful it is.
ReplyDeleteI think that the book is called 'A Separate Peace', because I think that it represents Gene & Finny's friendship, which is a main focus of the story. I think that the title represents their friendship because I think that Gene is more at peace with himself when he is separate from Finny, because his jealously isn't there when they are apart. I also think that Finny is more at peace even though he still thinks of Gene as his best friend, because Finny wouldn't have to worry about get injured when he is separate from Gene. I also think that the title could represent how Devon is a separate peace from the war because all of the boys in Devon don't really realize how bad the war really is, and they are all very innocent because they are safe at Devon. At the end of this section (p.137) I think that it shows that the title could represent Devon being peaceful from the war because of the telegram from Leper, because that shows the reality of the war.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's called A Separate Peace because it is Finny's separate peace. Finny has a separate peace because he has been the only to stay innocent until the end of this chapter. He made up the war story, which says that there isn't a war, that there is peace. Also, he didn't ever blame Gene for his fall, he didn't want to see the truth. He was blocking scary things out. His separate peace is now broken in the end of this chapter because he has lost his innocence. He is betrayed by his best friend. His Separate Peace has ended, and it has turned to war.
ReplyDeleteThis post is for the last section. I believe the title, A Separate Peace, refers to the lesson Finny taught Gene before he died. Finny always took difficult things in little by little, ignoring the truth, such as he did with the war and Gene pushing him off the tree. Finny had a removed, separate peace inside of him. Gene never used this strategy; he always fought a war of jealousy inside of himself and it was shown in unhealthy ways such as pushing Finny and acting psychotic and violent. When Finny died because of Gene and the war he fought within himself, the conflicted, angry, warring part of Gene died with him. As he said, he was burying part of himself. Gene says when he enlisted and went off to war he never killed anyone because his war "ended before ever putting on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there." Gene learned how not to hate anyone, as Phineas did, and ignore all the strategies others in the book used to do so, such as Mr. Ludsbury, Quackenbush, Brinker and Leper.
ReplyDelete195 to end.
ReplyDeleteIn this section it was made more clear what the title actually means. I think it refers partly to the different ways that characters create peace for themselves. Finny's innocence allows him not to realize the reality of war and he doesn't truly hate anyone. Gene in some ways, sort of lives off of Finny's innocence because he has so much war and conflict inside him that he needs Finny. In ways they are opposites. I also think the title refers to the peace that they have created at Devon, because at a lot of times, he talks about Devon being peaceful. In this section he said it was "blanketed in peace". But he also says that with winter comes turmoil and the peace leaves with summer. So that separate peace can change.
Now that I have finished the book, and the overall themes of the book are the most clear, I will write about the importance of the quote "A Separate Peace."
ReplyDeleteThe most major seperate peace, obviously, was Finny's perception of reality. Finny was living in his snowglobe of a perfect world with sports (which everyone won), snowball fights and pink t-shirts. The war makes the boys around him grow older, and challenges his own perception of reality. The war was changing his surroundings too fast- on the verge of a breakdown, he rejected the war and pretended to live in his favorite world.
Through the novel, Finny goes through a metamorphisis of the following:
1) An innocent mind of a boy
2) The war pushes in on him along with the evilness of Gene. Feeling overwhelmed, he stops believing that Gene pushed him out of the tree and the war is real.
3) He gradually grows, beginning to believe the war and Gene's hate are real.
for section pgs.165-177
ReplyDeleteI think that the title has a lot to do with the fact that there is a war going on and the boys in the book really want nothing more than Peace. Although they act as if they want to serve their country, I think that inside they know that they would prefer peace. This is shown by Leper's reaction to the army. Before he had even been sent to war he began to lose his mind, and i think that as one of the more innocent characters at the start of the book in this section it is shown that he has now realized that he wants Peace. I think the reason for A separate is that in this book there are many things that are separated. Devon is separated from the war, Gene's actions are separated from his emotions and Finny ends up being separated from them all when he dies.