Task #5: Personal Review

            Although I would not regard this book as the best I have ever read, it would certainly not fall into the category of a time waster. The book revolved around Gene Forrester but more of his actions and events rather than his actual feelings. It was left up to the reader to determine the emotions of Gene and his true internal battle, torn between his love yet jealousy and hate of Finny. I appreciate Knowles’s descriptive imagery to effectively portray the beauty of the Devon School setting, but sometimes it did become a bit monotonous. I did enjoy Knowles’s extensive use of dialogue to successfully convey the unique personality of each individual character.

The overall plot was not as captivating as I would have liked. I felt almost as if this book was lacking action; it required reading between the lines to see the deeper conflict of an interior struggle and the effects war has on the individual. I particularly enjoyed the character of Finny and his innate ease in sports and social situations, his confidence, and his humbleness, but he was not the stereotypical character in that he was not good at everything—he had a weakness in schoolwork, which made him more realistic and relatable. It was deeply upsetting to me that Finny suffered from Gene’s jealousy through a broken leg and eventually, his death. Gene, the best friend he could ever ask for (so he thought) betrayed him. However, Gene did prove to be an interesting character to examine in that he was flawed, a victim of infinite envy and feelings of inferiority. It was this conflict which I found interesting in the novel. Overall, this book was worth reading for its attractive conflicts and characters and artful use of language, but worth a second read? I think not.

Task #4: Text Connections

            In John Knowles’s novel A Separate Peace, the story is being narrated by Gene Forrester, a Devon schoolboy who recounts his story of him and his best friend Finny. I can make a text-to-itself connection by pointing out that Gene is an unreliable narrator. Although he attempts to appear honest and show his real feelings, it can be inferred that he does not expose his true feelings completely, especially in the scene when he makes Finny fall off the tree. Gene merely recites the events in an objective point of view, showing an unusual lack of emotion: “...he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank...” (60). Gene is holding back from the audience, probably to make him seem more morally righteous than he is because he is ashamed of his actions. He does not tell his thoughts or reactions of the moment, only the description of the incident.

            In that this novel was set in wartime, it evidences some similarities to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. This novel tells the story of Paul Baumer who is a German soldier in World War I. Although this novel was about WWI and A Separate Peace was in the time of WWII, the effects of war on the individual are nonetheless universal. Paul tells of his gruesome experiences in war and the despair he encountered, feeling that the war would never end. Gene, though not actually in war yet, can still relate to its effects because everyone is affected by war. He says, “The war will always be fought very far from America and it will never end” (41). Paul and Gene, though from different time periods and supporting different sides of the war, relate in their perception of the infinite war.

            In one point of the novel, Gene is training for the Olympics with Finny because Finny has been crippled from his fall and will have no shot at ever competing in the Olympics; he is living through Gene. Finny told Gene to do thirty pull-ups and Finny “began to count aloud in a noncommittal, half-heard voice” (117). It was this voice that I could visualize and make a text-to-myself connection with because it is so characteristic of any exercise being done—the monotonous counting voice, just getting through the exercise. Then towards the end of the thirty, “the last edges of boredom left [Finny’s voice]; he stood up” (117). As any coach does to make the end seem nearer, to push their athlete to finish, to motivate them to make it through, Finny emphasized the last numbers because the last exercises in the set are the hardest and require the most effort. I have had my fair share of conditioning with coaches or teams and they always count in this way, emitting a “you-can-do-it” attitude. Finny is showing the he believes in Gene and his abilities, just as coaches are supposed to do for their athletes.

Task #3: Syntax

“Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence” (14).

Through the use of this short, declarative sentence, Knowles conveys the stark view of Devon through Gene’s eyes. The anaphora of the word “not” contributes to the empty, desolate tone by negating nouns. This syntax brings emphasis to the bitter nostalgia of Gene toward his times at Devon. It also renders a detached tone and an unemotional state.

 “I never saw him tired, never really winded, never overcharged and never restless” (39).

Here Gene demonstrates his admiration of Finny for having an uninterrupted, natural and perfect flow of energy. The repetition of “never” leads the reader to suspect a hint of jealousy toward Finny because he never messes up. It is these subtle hints of Gene’s true feelings that Knowles leaves as clues for the reader, open to interpretation. The sentence is plainly stated but there is a deeper meaning behind them that forces the reader to read between the lines.

“All pleasurable things, all travel and sports and entertainment and good food and fine clothes, are in the very shortest supply, always were and always be” (41).

Gene shows the lack of ubiquitous happiness, adding to the somber mood. The polysyndeton depicts everything that people in wartime are missing out on, which is emphasized to be a lot. This sentence also serves to convey a sense of hopelessness, like there is no chance for happiness in the world with the war going on.

“,,,then we would both have come out on top, we would be even that was all. We would be even...Was that it!” (52).

This evidence of unique syntax describes a sudden realization Gene has. The repetition shows the thought process of Gene while trying to figure out Finny, finally arriving at a conclusion. Gene convinces himself that Finny is jealous of him, showing the extent to which Gene wants to be like Finny, having someone be jealous of him for a change. The raw narration Knowles uses for Gene attributes to his natural writing style.

“‘...I couldn’t sleep in bed, I had to sleep everywhere else. I couldn’t eat in the Mess Hall, I had to eat everywhere else...’” (150).

This quote is spoken by Leper Lepellier, describing his experience in the army. The parallelism enhances the backwards ways of the military and the ways in which it drove Leper crazy. The straightforward meaning of this example adds to the bleak image of war, since one was only supposed to do something, like sleep, a certain way, and if one could not do that, they had to find their own way of managing. Knowles again uses language to convey the personalities of the characters. In this dialogue, he characterizes Leper as greatly affected by the war, and therefore, weak, and driven into a backwards condition.

Task #2: Diction

            Through the narration of Gene Forrester, a typical New England schoolboy, John Knowles’s A Separate Peace displays educated, formal diction when Gene is clear-headed, exhibiting the intellectual that he is. However, when Gene is reflecting upon his actions, his diction becomes more denotative and connected with feeling. Given that Gene is introverted, he has a lot of time to think and ponder his actions; therefore, much of his diction reflects his thought process and awareness of the world around him.

            Much of his word choice is used to reflect his surroundings and the setting for most of the novel—the esteemed Devon School. This school has been the center of his life, the place where everything momentous event has happened, so naturally the diction is euphonious to reflect its paramount importance. The surroundings are described as “capacious” but also “impressive” and “forbidding” (10-11), conjuring a pleasing but unapproachable image. It can be inferred that Gene is a very observant person, noticing “every slight undulation of the land” (59). Knowles’s words through Gene are usually denotative and abstract. He focuses on impressions of things rather than concrete words, things only imaginable, again adding to the reader’s right to deduce meanings: “the essence of this careless peace” (24), “a world of branches” and “an infinity of leaves” (30). “[H]opeless joy” (55) is a thing felt, experienced. The reader has to connect with Gene’s emotions. Gene also uses simple but intelligible diction to describe other characters, such as Phineas having a “steady and formidable flow of usable energy” (40). The diction is clear but still scholastic, contributing to an image of Gene as a smart schoolboy.

            On the other hand, in certain events, Gene uses more precise yet detached diction. When describing Finny’s movement, he said it had “sudden metallic tension” (43). He also described Finny with his “face transfigured, body a complex set of balanced and compensations...” (75). These scrutinizing descriptions exhibit exact diction and forms Gene into an analytical character; it also contributes to the distant and rational tone that is consistent throughout the novel.

Task #1: Rhetorical Strategies

Simile.: “...I had always felt that the Devon School came into existence the day I entered it, was vibrantly real while I was a student there, and then blinked out like a candle the day I left” (1-2).

This simile shows the impact on which Gene’s experiences at Devon had on his life, filling his life and becoming the center of it while he was there, but once he was gone, it was forgotten, barely existing. John Knowles portrays his style of writing in attempting to establish the intimate connection between writer and reader. He tries to convey Gene’s thoughts and sets the scene, motivating the reader to continue reading by sparking curiosity. Much of Knowles’s writing in this novel is open to the reader for speculation and inference.

Polysyndeton: “We were in a kind of sun porch and conservatory combined, spacious and damp and without many plants” (25-26).

By incorporating the addition of more conjunctions than necessary, Knowles demonstrates his descriptive style of writing and his view that things are not one-sided and cannot be described by just a few words. His objective yet beautiful accounts of the setting contribute to the detached tone.

Personification, Imagery: “To the right of them the gym meditated behind its gray walls, the high wide, oval-topped windows shining back at the sun” (30).

Through the use of personification, the author gives a sense of the peaceful surroundings at Devon and a distinctive contrast between Devon and the rest of the world—in this sentence, against the sun. This is an example of the vivid imagery Knowles frequently employs, contributing to his illustrative style, creating a specific images.

Rhetorical Questions: “Was he trying to impress me or something? Not tell anybody? When he had broken a school record without a day of practice” (44).

The series of questions expresses Gene’s frantic thoughts. Finny’s reaction to breaking a school record confused him because he did not want to tell anybody, and Gene did not understand his reasoning, only frustrating him further. Knowles uses these rhetorical questions to show the frenzied thought process of Gene and the lengths he goes to try to understand Finny.

Personification, Simile, Allusion, Imagery: “The beach shed its deadness and became a spectral gray-white, then more white than gray, and finally it was totally white and stainless, as pure as the shores of Eden” (50).

The personification of the beach becoming alive, shedding its “deadness,” reflects Knowles’s propensity to use nature and setting to set the mood. Through his colorful writing, he paints a stunning picture of the landscape. The reference to the Garden of Eden evokes familiarity in the reader, a place associated with beginnings, freshness, and purity. Knowles again tries to establish a personal relation with the reader, writing of things and feelings to which they can relate. The use of all these rhetorical strategies contained within this one sentence reveals the author’s masterful use of language and eloquent writing technique to connect the reader to the surroundings.

Paradox: “...I knew of course that it was the Devon gym which I entered everyday. It was and it wasn’t” (185).

Obviously contradicting himself, Gene addresses the Devon gym as though it were foreign because he has changed. His perception of the world has changed. Although it was a part of his familiar surroundings, Gene perceives the gym a different way, a view which Knowles is able to depict through his use of paradox. This adds to the confused and lost mindset of Gene, the narrator.