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2 pages/≈550 words
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APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:
A Separate Peace
Essay Instructions:
i will include photos of instructions
Final Essay Questions for A Separate Peace
Write a formal literary essay answering one of the following questions. You will need a l minimum of 3 body paragraphs with at least 2 quotations per paragraph. Submit all evidence of the writing process with your final essay.
1. At the end of the novel, the character who is jealous, pessimistic, self-hating and competitive lives and the character who is carefree, powerful, charismatic, and optimistic dies. What message is the author trying to give about childhood and adulthood or life and death? Is it a message about life in general or during war time?
2. Are human beings essentially good or evil? Do the rules of society suppress our tendencies for evil or does society put us into difficult situations like war and competition that subvert our tendencies for good? Does Gene ever change?
3. Symbolism (names, war, nature, sports)
4. Gene says that competition is a natural thing at Devon. Do you agree that competition is the natural way of the world? Who is Gene competing with?
Does it benefit him?
5. The boys are presented as being two sides of a coin and their duality is mirrored throughout the novel (War/Peace, Devon/Naugamasett,
Fear/Joy, Summer/Winter etc.) how does their dependence on each other affect their ability to form their own identity?
how is this reflected symbolically?
6. Develop a thesis based on another theme of your choice.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
The Wild Within: Understanding Competition in “A Separate Peace”
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In the critically acclaimed novel "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, the heartache of competition unveils itself when the story is set at the idyllic Devon School amidst the chaos of the Second World War. Integral to this story is Gene, one of the main characters who can rationalize the complex relations at Devon as not just teenage jealousy but as strife intrinsic to existence. This has roots in the survival-centric mentality prevalent in the natural world, and it shapes his tumultuousness. Central to this perspective is the feeling of constantly being in a contest for existence, especially in the sphere of the natural world. It most evidently informs his strained friendship with the charming and athletic Finny. Through the light of the social comparison theory and a critical analysis of the different events in the novel, I have demonstrated how competition is a natural occurrence in the world and a force behind individual conflict and growth towards a deeper level of self-actualization.
Gene's observation at the Devon School reflects the natural real environment where competition to survive has become the order of the day. This mirroring also shows the basis of human social relations – like in an ecosystem, where competition defines power relations and existence, such as competition for food, shelter, and ways to survive (Cadotte, 2023). In the novel, the ecosystem-like competition is reflected in Gene’s apprehension and behavior throughout the novel. Gene debates about the rat race, which was dominant at Devon, saying, “I couldn't help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little" (Knowles, 2014). This acceptance of envy and competition between friends indicates the natural world, in which only the most capable or skillful will survive to dominate the land. Additionally, Gene has noticed that Devon tolerated demoralization, which gradually changed from chaos to organized bullying according to who was more potent than whom, implying that all the characters are instinctively civilized, like animals in the jungle. This was evident in the statement, “Everything at Devon slowly changed and slowly harmonized with what had gone before...
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