War In A Separate Peace

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In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, shows the gradual dominance of life at Devon School by the war. World War II is a major turning point for the characters in the story. The lives of the characters in Devon continually change each time the war is mentioned. The war is dominating lives in Devon by the pressure it puts on the students when they are given the choice to enlist, the major change and the impact it has on people’s views and personalities as they go through experiences in the war, and the students wanting to be involved in the war. During the students’ senior year at Devon was starting, many of the students had tremendous pressure on them because of being given the choice to enlist. Gene and Brinker walk towards Gene’s …show more content…
Finny has broken his leg again from falling from the marble staircase. He is then visited by Gene in the infirmary. Gene and Finny have a normal conversation until Finny breaks out and says, “‘I’ll hate it everywhere if I’m not in this war! Why do you think I kept saying there wasn’t any war all winter? I was going to keep on saying it until two seconds after I got a letter from Ottawa or Chungking or some place…’” (Knowles, 190) Finny because of his injury cannot be involved in the war. He makes up an alternate reality because he doesn’t wanna be a part of this reality. Cliffnotes goes more into the conversation between Gene and Finny saying, “In anguished disappointment, Finny confesses his efforts to enlist, and, in turn, Gene finally says the truth he feels about his friend — that Finny would be no good in the war, because his natural impulses point him always toward friendship and sports, not animosity and fighting.” Gene tells Finny that he doesn’t have the qualities that could be useful in the war. Gene brings down Finny in a way and enforces the fact that he is in a useless state right now. Finny showing that he wants to be involved, even though he is in the state he’s in now, shows the complete dominance the war has on
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