Summary Of The Novel 'A Separate Peace' By John Knowles

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John Knowles writer of the famous novel a separate peace, shows countless messages on conflict, rivalry, and resolution. There are three main messages he shows us that ae bigger than the others. The ones I will be expanding on are rivalry is human nature. Rivalry has its goods and it’s not so goods. To resolve conflict, you have to confront it unless it can’t be resolved at all. Rivalry is hard wired into are brains when we are being built in the womb. Everyone at some age sometime has experienced rivalry. Whether it was a good experience or bad you wanted to beat your opponent and bad whether it was in dodge ball in 3rd grade P.E or against Billy for that employee of the month spot on the wall of fame. Sometimes this rivalry we were born with over takes us and takes control. Just like it took over gene in the novel. For example, Gene says “Perhaps for that reason his accomplishments took root in my mind and grew rapidly in the darkness where I was forced to hide it.” (Knowles, 44) This passage shows genes jealousy towards genes accomplishments and how they are making gene make irrational accusations towards his best friend/roommate. The biggest betrayal …show more content…
Finny shows us this in how he describes relationships at the Devon school. Finny says “There were few relationships among us at Devon not based on Rivalry.” (Knowles, 37) We all have that one friend we are competing against all the time and we love it. Rivalry starts and ends many relationships. In genes case the rivalry between him and finny is bad causing finny to hurt his own best friend eventually leading up to events that get finny killed. In the case of the Devon school in a whole rivalry fuels the school and almost all the relationships in the school. This is why Knowles shows countless times how rivalry is good and bad because anyone who has had friends can relate to this
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