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Literary Analysis
English II Honors
6 December 2005
The War Within
”My war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (196). Thus ends the novel ”A Separate Peace” by John Knowles, and along with it end the saga and turmoil within the main character’s mind. ”A Separate Peace” exhibits a remarkable depiction of the power of envy on the human mind, showing its capability to flourish into evil and delusion. The novel’s plot and theme revolve around the main character’s inner conflict, displaying how a single thought can grow and occupy one’s mind, consequently impacting many other lives. The author effectively manipulates the element of conflict throughout the novel, with the purpose of making a transition from innocence to iniquity, and makes it the basis for the theme, motif, and plot of the novel.
The novel takes place during World War II, a time of uncertainty and hostility among the nations of the world. The United States shifted toward a total war, making war supplies the number one priority in the nation.
” Nylon, meat, gasoline, and steel are rare…Trains are always late and always crowded with ‘servicemen’…To waste anything in America is immoral…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 will be. There are just tiny fragments of pleasure and luxury in the world, and there is something unpatriotic about enjoying them” (32-33).
Gene describes a frantic society, one where unity and sacrifice take a much higher position over self-preservation and satisfaction, a society of martyrs where ”no one notices or rewards achievements involving the body unless the result is to kill it or save it on the battlefield,” (33-34) a society tremendously impacted by the war to the extent that that all thoughts, prayers, and actions involve it in some way. Yet, absorbed in his own made-up world, Gene appears aloof to the gravity of the situation around him, unaware of the conflict arising in him.
His inability to recognize the harm in being so self-absorbed in such a time of crisis leads to his inability to recognize his inner conflict. Gene’s strive for attention and acknowledgement emerges a thought that ”everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him…[And] for [him], this moment – four years is a moment in history – was the war” (32). His obliviousness to the fact that the earth revolves around the sun – not him – makes him susceptible to insecurity, furthermore making him envious toward characters he views as superior. His envy kindles a desire to emulate those ”superior creatures.” He dresses up as Finny, and describes the feeling he procures as ”a sense of strangeness and distinction” (54). His desire for parity suddenly intensifies when he arrives at the wrong conclusion that his mission in life is ”to become a part of Phineas” (77). He gets an eerie sense of relief from the thought that he ”was Phineas. Phineas to the life” (54). The author paints a vivid picture of the distorted mind of Gene, showing the severity of his inner conflict, and yet making it unbeknown to Gene himself.
Gene’s ignorance towards his instability stems the many other conflicts, which in return create the plot. At the beginning of the novel, Gene interprets his feelings toward Finny as harmless feelings of envy. He even states, ”I couldn't help envying [Phineas] that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a little” (18). However, oblivious to the magnitude of the envy thriving within him, he suppresses his growing problem until his spite escalates to dangerous levels. Ignoring the effect of the war on the society, he focuses on himself and his own feelings. He begins imagining a competition between himself and Phineas, constantly comparing himself to Finny, and striving for equality. ”Then we would both have come out on top, we would be even, that was all. We would be even...” (43). His inner conflict finally reaches its peak, causing paranoia in his mind. Thoughts of Phineas sabotaging him occupy his mind; he starts considering Phineas a threat, a conspirator disguised as his best friend. ”You are even,” he states. ”You are even in enmity. You did hate him for breaking that school record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term. You would have had an A in that one except for him. Except for him” (45). His paranoia and conflict finally cause an infirmity in his mind, and he injures Finny by causing his fall off the tree.
Consequently, more inner conflicts commence within Gene after Finny’s fall. Gene comes to the realization that the competition originated in his mind, and feelings of guilt overwhelm him. Reminiscing back to all his past thoughts, he states, ”And I thought we were competitors! It was so ludicrous I wanted to cry” (58). His mixed feelings about Finny cause another inner struggle; his guilt haunts him constantly, causing immense desire to confess, but his mind pushes him into maintaining the tree incident a secret. He describes his summer of incertitude as ”an atmosphere of reverie and unreality” (59), and when he finally decides on freeing himself from his culpability, Finny’s inner conflict and his denial of the situation prohibit him from achieving it.
Phineas, often described as carefree and insouciant, displays a perfect representation of innocence. Gene’s instability, however, obliterates Finny’s naivetј, and causes an enormous inner conflict within Finny’s mind. Subconsciously aware of the truth about his accident, Finny suppresses his intuition and pushes it aside, still having faith in his best friend. Even when exposed to the truth, he refuses it because of his fear of betrayal. However, the reader can sense Finny’s denial and inner conflict. Phineas struggles in preserving the purity of his and Gene’s friendship by repelling the truth and ignoring what his mind tells him. The asperity of his inner conflict grows immensely, overshadowing and erasing any of Phineas’ thoughts about the war. The war, a conflict that previously occupied every aspect of his life, develops into a suppressed, insignificant speck in his mind. The author leads up to Finny’s downfall and shifts his nature from innocent to dark through the effective use of conflict.
The author transitions many characters through the use of conflict. He starts out describing the boys as naпve, a perfect image of ”what peace was like, [they] boys of sixteen” (16), and he eventually leads them to iniquity and their downfall. Gene, a goodhearted, intelligent person, grows into a vicious, ill-natured individual. Phineas, a spirited young man, falls into a dark place. Leper develops a metal illness, and therefore a new personality, which directly contrasts his gullible and appreciative nature. The author [FONT="]bases the plot on a single, seemingly insignificant thought, exhibiting how much potential it contains. Much like the wave of Nazi idealism sweeping through Europe, the wave of self-doubt, envy, and insecurity sweeps through Devon High School, showing how a harmless thing can amplify to pure evil.
Ова е еден пример од есеите што ги имам напишано, Ова е анализа на внатрешните конфликти на еден од главните ликови во една книга за втората светска војна.
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