Book Report- A Seperate Peace

Book Report / Novel Summary

Knowles, John. A Seperate Peace. New England. Macmillan: 1959.

Reason, Type and Setting: A Seperate Peace was one of the most powerful books i have ever read. Both the moral lessons and the style of writing are some of my favorites yet. The plot line was tense and exciting and i enjoyed reading each chapter. This adventerous and reflective narrative gives the reader insight into Gene Forrester's life as a student through some sort of military boarding school. Taking place during World War II, the setting of this novel is in New Englands, Devon school for boys.

Plot: Other than the horrible war going on outside of our country at that time, Gene has to face an even greater war in his own life. Gene's accidentally jostels a branch that Finny was standing on, causing Finny to thud into the river below. The impact from the fall shatters Finny's leg and Gene feels like some outside force caused him to do this to Finny. The two boys continue to be best friends but there is always an awkward tension in their friendship. Toward the end of the novel some of the other boys at the school begin to question the incident and whether or not Gene should be held responsible. They hold a "meeting" to come up with a verdict. Finny is very upset by this and storms out of the room. he is unstable with his bad leg and slips on the hard marble, causing him to re-break his leg. This time the break is far les extensive, but when the doctor is trying to slip the bone back into place, Finny dies during the surgery. Gene's reactions and reasoning towards these events and others are facsinating to me.

Character: Gene represents a certain honesty that many people are too frightened to admit to. Although Gene himself has troubles facing his problems as much as anyone else may, Gene's charactersitcs made him easy for me to relate to. There seems to be a small evil in everyone that seems to be so good, such as Gene. Gene was aiming to be valedvictorian and he was a strong student and for the most part he obeyed the rules, unless under Finny's instruction. Finny on the other hand, seeming to be more of a rebel, he was always honest with himself and others so he never had any secret animosity toward anyone because he was truly honest. Gene was very able of being honest with himself, it was expressing his realizations with others that he had issues with. I think a lot of people could relate to that. By the end of the novel Gene comes to peace with himself and around that same time the war is beggining to come to and end. I think the author also refers to the war metophorically to the war that Gene is fighting within himself.

Evaluation: I throughly enjoyed this novel and would certianly read it agian. It kept my interest with an exciting plot line and unique characters. I learned more about human nature as a whole and I also learned about the way different people had viewed the war at that time. Through reading this novel I was able to come to certain realisation in my own mind about how i treat my family and friends. I was then given the opportunity to change how I approach different people and situations. The main values expressed in this story actually relate to some things i have been dealing with in my life so it was captivating to see things form a different perspective. I would absolutely recommend this book to others for the author's style, educational value and ethical insight.

Because this book is set during World War II it has a lot of historical value. I think the author may have written the book as his own reflection of war time. what ever the reason the book was written, it still expresses a raw side of a few young boys and for that matter teenagers. Any person could realte to these kids and I believe everyone could learn from some of their actions and mistakes.

Author, Context and Trivia: Some other writings by John Knowles includes; Morning in Antibes, Indian Summer, Ballin, Spreading Fires, A Vein of Riches, A Peace Breaks Out, and A Stolen Past. A Seperate Peace is his most famous work by far. I would be interested in reading more from Knowles because i really did enjoy his stlye in this novle and hope it is dupilacted in his others. I have read other World War II books, such as Slaughter House Five, and both were very well written books. I enjoy reading historical novels and plan on explanding on my current knowledge.