A Separate Peace - Cruelty
There have been many novels written about war and the viciousness of men concerning what happens, why it happens and why it should stop. What makes A Separate Peace unique is that in protesting war John Knowles never overtly refers to the blood and gore of war. Knowles brings up the theme that during hard times man's inhumanity to other man is very apparent. Knowles explains through the life of Finny and the other boys why war will never cease and why cruelty among men is character of their lives.
The first incident that indicates this inhumanity is the scene when Finny falls out of the tree. While Gene is responsible for Finny's fall off the tree, the reader is in some confusion as to what really happened. All the book states at this juncture is that "(Gene) holding firmly to the trunk, [takes] a step near him (Finny), and then [his] knees bounced and [he] jounced the limb. Finny, his balanced gone, swung his head to look at [him] for an instant with......
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Approximate Word Count: 813
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |