A Separate Peace

1209 Words5 Pages
KayCee Hartwig P-0 Tragedy Strikes at Devon Private School...DUN DUN DUUUUUN It's curious how an event of pure tragedy can change and effect the life's of millions. In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles we observe a private school called Devon which is set during the time period of World War 1. Because Finny is such a popular student and has a prominent role in Devon's social structure, his pain impacts not just the students ,but the teachers as well. The students and teachers both are just transfixed by this horrific tragedy of Finny's fall from the tree and later his death when falling down the stairs. Throughout the novel A Separate Peace , Finny is afflicted with pain both physically and emotionally which changes the students and teachers of Devon forever. Finny is one of the most well know and popular students at Devon private school. Well Finny has gained this popularity through his confidence. Because of his popularity he affects a multitude of students and teachers alike. “Phineas just walked serenely on, or rather flowed on, rolling forward in his white sneakers with such unthinking unity of movement that “walk” didn't describe it.” (18). The way Finny caries himself and the way Gene describes his walk just radiates confidence. Because of Finny's confidence he is able to bring people together from all walks of life at Devon. We can see this through his creations of the S.S.S, or the Super Suicide Society and also Blitzball. These are both very physical activities, which Finny knows he can strive at. Finny notices that all the boys that hang out around him are all very different. But they all agree on one thing...Finny. “There aren’t any teams in blitzball” (30). See no teams, so the boys can all play with each other instead of choosing teams. Of course if they had to they would just fight over who is on Finny's team. So with the

More about A Separate Peace

Open Document