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

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Le Forces of Le War OR A World Without Peace War is a time of uncertainty and changing lifestyles as those who are affected come to terms with its harsh reality. It can be confusing when war is glorified by our society. Coping with the fear war can bring can directly affect the character and attitude of an individual causing one to adapt and change in an effort to create a defense against the constant threat war can bring. In John Knowles novel, A Separate Peace, the tragedy of World War II strikes America, and impacts the lives of the boys at the Devon School. The war is a driving force behind how the characters, Gene, Phineas and Leper, interact with each other and respond to different situations and eventually evolve in their own unique…show more content…
He is shy and more comfortable alone in the world exploring nature as he does when he skis to the beaver dam. It is Gene who compares the drastic changes an early snow of winter can make at the Devon school to that of war and how Leper is oblivious to it all when he thinks to himself “But Leper stands out for me as the person who was most often and most emphatically taken by surprise, by this and every other shift in our life at Devon” (Knowles 93). Leper’s withdrawal from the world around him is his way of coping with the harsh realities of the war. Although the war is raging all around Leper remains oblivious by escaping and admiring his natural surroundings. In the beginning Leper’s attitude about the war is that it doesn’t affect him. He has his own particular view of the world. He enjoys skiing sees it as a way to get from place to place rather than a leisure sport which is evident during a conversation with Gene when he shares “ . . . skiing isn’t supposed to be fast. Skis are for useful locomotion . . . You can break a leg with that downhill stuff” (Knowles 95). For Leper skiing is a way to escape the anxiety of the war. His fear of skiing fast and possibly breaking a leg is indicative of his fear of getting hurt in the war. However, after a recruiter shows the senior students at Devon a film from the United States ski troops, it reveals to Leper, “a friendly face” (Knowles 117) to the war. Leper assimilates with the ski troops, and naively believes he has found a safe place to enter the war. After Leper watches the ski troop film Leper's transformation is visible as he speaks of his new love for downhill skiing rather than

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