Surprises.

I think we've all basically agreed on liking the book. I especially liked it because it didn't have the perfect ending. The ending to A Separate Peace leaves you banking on conclusions and your own thoughts. It's not so "Happily Ever After". And yet it's still a great book. I also liked it because of some surprises. Such as Leper, I really wouldn't expect him to be classified Psycho from the army. I thought he was weird from the first time Gene described him, but not psycho by any means. Another surprise had to have been when Brinker held a trial about the tree. I figured Brinker would bring something up to Gene about it beforehand. I guess he kind of warned him. But I never thought it'd go down like that. Pubic shame for Gene. And last, but not least, I was actually surprised when Finny died. The thought of him dying didn't even cross my mind throughout reading the book. Then after I read about it, I thought it was the perfect closure. The perfect way to clear the slate and bury deep guilt along with a best friend.

Do you agree with being surprised on any of these matters? Do you have anything to add?

A Separate Peace- My thoughts and feelings

From what I can tell, I'm agreeing with everyone in saying that I enjoyed this book a lot more compared to Huck Finn. Although I liked this book a lot more, my favorite thing about it is the same as it was in Huck Finn.

The relationship between Finny and Gene was so incredibly interesting to me. All the different emotions felt between the two is astonishing. For example, there's love and compassion, but at the exact same time there is hatred and jealousy. This is something that stands out to me, because when I think of best friends I don't think of hatred and jealousy. Also, there are differences between them that would make you think that they couldn't be best friends. Gene is the good student and as Katie said, the "overachiever", while Finny is the star athlete who everyone looks up to and isn't necessarily the best student academically. He thought Gene did too much as a student. This ties into their personalities, which were completely different, too. As you all know, Finny was the adventurous and optimistic leader, who everyone followed. It was as if nothing could bring him down, even losing his athletic career. Gene was in a way more mature about taking risks because he thought about the consequences of his actions (that didn't always stop him, but atleast he thought about it), and he was one of the many that followed Finny's lead. They were going in completely different directions, but still managed to become best friends. I suppose this is a case of "opposites attract".

What do you think about Gene and Finny's friendship? How does this compare to any of your friendships? Can you think of something to add to what I've said that could make my point even clearer?

A Separate Peace... with Connections.

I know I have missed a lot the first time through with A Separate Peace. The connections gave me a better idea but I'm still not getting the full picture. My Brother's Keeper was the only story that I could understand the revelance to A Separate Peace. Jamie discovered that he could not take care of his brother forever and still be able to live his own life. He had to move on and let Ted take responsibility for his actions. Gene didn't give himself much of a choice in the matter with taking care of Finny. It wasn't until Finny's death that Gene was able to begin finding peace from the guilt. Jamie knew the relationship with his brother would be different from then on but he could now take full control into his own life as did Gene when the reminder of his guilt was gone for good.

What did everyone else get from the connections?

A Connection

This book was amazing. It was so much better than Huck Finn. I found myself lost in the pages of this novel, and I felt like I could connect a lot to Gene. He overachieves, does very well academically, and is working toward being the top of his class. He is very smart and thoughtful. He has a competitive nature and follows the rules in school. Gene develops a love-hate relationship with Finny, his best friend. Yet, he both adores and envies him. This is how I feel I connect to Gene. I admit I'm an overachiever. I get great grades, try to do very well in school, and I used to have a love-hate relationship with this friend of mine. Gene has lots of insecurities and fears. Throughout the novel, he finds himself wishing he was just like Finny, yet he knows he can never be the olympic athlete Finny expects him to be. He's insecure with his own personality because he thinks Finny is so great at everything and that he can't possibly amount up to him. Gene's looking at all of his flaws and none of his good attributes. He's blinded by jealousy and guilt. In the very first few pages of the novel, when Gene is an adult, he realizes he is still insecure and fearful.
I know I'm still insecure about things at times, but most everyone has to be insecure about one thing at least. For example, and I can't believe I'm sharing this, but I'm insecure about my teeth. I still love to smile but sometimes it's a little awkward. I also used to be blinded by jealousy with the one person who used to be my best friend.
I would never intentionally hurt anyone, either. I just don't have the heart to do that. Gene is not my favorite character, either. He's actually my least favorite. I connected with him a little on the emotional side. Finny is my favorite character by far.
Which character can you connect most to? (This character doesn't need to be your favorite one.)

Favorite Character: Finny

Finny was easily my favorite character in the story. I found it very easy to relate to him as some others have already said, and that makes a big difference for me. He was the ideal friend to Gene. He was athletic, good-humored, and a natural leader. This allowed everyone to follow his lead no matter what his crazy ideas were. John Knowles made Finny so easy to like, you could not help but feel bad when Gene distrusts him and acts on that distrust.

Even after Gene ruined Finny's athletic ability, Finny continued to be an amazing friend to him. He tried to ignore even the slightest possibility that the accident could have been Gene's fault just so that they could continue on being friends. He could have blamed Gene right away and made Gene feel guilty for it, but instead he chose to retain the friendship they had before.

Finny was my favorite character in "A Separate Peace" because of how perfect of a friend he seemed to be to me. What was your favorite character and why?

Better Understanding

"I didn't entirely like this glossy new surface, because it made the school look like a museum, and that's exactly what it was to me, and what I did not want it to be."

"Looking back now across fifteen years, I could see with great clarity the fear I had lived in, which must mean that in the interval I had succeeded in a very important undertaking: I must have made my escape from it."

These two quotes came during the first two pages of A Separate Peace. After I had finished the book, I read the first few pages to possibly obtain a better understanding of what Gene was saying, and I think this really did help.
In the first quote, Gene talks of how Devon looks like a museum, and that's just what he didn't want it to be. When you think about it, museums are a place of preservation and display. Actually, the definition from Merriam Websters is; a place where objects are exhibited. Whenever Gene returns to Devon, I think that he feels this is where all his guilt and memories are being preserved and displayed, just like a museum. It's no wonder that Gene didn't want it to be like a museum, because that just helps create a more vivid image than what he already had. The thought of peace from guilt that came at the cost of friendship lost forever really never did leave, or could I don't think.
Gene states in the second quote that he must have made his escape from fear, and that he had used to live in it. This just stuck out to me, and I thought it went together well in a way with the first quote I put up. I think he said that as well as he could have, in his situation at least. I think guilt, shame, or regret will always linger, but he will not live in the fear that he once did. At first when I read this I thought, did he really escape from the fear? I think he did, and that is the peace he has found. He still might not have peace in the fact that happened, but he's not constantly looking over his shoulder in fear of who might confront him, or what he might have had to explain.
I think these two quotes help me understand Gene quite a bit more after I had read the book. I think that they are great in helping understand what's going through his mind and thoughts. What does everyone else think of these two quotes? Do you think he has escaped from the fear he was living in, and also do you think that he has found peace?

A Separate Peace

I absolutely loved this book! I got about half way done with Huck Finn and was completely bored, so I figured I would give this one a try. I couldn't stop reading this one! I especially liked the story in it because it reminded me so much of me and my best friend; about all the jealousy and things we do so the other does bad at something. This is part of life though and makes for a good friendship, however, you can't let it control you or get the better of you. What I really think the author is trying to get across is that you cant go through life jealous. Gene was jealous and mad at Finny so he pushed him out of the tree. Gene thought Finny was jealous of him so Finny kept having things to do so Gene couldn't do as well in school. This jealousy really took control of their lives, and when Finny was out for the count, Gene felt like he had to stay around and help Finny out as much as he could. He spent most of his free time tending to Finny and actually got weighted down with it. He could no longer feel free or do what he wanted for fun. The thought of Finny hurt because of him would always flash through his head. Knowles is trying to say that you should live a fulfilling life and not be weighted down by your past. Keep your head up and keep moving forward for the better. A great book! Now, tell me what you think Knowles meant....