This Passage Is from the Book a Separate Peace by John Knowles. It Is Located in Chapter

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This passage is from the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles. It is located in chapter two on pages twenty-two and twenty-three. Before this passage, Phineas explains why he had to wear a belt to dinner. After this passage, the narration changes and Gene describes the Suicide Society’s jumping from the tree over the Devon River. In this passage, Gene describes the feeling of isolation at Devon especially when he viewed the surrounding trees and bushes near the school. Gene and Phinny discussed how isolated they felt and how difficult it was imagine bombings in central Europe.

The marquee items for this passage are isolation and separateness. Knowles used figurative language to illustrate this. He used the metaphor of the trees to display the isolation of Devon from the rest of the world: “the trees reached in an unbroken widening corridor.” The narrator refers to the Devon woods as “the tamed fringe of the last a greatest wilderness,” which could be seen as a metaphor for Devon on the brink of war and the unknown.

Isolation and Separateness is also demonstrated through the author’s character’s train of thought. Gene compares his own life in the fragile school of Devon compared to the war he does not participate in. During the summer the students of Devon were the only ones who could feel selfish. Gene thinks: “we spent that summer in complete selfishness, I’m happy to say.” This insight into Gene’s feelings shows his distance from the war physically and emotionally and drives home the idea of isolation and separateness.

This passage was included to demonstrate that Gene feels more alone than he realizes and the geography of the area around Devon school shows this. To Gene, Devon seems to be an ideal place for peacefulness and tranquility. Gene’s hyperbole regarding the surrounding trees shows that for a short time the boys (juniors) can enjoy themselves and not worry about the war. War, like the trees, never seems to end and seems to go on forever and Gene may be feeling trapped by his surroundings while young men not much older than he is are headed to war. One can get lost of lose themselves in their own world and this is where Gene’s character (seventeen year old Gene) seems to have placed himself.