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A Separate Peace, Symbolism Wi - Term Papers

A Separate Peace, Symbolism Wi

John Knowles uses the literary element of symbolism in his novel, A Separate Peace. Gene, a student at the Devon Prep School in New Hampshire, tries to understand the love, hate, and jealousy that he feels for his roommate Phineas, nicknamed "Finny." Knowles uses the Assembly Hall, the marble staircase, and the locker room to symbolize how Gene's spitefulness affects Finny, and how this effect leads Gene into adulthood.
As the effects of Gene's spiteful feelings toward Finny are developed, the Assembly Hall in which Gene's trial takes place is symbolic. Brinker, a classmate, lead some of Gene's peers to bring him to the Assembly Hall. At this time, Gene further realizes that he shook the ...

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death as he storms out into the corridor.
As Finny runs down the corridor, the marble staircase that he approaches is symbolic. Finny storms out of the Assembly Hall in which Gene's trial is being held and begins running down the corridor. At this point, Finny fully realizes that Gene intentionally shook the limb, which made Finny fall out of the tree. Finny is in denial, thus causing him to storm out of the room. When Finny reaches the marble staircase, he falls, breaking his leg once again. This injury kills him due to the doctor's mistake while setting the broken bone. Gene's spiteful feelings can be directly connected to the events that took place during and after the Assembly Hall trial. Consequently, the marble staircase symbolizes how Gene's spiteful feelings ultimately cause Finny's death.
At the end of the school session after Finny's death, Gene's cleaning out his locker is another symbolic act. Gene says, "Brinker went upstairs to continue his packing, and I walked over ...

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A Separate Peace, Symbolism Wi. (2005, July 5). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/A-Separate-Peace-Symbolism-Wi/29616

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 7/5/2005 11:49:19 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 559
Pages: 3

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