The motif of warfare is represented in the novel by examples of real warfare. This novel takes place during World War II in the private prep school for boys' called the Devon School. Here we can see that they are involved in the war through many things. Most of the boys there are always talking about the war and about headlines that discuss the bombings in central Europe. Most of them realize that there is a war going on and that it is a huge problem, however, they do think of it as an adventure in itself. "'I'm giving it up, I'm going to enlist. Tomorrow.' I felt a thri

The motif of war is present throughout this novel, A Separate Peace, and is presented in many different forms. There are relations to real warfare, warlike games, warlike conflicts between characters, and inner warring within the main characters. It also helps tie the novel together by giving it a common base for which the characters base their lives upon, and helps in giving central insight into life. The motif of war is conveyed in many ways but is mostly shown through the characters. "We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives, that it is inside ourselves." (Albert Camus (1913-60), French-Algerian philosopher, author.)

The motif of war is further revealed in that Gene now has to fight a war with himself. He has terrible guilt for what he has done and knows that the reason Phineas dies is partially his fault. He must now confront his problems, face reality, and deal with the future. The first step that Gene had to take in order to stop this inner warring was acknowledge the fact that he isn't as great as Phineas, that he is his own individual, and that Phineas isn't as perfect as he thought. He has to accept the guilt for Phineas' difficulties after his injury and must help him as a punishment for this deed he committed. In a way, Gene almost "becomes" Phineas when it comes to sports. "'I'm too busy for sports,' and he went into his incoherent groans and jumbles of words, and I thought the issue was settled until at the end he said, 'Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're going to play them for me,' and I lost party of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas." The greatest hurdle Gene must overcome is learning to live with what he has done. He has to accept that he isn't perfect and that he, like any other normal human being, has faults. Forgiving himself is the step with will allow Gene to lead a normal life and enter society. When he does this, he will be able to move on and join the adult world, leaving his childhood behind. It takes him fifteen years, but he returns to the Devon School and there he finds his inner peace. "I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there."

The inner warring going on between Gene and Phineas adds to the motif of war in this novel. This warlike conflict between these two characters was mainly a one-sided idea on Gene's part. It all started with the notion that Phineas was trying to bring him down in his studies so that they would be even. "I was more and more certainly becoming the best student in the school; Phineas was without question the best athlete, so in that way we were even. But while he was a very poor student I was a pretty good athlete, and when everything was thrown into the scales they would in the end tilt definitely toward me. The new attacks of studying were his emergency measures to save himself. I redoubled my effort." He felt that Phine

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2140
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)