A Separate Peace
Through the passage of time, one can look back and reflect on the mistakes of the past, filled with misjudgment and pride. Because of these mistakes, man takes an undulated path of untold horrors and tragic flaws such as that of WWII. WWII is a tragedy in a sense that it was caused by man's inability to cooperate and live harmoniously. In A Separate Peace, this is no different. A man looks in stupefaction at his past and abominable actions after this Great War. It is clear to envision why these things happen. It is because man is innately evil and prone to make mistakes or think in misbegotten ways. It is these thoughts that lead to conflict and strife, Such that two great friends (Gene and Finny) would turn against each other and cause great harm against one another. The author tries to tie the war with this friend-to-friend tragedy in the hopes of further understanding man's evil nature and its consequences. In "A Separate Peace," the book precisely mimics the personal feelings of a real human being, displaying man's natural and evil desires in the main character (Gene). He let "Finny talk him into stupid things like [jumping off a tree]" when he clearly knew it was stupid and ignorant (784b). He a
It is also because man is prone to be evil that violence occurs in this world. It is such that even two strangers who don't know each other (Quackenbush and Gene) would fight each other over a pitiful argument of insults and dignity (822). Perhaps Gene deserves this bitterness for his cruelty and senselessness to Finny. The end of chapter 10 reminded me of Jesus Christ. When the apostles preached the word of God, they were met with people who simply shut their hearts to the salvation of Christ. In this case, Gene shuts his heart from the realities of war. He refuses to acknowledge horrors, and retaliates in anger and stubbornness. He shuts his heart away from the truth and builds his own 'Maginot Line' to things that frighten him because it is mans' tendency to despise the truth and hide it from others. Another symptom of evil is another example of Brinker's lack of patience. During the Winter Carnival, he demands that activities start immediately (853). For this imprudence, he was wrestled to the ground and forced to drink a lot of the strong cider. It was also those around Brinker that conspired against him to inflict such indignity on him. Brinker's very own friends and peers went against him and forced him to drink the cider. Surely people like that are very distorted and easily manipulated from their surroundings. Brinker also shows man's evil tendency. As an extrovert, he bases his own life on attention and popularity. In addition, he assumed the worst in Gene, yet he was right. Why? Because man knows that others are evil and untrustworthy. Brinker realized that no one was worth his trust and he "rightfully" accused Gene of something he did in fact do. But simply assuming the worse also accounts for the evil inside us for which usually assume is usually false and/or exaggerated. He accused Gene of pushing Finny off the tree to get the room all to himself (826b). It was the right action but the wrong motive. That is where man's stupidity shows because we as humans are usually on the right track, but suddenly take the wrong turn because of our evil tendency of improper thoughts.
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Approximate Word count = 1937
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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