Tuesday, November 9, 2010
A Separate Peace
So far I am really enjoying the book because it is like we could put our self in their position because they are about the same age as we are. When Mr. Carter said we would be comparing a poem to the book and one of the choices would be "To An Athlete Dying Young" it made me think their would be a death later in the book. And the person that I think is going to die in the book is Phineas because (1) the story is from Gene's point of view so he is not the one dieing and (2) in the peom it talked about a young athlete dieing at the peak of his fame and Phineas just so happens to be a great athlete.
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I agree with kaylee. Is this book actually based from this poem or is it just irony that they have the same universal theme? I think the idea of the poem is that it is better to accomplish things in life because you will die with those things in mind. If nothing is accomplished, people will not have any way to remember you by after you are gone. I think Finny does a really good job of realizing this and throughout the book, he is always trying to be the best and be the person who tries the hardest, and he wants to be remembered. People are remembered by what they achieve in their lifetime.
ReplyDelete-and just as a side note, Phinneas reminds me of Marshall a little bit. This makes the story a lot more interesting to me because I think of Marshall doing what Phinneas does and i think they have similar attitudes. :)
Why would John Knowles think to make an allusion to Hemingway's, "A Farewell to Arms," in the title of this book?
ReplyDeleteWhat is Phinneas' role in the novel? Is he there because he is representing the "athlete dying young" like in the poem we read, as Kaylee said? If so, how is this significant? This could be an example of foreshadowing if, as Kaylee and Morgan said, Phinneas does die.
Why does the author choose such an unusual perspective? Why did he write it as Gene,the narrator, is looking back on his childhood at boarding school? Why didn't he write it as Gene lived it?
I definitely agree with Morgan, Phinneas reminds me of Marshall!
I agree with the other girls on this, Phineas is such a "Marshall"! :)
ReplyDeleteFinny appears to be a little "out there" by always trying something new and unheard of. No one quite understands him, but they still are intrigued by his words and actions. I am curious to find out if Gene continues to follow along with Finny's schemes throughout the remainder of the book. It seems as if he is always on the edge of saying no, but then realizes he would lose Finny as a friend, so he continues without protest. This shows what kind of person Gene is. He seems to be easily peer-pressured, lonely, but also loyal, and caring about his friend.
There is an obvious significance of the tree from the beginning, and I wonder if something else is connected to the tree. Also, I wonder if these boys look forward to going into the war or was it all they ever knew? I wonder if any of them were scared; because, so far, we know the older boys have been in training, and the younger boys play games involving the war in their spare time like the "Blitzkrieg ball". A blitzkrieg is a term used to describe a quick, surprising war. In World War II, the German planes would come in hard and fast, attacking the enemy. The boys seem to be very excited to go into the war, but I wonder if some of them wanted to do something else with their life or if that was their only option, going to war.
I agree with the other girls in saying that Phineas is a "Marshall."
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Morgan's question about Phineas's role in the novel, I beleive he is a good spirit with bad choices. Like we talked about in class, Phineas is believed to be the youngest angel. He is infused with goodness, but he is naive and will make many mistakes. I think this sets him up perfectly to be the "athlete dying young." He will work hard to win, but I cannot see his character dying without glory.
There could be multiple reasons why the author chose to write looking back on his past. One could be that he would like to be able to reflect on things that he would not have understood during the time it was happening. However, I could see how some of the effect could be lost by him looking back instead of actually experiencing it.
Going along with our theme of perspective, I wonder how the story would differ if it were in fact told in Finny's point of view. I'm also curious as to what level of perspective the reader loses because we do not know what Phineas is thinking and don't understand why he is the way he is. Although, knowing the background behind his name does help to answer my last question.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what about Finny's personality that draws people to him? Why is he such a leader? It's very clear in these first three chapters that people let him get away with stuff that would get most people in trouble. So that makes me curious as to what exactly it is that makes him so likable?
Phineas is a very complex character. Throughout these first few chapters he seems almost to be a mystery. What we do know, is that he's crazy athletic and marches to the beat of his own drummer. (Excuse me for that cliche but it is true.) It interested me that Finny plays by his own rules and gets away with everything! Though what is even more perplexing is the way Gene responds to this particular aspect of Finny's character. Gene seems to have mixed emotions himself, one part of him is amused by the way Finny gets away with all the shenanigans he does; Gene also feels disappointment though when Phineas does not get in trouble for wearing the school tie as a belt. I am very much looking forward to seeing how these characters grow through out the book, because we all know it is a Bildungsroman Novel.
I think Kristin is right and I think the author has Gene looking back at his past because, like Mr. Carter said, he is in ways remembering what he wants to remember I would assume he wants to remember Phineas in the best way. He was his best friend and although Phineas does make mistakes he is still kinda perfect in a way and Gene looks up to him and is even a little envious of him. He would want to remember Phineas in the highest respect and make him seem kinda like the light at the end of a tunnel. The tunnel or darkness being the war and Phineas being the bright, lively, and innocent light.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Gene comes back to the school because if they are right and Phineas dies you would think that might cover up a lot of the better, more fun memories at the school.
P.S. I think Phineas from Phineas and Ferb is based off this Phineas or at least they very closely resemble each other.
I agree with Morgan. Is is it significant to the novel that Gene is telling the story as narrator that is looking back on his past? Also, is it true that this book is similar to the poem we read in class? If so, then this is definitely a foreshadowing of what to come to a great athlete in the book. So far, it seems very likely it will be Finny, but it could be someone else. We'll just have to read on to find out. Lastly, did anyone else notice Knowles' use of the word Phineas and Finny relating to certain situations in the book?
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice that Gene doesn't respond to Finny's affirmation of their friendship? Why do you think this is? Is this some kind of foreshadowing for the rest of the story? Why does Gene return to the school and why must it be on this specific day? Maybe I missed this detail in the first on the story but I think it is strange because if it was raining then I would just come back later.
ReplyDeleteEven though we discussed a completely different meaning to the poem, “To An Athlete Dying Young” in class, when I first read this poem, it made me think back to my eighth-grade year at my old school, Westminster. In my English class last year, we read a story called, “Soldiers Home.” This story was about a soldier returning from World War I. This soldier had come home to what he thought would be a great-big welcoming, but there wasn’t. This soldier came back depressed, welcomed with no celebration, with no desire or determination to carry on with his life-definitely not like before he departed for War World I. When I read the first stanza of this poem, I think of the soldiers who returned towards the beginning of the war. When these soldiers returned, they were greeted with crowds and cheering. (This is also shown in “Soldiers Home.”) Then in the second stanza it is talking about how the person is being carried to their grave in a stiller town. When I see the word “stiller” I think of a quiet/ sort of deserted town with no one near. This makes me think to the atmosphere when Harold Krebs returns home. When he returned home, there was no one to greet him or to say, “good job!” By the end of the war, people do not welcome the soldiers or hold celebration. In the second line of the fifth stanza it says, “Of lads that wore their honours out.” Even though we discussed this poem had a different meaning, I also related this to “Soldiers Home.” In the poem where it says, “where glory does not stay,” it is like how at the beginning soldiers were emotionally stable, and people gave them glory once returned, then the people were unappreciative to the returning soldiers towards the end of the war. Even though we discussed a different meaning to this story in class, this is what I received from the poem before our discussion.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know where to post this so here it goes on the Separate Peace blog, but oh well!
ReplyDelete1. In Love Poem, the man acknowledges the many faults within the girl he is talking about, so why do you think, knowing this, he chose to be with her in the first place?
2. Ulysses (in the poem and the actual story) Flirts about with many enchantresses and titans and such. But Penelope goes to great lengths to avoid having to be with another man. Do you think the writer of this poem means something in pointing this out? (Somewhat)
3. Why in Mid-Term Break is the narrator in the sick bay and the start of the story?
Why did John Frederick Nims decide to write a poem about not only his love's best features but her worst ones as well?
ReplyDeleteIs this the sign of true love, not just superficial, fair weathered love?
Is the poem "The Second Coming" about the second coming of Jesus Christ or is it a reference to something else?
Is the poem "Odysseus" about he betrayed his wife though she did not betray him?
Why did Seamus Heaney write "Mid-Term Break" through the events as they were happening instead of through the emotions as he felt them? Is this a more effective way to write this type of poetry?
In Mid-Term Break, there is a line referencing snowdrops. What does he mean by this? Is there some sort of significance behind it as well?
ReplyDeleteWhy does the author reference Happy Isles, a term from greek mythology, in the poem, Ulysses?
In Ulysses, why is the entire poem spoken by only one character?
In Love Poem, why does the author discuss all the bad qualities of his loved one and then implies that his loved one could soon die?
What does he mean when he says apoplectic streetcars?
Why wouldn't the author point out the best qualities in his loved one?
Now that we have broken down these poems in class, I find aspects in both that allow me to break-down the poem to find the true philosophy. But I would have to sat Love Poem better displays this meaning. I find because the poet wrote common phrases in his poem it further allowed the reader to grasp what the author was meaning. For example, "bulls in china," (3rd line first stanza) lets us know that this woman is ungraceful and clumsy. This is because a bull in a china closet represents a bull (big and bulky) in a small place with many breakable items. I feel like becuase the author also used simple language like, "Your lipstick grinning on our coat," allows a broader audience to understand the poem. I think this author does a good job describing the women and her imperfections. It adds a humor to the poem, but also a sincere side to it also.
ReplyDelete