Post by pavansuresh on Oct 27, 2015 20:33:54 GMT
A Separate Peace is full of metaphors, and a lot of them are actually very subtle. During the trial, Leper is called in for his near-perfect recall of the events at the tree. He says that he remembers that they were both on the branch, and that "they moved like an engine... first one piston sinks, and then the next one sinks. The one holding on to the trunk sank for a second, up and down like a piston, and then the other one sank and fell."
Here, Leper is comparing the movement of Gene and Finny on the branch to an engine with two pistons. However, the simile he uses has applications he could not have thought of. A two-piston engine as he described requires the two pistons to work in harmony, alternating their ups and downs, but entirely supporting each other and causing the car to go. This can be a metaphor for how Gene and Finny's relationship worked before the fall: they were best of friends, supporting each other, having fun, and basically being kids. However, when Gene becomes suspicious and angry at Finny, their relationship falls apart. Gene (even though he may have not done it intentionally) sabotaged their friendship, made Finny fall. An engine that has had one piston stutter and start working worse can stumble along for a slight while longer. However, this stumbling along is often to no avail, as the single piston by itself cannot support the engine: eventually, the suboptimal piston breaks altogether and the entire car breaks down; in this case irreparably.
What other metaphors did you guys see?
-Pavan the Skeptical Elf
Here, Leper is comparing the movement of Gene and Finny on the branch to an engine with two pistons. However, the simile he uses has applications he could not have thought of. A two-piston engine as he described requires the two pistons to work in harmony, alternating their ups and downs, but entirely supporting each other and causing the car to go. This can be a metaphor for how Gene and Finny's relationship worked before the fall: they were best of friends, supporting each other, having fun, and basically being kids. However, when Gene becomes suspicious and angry at Finny, their relationship falls apart. Gene (even though he may have not done it intentionally) sabotaged their friendship, made Finny fall. An engine that has had one piston stutter and start working worse can stumble along for a slight while longer. However, this stumbling along is often to no avail, as the single piston by itself cannot support the engine: eventually, the suboptimal piston breaks altogether and the entire car breaks down; in this case irreparably.
What other metaphors did you guys see?
-Pavan the Skeptical Elf
