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Post by crandallethan on Oct 29, 2015 23:21:08 GMT
In " A Seperate Peace", John Knowles uses flashback in order to connect the device with the theme of the book. First, as Knowles establishes that the story is a flashback by Gene stating he's coming back to the tree after 15 years. By doing this then entering the flashback, Knowles makes Gene a reliable narrorator, because he is an adult. Him being reliable we can trust the thoughts of the main character and use his intuition to indirectly characterize the other characters along with their dialogue. Secondly, the because Gene is a reliable narrarator, it allows us to view Gene's full character arch from childhood, to the liminal state, to adulthood. Since there is a flashback, we know Gene lives and that he eventually becomes an adult. Phineas and Leper don't live because they can not transition to adult hood. This plays into the theme that those who can not transition through the three states of life can not survive.
The use of flashback ties in with the message Knowles was attempting to portray. Without flasback, it is hard to understand that message and rely on evidence in the book to prove it. Do you believe foreshadowing and flashback have simaltaneous uses in "A Seperate Peace"?
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Post by jkeeney on Oct 30, 2015 0:00:44 GMT
I do not think they have simultaneous uses in the book because flashback is used to show the reliability of Gene, while foreshadowing helps the reader see what will happen to Phineas. The tree and the stairs in the beginning are our first hint in the story of something significant that happened there. I do think this ties into the flashback though because without the use of both devices we would not have known that the incident in the tree would be so important. Not only is it a turning point for Phineas and Gene's friendship, but it is also that inciting incident that lets the reader know that the characters are transitioning from their childhood to their liminal state. The use of flashback is also important because it allows Gene to compare how different the school looked when there was and wasn't a war going on. The school looks much different to him fifteen years later which shows just how much the war affected everyone and everything- including the way the school looked and felt. Gene also talks about his fear living at school and how he escaped it. This shows how he grew up and moved on into adulthood after Devon, but it also foreshadows the troubles he had with Phineas and their constant competition. Another thing that stands out is the time of the flashback and the time in the present. We discussed in class many times how the summer session represented their childhood and how once the fall classes started, it was more clear that the kids were starting to grow up. In the present, he goes back to Devon in November which sort of solidifies his status of adulthood and contradicts his flashback of being childlike in his time spent there in the summer. Gene's return to the tree foreshadows what happens to him and Phineas because there is the crucial line that says "Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence." and then the flashback begins with the tree. This is significant because it shows how much of an impact the tree had on Gene and just what is does to Phineas and even their friendship. All these examples, while equally important, do not seem to work simultaneously because they each have different meanings to the story.
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Post by Ms. McGettigan on Oct 30, 2015 0:11:10 GMT
Really good analysis of two VERY important devices in the novel! Flashback and foreshadowing both frame the events of the novel, and I like how you guys are digging into how they work. Good job!
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Post by jillian on Oct 30, 2015 3:17:11 GMT
The use of flashback is a very interesting element that was added to this story. If it were written in present time, right as the events were taking place, I think we would have a lot more details that would lead to a different conclusion. It would be assumed that adult Gene is more reliable than young Gene, but is he really? We have to keep in mind that the story is recounted fifteen years later after all the events had happened. Can we really trust that old man Gene is not leaving out some extra details that may or may not make him look bad? We can see that old man Gene is troubled by his past and that's why he goes to visit the school. Is this story more than Gene going back to reminisce about his past? or is there underlying guilt and gene goes back to try to reassure himself that he is not a bad person? When people feel guilty about something, its common for them to recount the event that took place over and over again in their head until they can rationalize that they in fact did not do anything wrong. It's not like Gene is sitting there recounting his high school days. His flashback is mainly focused on Finny and the tree incident. Gene is such a problematic character. I could sit here and think about this all day. It is very interesting how He repeatedly tries to admit his guilt to Finny, but when Leper points it out to him he gets very angry.
I'd like to mention also, that I believe that Gene jounced the tree limb because he was in love with Finny. That may sound weird at first, but let me explain. I think that Gene loved Finny so much that it took over all of his emotions and he didn't know how to handle it. At Gene's young age, it is hard to understand love and its many facets, and especially at that time period, Gene would not have been accepted for loving Finny, and he probably didn't want to admit to Finny that he loved him for fear that Finny would not love him back and would reject him. I think that is what drove him to jounce Finny off of the limb. Before the tree incident we can see that Gene greatly admires Finny. On many occasions Gene compares Finny to being a God/God-like (ex: When they go to the beach, when Finny is balancing on the boat). He definitely loves Finny!!!!! Finny is always there for him and he is always there for Finny. Its almost as if he were obsessed with Finny. He has nothing bad to say about Finny except for that fact that he thinks that Finny is outdoing him especially in sports, and Finny does mention the Olympics to Gene. Did Gene jounce the tree limb out of jealousy, or out of fear that Finny would one day leave him for something better? Additionally, Gene doesn't cry at Finny's funeral. This is strange since they were so close. If my theory is correct though, did Gene not cry because he felt relief? Maybe a part of him was secretly happy that Finny had died because he thought that maybe his loving feelings towards Finny would disappear? (which they obviously do not since he goes back to Devon)
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