A Separate Peace :: Free Essays

A Separate Peace A Separate Peace is a novel about two boy's lives and how they evolve during the course of WWII. The story was written by John Knowles, who also left home to attend a school at the age of 15. The story involves many instances in which the barriers between friendship and rivalry are cited. One of the main characters of the story, Phineas, often demonstrates that it is important to be yourself and try to make the best out of a situation whenever confronted by one. Phineas is athletic, friendly, and competitive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phineas is a very athletic person. He seems to be good at any sport he tries and all of it comes without practice or post-effort. During the course of his stay at Devon, Phineas wins several awards in all the sports he plays in. One day while the others are away, Phineas and Gene go to the gym and Phineas breaks the school time trial record for swimming. If Gene was not injured by his fall out of the tree then he would be able to compete in the Olympics. Phineas is a friendly and outgoing kind of person. Finny was always friendly and respectful towards other people and whenever one of his classmates such as Leper was being isolated from the rest of group, Finny would take up for him. Even though Gene made Finny break his leg, Finny still didn't hold anything against him and refused to believe what happened. Finny has always been friendly to others due to his outgoing personality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finny is a competitive sportsman like person. Whenever Finny sees a challenge that has never been achieved he will try to do what the others could not. During the summer when there was nothing else to do, Finny decides to make a club. When the club meets, all the members have to jump out of the tree to be

Essay on the Book Theif

â€Å"Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank†¦ Poised to become a classic. †- USA Today on The Book Thief. I think next years incoming freshmen should read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak because of the unique way the book was written, showing the power of words. Within this essay I will write about the symbolism in the book. I will write about the narrator. I will also write about my personal experience with one of the characters. The symbolism within the book gives a unique perspective. The book uses symbolism when the narrator says â€Å"That last time. That red sky†¦ found on page 19 in The Book Thief. The narrator explains that the sky was red. He explains the emotion or feeling that was going on through color. Zusak shows the power of words throughout the book, especially when the character Max writes The Word Shaker. Death was the narrator of The Book Thief which made the book much more intriguing to me as a reader. If the book were to be narrated by anyone else it wouldn't have been able to flow as well. It would have not been able to tell what exactly happened to Max, or Liesel, or any other character. How when Death realizes Rudy dies he says â€Å"the boy from the plane, I thought.The one with the teddy bear. Where was his comfort? Where was someone to alleviate this robbery of his life? Who was there to sooth him as life's rug was snatched from under his sleeping feet? No one. There was only me. † found on page 531 in The Book Thief. I think it is very touching to read that even Death is sad about Rudy's death. Also if the book wasn't narrated the way it was then it wouldn't had been as memorable. Max's book, The Word Shaker had a powerful effect on me as I read the book. The way Max says that Liesel's words are stronger than Hitler's. Max says that Liesel's words are like a tree.The tree grows strong and tall until one day she gets off of the tree and lets the people chop it down. Whe n it is chopped down the words kill all the bad trees and makes people realize how strong words can be. I think that next year's incoming freshmen should read The Book Thief because of the unique way the book was written, showing the power of words. The symbolism within the book gives a unique perspective. Death was the narrator of The Book Thief which made the book much more intriguing to me as a reader. Max's book, The Word Shaker had a powerful effect on me as I read the book.

Fahrenheit 451 Study Guide

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel by Ray Bradbury. Published in 1953, the book takes place in a dystopian future world where the job of a firefighter is to burn books, rather than put out fires. The main character, Guy Montag, is one such fireman, who slowly begins to perceive the world around him as perverse and superficial even as it slides inexorably towards a nuclear war. A commentary on the power of literacy and critical thought, Fahrenheit 451 remains a potent reminder of how quickly a society can fall apart. Fast Facts: Fahrenheit 451 Author: Ray BradburyPublisher: Ballantine BooksYear Published: 1953Genre: Science FictionType of Work: NovelOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: Censorship, technology, conformityCharacters: Guy Montag, Mildred Montag, Clarisse McClellan, Captain Beatty, Professor Faber, GrangerNotable Adaptations: 1966 film by Franà §ois Truffaut; 2018 HBO adaptation by Ramin BahraniFun Fact: Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 on rented typewriters at his local library, spending $9.80 to write the book. Plot Summary The protagonist, Guy Montag, is a fireman whose job is to burn hidden caches of books, which are forbidden in this unspecified future society. At first, he goes about his job fairly mindlessly, but a conversation with a non-conforming teenager spurs him to question society. He develops a restless dissatisfaction that cannot be quashed. Montag steals a Bible and smuggles it into his home. When he reveals the book (and the others hes stolen) to his wife Mildred, she panics at the thought of losing their income and thus the huge wall-sized televisions she watches constantly. Montag’s boss, Captain Beatty, gives him 24 hours to burn the book or face the consequences. Montag eventually buries his book collection with help from Faber, a former professor. Soon, however, a call comes in for the Firemen to burn a new book cache—and the address is Montag’s house. Beatty insists that Montag do the burning; in response, Montag kills him and flees into the countryside. There, he meets a group of drifters who tell him of their mission to memorize books in order to eventually rebuild society. At the end of the book, there is a nuclear attack on the city, and Montag and the drifters head out to begin rebuilding. Major Characters Guy Montag. The protagonist of the story, Guy is a fireman who has been illegally hoarding and reading books. His blind faith in society erodes and opens his eyes to the decline of civilization. His efforts to resist conformity make him a criminal. Mildred Montag. Guy’s wife. Mildred has retreated entirely into a fantasy world stoked television. Mildred is unable to comprehend Guy’s dissatisfaction and behaves in a childish, superficial manner throughout the story. Her behavior represents society at large. Clarisse McClellan. A teenage girl who lives in Guy Montag’s neighborhood. She is curious and non-comformist, representing the nature of youth before the corrupting effects of society and materialism. She is the catalyst for Montag’s mental awakening. Captain Beatty. Montag’s boss. Beatty is a former intellectual whose disappointment in books’ inability to truly solve problems has turned him into an anti-intellectual. Beatty tells Montag that books must be burned because they make people unhappy without offering real solutions. Professor Faber. Once a professor of English, Faber is a meek, timid man who deplores what society has become but lacks the bravery to do anything about it. Faber embodies Bradbury’s belief that knowledge without the willingness to use it is useless. Granger. The leader of a group of drifters who have escaped society. Granger and the drifters preserve knowledge and wisdom by memorizing books. He explains to Montag that history is cyclical, and that a new age of wisdom will follow the current age of ignorance. Major Themes Freedom of Thought vs. Censorship. The novel is set in a society where the state forbids certain kinds of thought. Books contain the collected wisdom of humanity; denied access to them, people lack the mental skills to resist their government. The Dark Side of Technology. Passive pastimes like watching TV are portrayed as harmful purveyors of passive consumption. Technology in the book is consistently used to punish, oppress, and otherwise harm the characters. Obedience vs. Rebellion. Humanity assists in its own oppression. As Captain Beatty explains, banning books didn’t require effort—people chose to ban books, because the knowledge in them made them think, which made them unhappy. Literary Style Bradbury uses rich language filled with metaphors, similes, and figurative speech throughout the book. Even Montag, who has no formal education, thinks in terms of animal images and poetic, deeply beautiful symbols. Captain Beatty and Professor Faber frequently quote poets and great writers. Bradbury also uses animal imagery throughout to associate technology with dangerous predators. About the Author Born in 1920, Ray Bradbury was one of the most important writers of the 20th century, particularly in the science fiction genre. Bradbury framed technology and supernatural forces as dangerous and foreboding, which reflected the anxious, uneasy atmosphere of the newly atomic post-World War II world. Another piece by Bradbury, the short story There Will Come Soft Rains, is also reflective of this world.