act 1 scene 3

"It is a judgement maimed and most imperfect/ That will confess perfection so could err" (1.3. 99-100).

This quote supports the idea of racism in this play. Brabantio remarks that his daughter's decision to marry Othello was messed up and ruins her perfection. In this way Brabantio is a hypocrite. He praises Othello for his accomplishment, but when he marries his daughter, he uses very racist terms toward him.

Does Brabantio truly accept the marriage of his daughter and Othello?

asp essay

When Boys Become Men
Possibly the most crucial moment in a young boy’s life, adulthood emerges only when he outgrows his childish behaviors and acknowledges the world for what it truly is. The internal struggle for his identity is no longer causing agony. He finally starts to comprehend the complexity of the world and by accepting it, has escaped from the confusion of his adolescence. John Knowles displays how drastic this change can be through Gene Forrester and Brinker Hadley in his novel, A Separate Peace. The novel begins with an already matured Gene reflecting on his high school years at Devon during World War II. Throughout his flashback, he deals with the insanity of his teenage years filled with envy, hatred, depression, and confusion. In the end, however, he overcomes these obstacles and finally matures into a man. The novel demonstrates how boys become men through the Gene’s maturity after Finny’s death and Brinker’s change in perspective.
In Gene’s adolescent state of mind, he is distinctly insecure in himself. His instability is visible through his relationship with Phineas, the most influential part of his life. He feels overwhelming jealousy and becomes obsessed in this envy. He describes his suffering when he says, “My misery was too deep to speak anymore. I scanned the page; I was having trouble breathing, as though oxygen were leaving the room” (53). In trying to justify his feelings he says, “The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all” (54). These quotes clearly illustrate Gene’s teenage angst. The roots of his emotions are not in Finny; however, they grow from his internal struggle for his identity. He is evidently deteriorating on an extreme level from this confusion. He entirely apprehends his true enemy after Finny’s death, and therefore he learns and flourishes from these experiences.
Although he once was the object that Gene directed his dark emotions toward, Finny’s death causes Gene to truly understand the world. Directly following Phineas’s demise, the overall focus shifts from Gene’s and Phineas’s friendship to the approaching war. In the harmonious atmosphere, Gene provides a profound insight about the continuation of Finny’s legacy, “During the time I was with him, Phineas created an atmosphere in which I continued now to live, a way of sizing up the world with erratic and entirely personal reservations…” (202). Here Gene realizes that he should adopt the extraordinary characteristics of Phineas thus erasing his envy for him. This empathy demonstrates that Gene has rid himself of his adolescent perplexity. He no longer feels the overwhelming envy that has been traumatizing him.
His last piece of wisdom reveals that he has entirely matured, “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there” (204). Gene ultimately understands the roots of his struggle. His enemy was not Finny; it was the ignorance in his heart that had prevented him from accepting the world for what it is. With Finny’s death, this evil part in Gene died with him. Gene is not the only dynamic character; Brinker also matures from his experiences at Devon.
Throughout the novel, Brinker evolves from a naïve individual into one who is more knowledgeable of the world. His maturity is evident through his meeting with his father. Formerly, Brinker was an arrogant leader; he administered orders to many of his classmates out his whim; however, when he speaks to his father, Brinker seemed to become more serious, and he realizes that the war is full of absurdity and injustice. He says, ‘“I’m going to ‘serve’ as he puts it, I may even get killed. But I’ll be damned if I’ll have that Nathan Hale attitude of his about it. It’s all that World War I malarkey that gets me. They’re all children about the war, did you never notice?’”(201) This quote demonstrates Brinker’s acceptance of the war. He no longer supports the war after apprehending its injustice; however he accepts it, and he enlists in the army. The inevitability of the war drove Brinker to mature from his naïve actions.
Over the course of the novel, two young boys changed into mature men. Gene learns from his encounters with Finny and erased his adolescent insanity, while Brinker thrives to fully understand the war. Gene’s ignorance causes him to act in questionable ways, but once Finny died, he finally realized the problem was within him. The novel portrays both the evil of adolescence and the optimistic light once it is overcome. Devon truly is the place where boys become men; it is the battlefield of Gene’s internal war in which Gene surmounted his adolescence and stepped into the maturity of manhood, and it is the learning place of Brinker’s journey to understand something greater than him.

ch 13

"I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there" (204).

I think Gene's war was his internal battle he had at Devon. The enemy he killed was his envious and evil self consequently with the death of Phineas. The death of Finny and the war combined to rid Gene of his evil side.

Why does Gene come back to Devon after what happened at the end of the book?

ch 12

"You want to break something else in me! Is that why you're here!" (184).

This is the first time Finny really gets angry at Gene for pushing him off the ledge. Finny is really pissed now that he realizes the full truth. I think Finny is a completely different person from which he used to be. Finny lost the "peace" that he use to have.

Why did it take Phineas so long to really get angry at Gene?

ch 11

"It was one of the few ironic remarks Phineas ever made, and with it he quietly brought to a close all his special inventions which had carried us through the winter. Now the facts were re-established, and gone were al the fantasies, such as the Olympic Games for A.d. 1944, closed before they had ever been opened"(158).

I think this is a very important quote in this chapter. It shows how much Finny has really changed since his leg incident. Before, Finny never used irony, but now, he does. It also shows that Finny actually knew the war was going on even though he refused to admit it. This quote also provides a transition to a more serious Phineas.

Does Phineas want to join the war?

Ch 10

"That night I made for the first time the kind of journey which later became the monotonous routine of my life: traveling through an unknown countryside from one unknown settlement to another" (138).

This is obviously foreshawdowing Gene's life after Devon. If he went into the army or not is still unknown but we do know that the rest of his life was very monotonous. He words about the army is very confusing, I did not catch if he said he went into the army.

Is Leper really crazy?

ch 9

"He drew me increasingly away from the Butt Room crowd, away from Brinker and Chet and all other friends, into a world inhabited by just himself and me, where there was no war at all, just Phineas and me alone among all the people of the world, training for the Olympics of 1944"(127).

This quote characterizes Gene as a follower. After all that happened in the book so far, Gene still feels the need to follow everything Finny wants. This also shows the dominance that Phineas has over Gene.

Do you think Gene will finally break away from Finny?

ch 8

"Phineas was shocked at the idea of my leaving. In some way he needed me. He needed me. I was the least trustworthy person he had ever met" (108)

This quote can go in two different directions, either this is true, or this is just another of Gene's make believe ideas. If Gene correctly interperated Finny's action, then he also admitted that he was very untrustworthy, which may be the cause of an unfortunate event later on in the book. Gene feels this feeling of content when he figures out that Finny does not want him to leave.


Does Finny really need Gene?

ch 7

"But I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me; there was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. And if it wasn't put there, as for example with Phineas, then I put it there myself"(101).


The part of this quote that interests me the most is the last part about Phineas. At least Gene infers that he loved Finny (as a friend or something else I do not know). The messed up part of it is how Gene states that he knows that it is his fault that this deadly thing between them exist. This also may be foreshadowing to a death later on in the story.

Why does Gene get a trill when Brinker says he is going to enlist on page 100?

ch 6

"and I lost part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first: to become a part of Phineas"(85).

Throughout the novel, Knowles does a very good job of leaving a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter. Gene is still confused with who is really is. I think Gene wants to be similar to Finny, but simply does not fit into that personality. He is trying to mold himself into someone that resembles Finny, which is driving him insane.

If Gene really wanted to be a part of Phineas, why did he push him off the tree in the first place?

ch 5

"So I have to forget it. I just fell," he turned away to grope for something among the pillows, "that's all." Then he glanced back at me, "I'm sorry abou that feeling I had" (66).

This quote shows Phineas's true character. He is extremely loyal to his friends, especially Gene. Finny thought about the possibility of Gene purposely pushing him off the tree but is too loyal to even dwell upon that idea. He feels sorry for even thinking for a second about it. This is Phineas's best quality.

Will Finny's loyalty with Gene backfire?

ch 4

Chapter 4

"Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitzball, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions. The way I believe that you're-my-best-friend blabber!"(53).

This quote is a turning point in our recognition of Gene's character. His envy toward Phineas has drove him insane. He creates his own little fantasy world in which he is the center. Gene forces himself to believe that Finny is sharing the same envy toward him that he has toward Finny. Gene tries to make up excuses to bring peace to his very confused mind.

Is Gene insane?

ch 2 and ch 3

Chapter 2

"This time he wasn't going to get away with it. I could feel myself becoming unexpectedly excited at that"(27)

This quote reveals Gene's jealousy towards Phineas. He does not realize it yet, unexpectingly feeling excitement when Phineas is about to get into trouble. He ends up getting away with it like always, which angers Gene.

Will Gene's jealousy toward Phineas grow too big for him to handle?

Chapter 3

"For me, this moment-four years is a moment in history- was the war. The war was and is reality for me. I still instinctively live and think in its atmosphere"(40).

This quote demonstrates the huge impact the war had on Gene's life. He seems to be totally enveloped by it and still has not gotten over it. It still has an affect on him up to this day. However, it is still unknown to be positive or negative.

How has the war shaped Gene into the person he is?

asp ch1

"The tree was tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple beside the river. I was damned if I'd climb it. The hell with it. No one but Phineas could think up such a crazy idea"(14).

This specific quote has two major purposes that are very signifcant. The first is to transistion from the present to the past, and the second is to introduce Phineas, who seems to be a very imporant person in the narrator's childhood. The tree serves as a symbol that represents the connection that the narrator had with Phineas.

why did the narrator come back to visit Devon High?

Narrator - man that goes back to his highschool 15 years after he left. He finds a tree that triggers his memory during the summer going into junior year. He remembers his best friend at the time, Phineas. Sarcastic, scared, follower, athletic, short

"-always made me laugh, as Finny knew, so I had to laugh, which made me feel less sarcastice and less scared"(15).

Phineas - is the narrator's best friend at the time of the flashback. A dare-devil type of kid that isnt afraid of anything. Rebellious, athletic, leader, strong, brave

"He of course saw nothing the slightest bit intimidating about it. He wouldn't, or wouldn't admit it if he did. Not Phineas"(14).

Corrupting nature of power essay

Corrupting Nature of Power

It is in the nature of human beings to exploit power whenever it is obtained. The most obvious reason is to fulfill the greed for material items and selfish gains. Sophocles, an ancient Greek playwright, demonstrates this flaw in human nature and its consequences through the character Creon in his plays, “Antigone” and “Oedipus the King”. In the first play, “Oedipus the King,” Creon acts with knowledge and understanding; however, when he is crowned the king of Thebes in “Antigone,” he falls into the darkness of corruption. This change in Creon illustrates the destructive force of power even on those who vowed to resist it. Creon’s corruption is evident through his new attitude toward the gods and his extremely unjust persecution of Antigone.

Before Creon was crowned king, he revered the gods with the utmost respect, consulting them first to restore peace to Thebes. The foremost news that Creon informs Oedipus is, “…this is what the god has said,/The Prince Apollo openly enjoins on us/to sever from the body politic/a monstrous growth that battens there”(8). Creon demonstrates his admiration of the gods by telling Oedipus the gods’ opinion first, when he could have easily explained his own. Creon’s outlook of the gods alters immediately when he becomes king however. The primary indication of Creon’s corruption is his decision to leave Polyneices unburied and unable to be judged by the gods in Hades. The gods that were once worshipped and praised by Creon are now disrespected. Creon’s insolence and stubbornness is shown when he says, “Not even if Zeus’s eagles come, and fly away/ with carrion morsels to their master’s throne. /Even such a threat of such a taint/ will not will this body burial.”(237). Creon is saying that no matter what the gods do or say will change his mind about the burial of Polyneices.

When Tiresias arrives to give a prophecy to Creon, he welcomes him with open arms; however the instant Creon dislikes what he hears, he rebukes and mocks Tiresias. His ignorance is portrayed when he says, “As prophets do - a money-grubbing race.” (238). Creon accuses Tiresias, whom he once came to for aid, of selling his prophecies. In “Oedipus the King”, Creon goes to Tiresias to help Oedipus, but when he is the one being criticized, he does not listen. He does not acknowledge the fact that Tiresias had been right about Oedipus’s fate and does not heed his warnings until it is too late. Enraged by the extensive amount of impiety, the gods punish Creon with a gruesome fate, but not before Creon makes a second monumental mistake.

The second of Creon’s two epic mistakes is his decision to lock Antigone in a cell to die. Antigone makes her defense when she says, “Naturally! Since Zeus never promulgated such a law, /Nor will you find that Justice, /Mistress of the world below, /publishes such laws to humankind.”(210). She is saying that the gods make the laws, not Creon, and Polyneices should be buried because that is what the gods want. However, Creon is ignorant and too prideful of himself to listen. During his dispute with Antigone, Creon uses exceedingly racist terms toward women. He becomes so corrupted with pride that he degrades women to a level lower than that of slaves when he says, “One who has no more authority than a common slave/can ill afford to put on airs.”(211). He is basically saying that women have as much authority in society as a slave. After Creon made two very questionable decisions, his fate is in the gods’ hands and it begins to unfold.

In ancient Greece, it is believed that the gods have absolute control over the human world, giving justice to those who live a righteous life and punishing those who lived wrongly. Corruption leads Creon to receive punishment. After gaining the throne of Thebes, his mind becomes filled with ignorance and insolence. Disrespecting the gods’ judgment by not burying Polyneices and ignoring the prophecies of their prophet were the result of his corruption. Also, he exploited his power by persecuting Antigone. His laws were only passed to satisfy his own selfishness. Creon is too arrogant to distinguish his flaws because of the blindness of power and the hunger of greed. Enraged, the gods punish Creon with a gruesome fate. Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice all commit suicide. Having been a puppet of his crown, Creon ended up being overwhelmed by power just like those before him.

hw 10/23

"How it goes against the grain to smother all one's heart's desire! But i cannot fight with destiny." (241)

Creon has finally realized his flaw. This quote supports the fate vs freewill theme. He discovers that the gods control fate, not him. He does not own all the power he thought he had.

What happens to Creon after the play ends?

hw 10/21

"A one man state is no state at all" (224)

This quote relates to the theme of the currupting nature of power. Haemon is telling Creon that he cannot rule the city by himself. At this point, Creon has shown signs of his power hungry ways of ruling. Creon is so enveloped in power that he cannot even listen to his own son.

Which side is Haemon fighting for?