This was my least favorite of the books we've read altogether. I did not like it for the fact that I felt like the descriptions were "overdone." I am not a big fan of books that seem to go on and on. I like the ones that get to the point, make the point, and that's the end. The one thing I did enjoy out of this book was the rivalry. I seemed to get a little interested when the rivalry began between Gene and Finny. I was going into this book expecting it to be at least a little better than it was for me...
The most symbolism in this book was shown to me in Finny’s fall. It demonstrates that Gene's envy is not without some consequences. They lead to pretty intense feelings of guiltiness and shame. After I finished this book, I decided to go look at SparkNotes. They make a very clear interpretation, so to speak, of the literal fall which symbolizes a figurative fall from innocence - like Adam and Eve, who eat the fruit from the tree when they were told not to, and are faced with consequences and led to suffering and sin.
The character I liked the best was Elwin "Leper" Lepellier. He seemed almost as the peacemaker and was always just the "laid back" sort of boy. The action he performed of enrolling in the army was the only thing I didn't like about him. I thought this "army time" made him to be not so "sweet and loving." When he left the army, he, again shocked all of his classmates. I think the book got more interesting when he left the army. Towards the end, he seemed to not be the "good" boy he was at the beginning. It was almost as if he was descending into darkness. This evolution of character is a good example of most people today. We often don't end up who we started out to be.
I am so looking forward for school to start, yet dreading it at the same time. I am excited to meet more new people and make more friends.(:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- McGrath_15
- I love being outside and being with friends and family. I love laughing, and sometimes I do it a little too much. Skiing is my game. It's pretty legit. (:
I like the point you made about Finny's literal fall symbolizing his fall from innocence and I completely agree with you about that. I also agree with you that Leper came back from the army a different person, as many of us do as we mature.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't like the book, I thought it was the best out of all of them. But I do agree with you on Leper. He was definitely a funny little guy, who mainly minded his own buisness. And when he signed up for the army, I didn't like it at all. It seemed as if the war drained the innocence out of everything, except for that class of boys of the Summer Session, hence "a separate peace". But even then some are affected, just like Leper was. He just wasn't the same after the war, no longer the "good boy" he used to be. It's just sad to think about, but you're right, that is like what happens to most people today.
ReplyDeleteIt really makes me sad that people did not enjoy this book as much as I did. But I have to praise you for your discovery of symbolism. I can see the fall being literal and symbolic, I didn’t see that at first but once you stated that I had to agree completely. The comparison you made with Adam and Eve was spot on. This was a very good blog.
ReplyDeleteObviously Leper was different, he went nuts. But it was because he was good, sweet, and loving that it happened. He didn't descend into darkness. He went insane because he couldn't cope with the darkness around him. I like your symbolism.
ReplyDelete