Digital citizenship

 

An up-side to living in a digital world is that there is instant communication with friend’s family and even with other countries that may need help or relief. A down side of living in a digital world is that we have all become introverted- when you go out to eat or to a social group, all you see is a bunch of people hunched over their phones, preferring the digital people they don’t even know over the people who are physically sitting right in front of them.

One must also be concerned about their digital footprint, which consists of everything they or their friends put online. Even if deleted, some things are still floating around and can be traced back, and in relation t0 a job or school application, this can make or break you. Also, the “private” setting on Facebook often doesn’t protect you from everyone’s eyes, and one must consider this when wanting to be responsible in online endeavors.

Online, one is also susceptible to cyber bulling or online cruelty. this is when someone harasses, bullies, or threatens someone else through social media (Facebook) and usually can’t be stopped easily. It causes rumors to run around and gets reputations severely damaged, not to mention emotions and self-esteem for the bullied. Sometimes it can’t be stopped, but you should find people to confide in if it’s happening to you and try to talk to whoever’s doing it in person to clarify. A lot of times, the bully doesn’t have the guts to retaliate if confrontation is in person.

My first week of school~

On August 26th , the whole of White Oak’s youth dragged themselves (like the dead) onto the freshly waxed, pungent smelling floors of the schools. They shuffle around, finding their classes groggily, as they have gotten used to sleeping ’til one, though most are looking quite fresh in relation to their first-day-of-school clothes. They look forward to art but dread math- not necessarily the teachers, mind you, but the course– and anticipate getting into the easy flow of being back at school, so that they don’t really have to think. This, unfortunately included me, but I do not complain, and unfortunately I find myself seeking the monotony as well. I truly I believe I will miss the ease when I no longer have it in a few days – in the same short, flying amount of time my first two years went, it’ll all float away from under me… Or is it me that will be floating? I do not know.

8. opposite words- expectation / reality

It seems, especially in this novel, that the expectation of things always contrast dramatically with reality… (and we even see that Finny, to solve this problem, simply makes his own reality and other characters also have their own coping methods).

1) Leper, when he sees the snow patrol, he expects it to be a wonderful nature experience that will allow him to travel the world, but he discovers when he gets there that it’s a grueling and psychologically torturing thing and it literally drives him insane. this reality is such a rude awakening that he runs away from the army to avoid being given a section 8 discharge.

2) In the beginning of chapter four, Gene awakes on the beach and waits for the sunrise. He was expecting a “gorgeous fanfare over the ocean,” but got instead a ghostly grey thing. This foreshadows and symbolizes his and Finny’s entire relationship that all seems wonderful and when Finny suggests anything mischievous, Gene easily goes along, not thinking anything of it or its consequences, but later they both discover that the second tidal wave of the war (the first they ducked under by refusing to admit it was real) has built momentum and power and strikes them with all its force, worse than the first would have.

3) At the first of the book, we as readers were expecting the athletic and leading Finny to be one of the best soldiers in the war, but when he breaks his leg, this all goes down the drain, and in fact even his athletic career is over. Seeing as this was basically the only thing he showed promise in, his life doesn’t really have a point anymore. He tries to compensate for this in his leadership abilities, but this just makes the circumstances worse for everyone in Devon because Finny can only lead astray.

4) Gene also, in his teenage mind cannot grasp the reality of most situations and blows them way out of proportion. For example, the fact that Finny took him to the beach turns into Finny sabotaging everything Genes’s worked for academically and the determination of becoming equal with Finny, and this leads to the accident at the tree. I think he looks back on it and realizes what a child he was… at least I hope he does.

5) The entire war is thought of as a hoax that is run by fat old men and is of no consequence. The boys even convince themselves that the ’44 Olympics will still occur and they train vigorously for it, never once openly considering it a possibility that the war would affect it. In this they completely ignore reality and simply accept expectation as truth.

7. truths about human nature

1)        People are an always will be after their own   agenda When Gene pushes finny out of the tree,   it is pure blind revenge and he does not even stop to think what he’s doing   or what the consequences are. He merely does in that moment what he desires   most and lets his selfishness control him. 
2)        There will always be someone who’s nature   tends to be careless and irresponsible Finny, throughout the entire book, could ever   care less about any of his responsibilities. He is much too busy jumping out   of trees, breaking rules, and throwing winter carnivals. This leads to a lot   of irreparable damage like a broken leg or the trust of a friend. 
3)        People lie to impress and tend to care too   much about people’s opinion of them. Gene has built up a façade   of his life history for the sake of his friend’s opinion of him. He does this   by simply hanging up random pictures of big manors and things of this nature   and never saying they’re his, just implying it by their presence. This show   extreme conceit and immaturity which is only to be expected from the foolish   boys at Devon. 

 

10. general review

The novel “A Separate Peace” is one that tries to depict the normal life of a typical army academy student and the psychological effects of being forced to suddenly mature  at an early age.

However, it merely comes across as a bunch of uber immature middle schoolers squabbling about who should be more popular; the guy with the fun things or me because I said so?  I understand that there is a lot of pressure on these young boys to protect their country and they should be allowed a childhood, but there was no way any of them would have been of any use, because Gene would be too hormonal and catty to work productively with any one (he acts as though he’s a high school girl, telling her friend that shes so pretty and perfect to her face then secretly hating and plotting against her in reality), Finny was too much of a “free spirit” and a turncoat, Leper was too much of a dreamer, and Brinker was too much of a rule follower. I suppose it was all to give the effect of the different personalities of a war, but they were so exaggerated that it all became so ridiculously elementary that it lost its intensity.

Also, the ending chapter from Gene is so deep and out there that it becomes hard to grasp after and entire book of immaturity and flip-floppy hormones. And even then, Gene still considers Finny his greatest enemy, yet glorifies him as his God when he was just a foolish boy who knew nothing of life or wisdom- all he knew were his own lies, yet Knowles conveys this as a winning flaw, which seems to be one of the “life lessons” of the book. We do not get the resolving satisfaction from Gene of the discovery of the truth, only that he feels he was right the whole time about Finny, even though he had two completely contradicting feelings towards it. Yet he still thinks he has “peace” with the entire thing! This leaves the reader in the state of bafflement, disconnected from Gene for now the entire book, which creates such a sympathy void that it becomes a pointless read.

Also, the death of Finny is so abruptly dropped in that it more of an “oh okay” than an “OH MY GOSH WHAT?” In my opinion the second is more favorable and is harder to evoke. It is also such an anticlimactic way to die that Finny becomes even more disliked in the readers mind and gives Gene more room to increase his non-relatable insanity.

So although is was well written and there were no plot holes, there was such a high factor of ridiculousness and immaturity that it was hard to comprehend seriously.

9.theme

“All  others [besides Finny] at some point found something in themselves pitted violently against something in the world around them.”

This quote embodies the whole book because it states so accurately the whole agenda of every person in Devon, besides Finny whose only plan was to have fun, which is what got him killed. It means that all people have their own goal and most cant share it with another, especially if they’re as young and immature as the boys at Devon. On top of that, the goals of this bunch rage from murder to power to no responsibilities and can’t be labeled as any kind of real life long or productive goals. This just goes to show you how selfish and immature they are and that they wont ever be outstanding members of society if the remain this way.

Throughout the book, there were always characters who are stuck in their own world and they’re not afraid to show it. For example,  Gene has his eyes are focused on Finny’s back and his goal of life is to beat him; that is his driving motive, the fuel for his hatred. And suddenly when Finny dies, it is gone and he has an unfamiliar “peace” in his life. Also, all Brinker can think of is finding justice (and just over all butting in) in Finny’s and Genes incident and manages to only stir up trouble for them. His enemy is the “injustice” that he feels he must conquer, whether its his business or not. For Mr. Ludsbury it is his need to excel, and for Quackenbush, his need for domination, but they are all just pointless lifestyles that bring no satisfaction or progress for “all of them constructed at infinite cost to themselves this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier; if he was indeed the enemy.” Even Gene, free of his burden, cannot come to a resolution in his life for he is still glorifying his conquered enemy.

6.10 fav phrase and sent.

1) “I welcomed each day as though   it were a new life, where all past failures and problems were erased, and all   future possibilities and joys were available to be achieved probably before   nightfall.”  This quote conveys a comforting sense   of hope and is a welcome change from the rest of the book, and I found it to   be something that would be a good quote to live by. 
2) “Yes, he had practically saved   my life. He had also practically lost it for me. I wouldn’t have been on that   damn limb except for him.”  I was full of righteous fury when i   read this. I remember thinking how foolish he was for thinking of Finny as   his “Lord and Savior” when Gene had been so upset about Finny   making him jump from the tree that so terrified him and I felt relieved that   Gene realized his error in feeling terribly grateful.
3) “He had unconsciously invented   a game which brought his own athletic gifts to their highest pitch.”  Then Finny is subconsciously a a power   monger who can’t stand order or anyone else outshining him or his ideas. He   loves the fact (whether consciously or not) that his charisma has such power   over people and that he is he doesn’t like reality, he can just change it. 
4) “The next morning I saw dawn   for the first time. It began not as a gorgeous fanfare over the ocean I had   expected, but as a strange grey thing like sunshine seen through   burlap.”  This sentence embodies Gene’s entire   expectation/reality complex, especially in relation to Finny. He expects a   wonderful thing that only brings sorrow and gloom. 
5) “We had been the idiosyncratic   band of the summer, undirected except by the eccentric notions of   Phineas.”  This describes the summer session   perfectly and creates a good summary to compare the new winter session school   year to. 
6) “‘the next time you call   someone maimed’ I bit the words harshly so he would understand them, ‘you   better make sure they are first.'”  Gene’s actions are extremely ironic in   that he loses all senses and blindly attacks on angry and indeed maimed   defense. If he wasn’t maimed or truly believed he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have   been so defensive. 
7) “So the war swept over us like   a wave at the seashore… seemingly inescapable and then at the last moment   eluded by a word from Phineas I had simply ducked, that was all and the wave’s   concentrated power hurtled harmlessly overhead… 

 

Gene is spared from the violence of   the war by Finny and his fantasies that cause Gene to duck under the wave and   avoid harm. although this sounds all well and good, it is only momentary and   when it finally does hit, it is twice as powerful
8) “What I mean is, I love winter   and when you really love something, then it loves you back in whatever way it   has to love.”  The lovely simplicity is the essence   of Finny’s personality and even though it sounds ridiculous to Gene, it is   very poetic and is exactly something Finny would say since he is always   seeking the good in things, even a bleak winter. 
9) “‘I wish you hadn’t found out.   What did you have to find out for?’ we started to laugh again…”   (talking about the reality of the war)  The two boys finally come to terms   with reality and admit to themselves that they were just fooling each other   because it is easier that way and it is here that a slight bit of sanity is   peeked at, if only for a moment. 
10) “Nothing as he was growing up   at home, nothing at Devon, nothing even about the war had broken his   harmonious and natural unity. So at last I had.”  Gene finally admits to himself, kind   of victoriously, that he had the power to destroy Finny, when nothing else   could. We can see that Gene realizes this and partially feels he has   liberated his friend Finny from the war by killing him and also the defeater   of his life- long enemy. 

 

4. ideas about main characters

Gene, who is recanting the story, is an insecure follower, no matter how much he’d like to think he was independent. In reality, he needs Finny to contrast him, motivate him, and supply him with his reputation of being an upper-dog. Gene is somewhat pathetic and becomes very much a paranoid individual is that constantly flipping between the overwhelming need to impress Finny, and the need to kill him for his “treachery.”

Finny is extremely charismatic and a irresistible leader with an unshakable hold on all of his peers. He can even use his pursuasiveness over his superiors in order to avoid any reprimands that are surely deserved since he is an impulsive rule-breaker. However, I do not believe that he is cold-natured and evily manipulative like he could be, he simply know he can so he does, merely to break some rules and have fun.

Leper is a quiet and meditative individual who is usually barely noticeable in the scene and is always set off to the side, never one to steal attention. He is the type to separate himself from the crowd, especially towards the time of his departure. His out-there demure makes him the easiest to look down on but this same thing also makes him numb to anything that may be hurtful like his nickname Leper that so acurately describes his social-outcast situation. Also, although he is the most unexpected candidate for the war, he is the first to actually partake in it. This is a huge shock for the entire school but only furthers Leper’s uniqueness.

5. major change

The major change in this novel occurs in chapter four just after Finny and Gene’s adventure to the beach. The change occurs in Gene when he returns after the long night of goofing off… and of neglecting to study for a trigonometry test. This causes Gene to flunk it, and just after, he convinces himself that Finny is absolutely out to get him and destroy the only thing he excels at; his academics. This seed of doubt suddenly bursts into bloom and it forever afterwards, Gene’s opinion of Finny is corrupted and he never fully trusts him again, although he tries to convince himself that he does. Even when recanting the story from years later, he still clings to this fantasy, as if to keep him sane. He tells himself that since Finny is great at sports and poor with school, Gene must excel in school since he isn’t particularly skilled in sports in order to balance things out between them- in order for them to be “equal” in Genes eyes. But he soon comes across another revelation; “Now I knew that there was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he.” It is here that he realises that he will never be on the same level as Finny and that he could never even compare himself to him for they were not even in the same league. He will always be his lieutenant and nothing more, as long as they’re together.

3. setting and genre

“A Separate Peace” by John Knowles is set in an all boy’s school in New England called Devon. Devon its self is old and beautiful and has (at least at first) a peaceful feel to it. The boys are all very comfortable here and have time to goof off and be boys in their little world outside of that war. But as the book progresses, it becomes the place of great tragedy, even for the people who have left Devon behind (like Leper).

It is around the time of world war two that the boy’s go through those fateful years with each other and discover the meaning of responsibility- a time that forced the young boys of all the world to the thrown into the grueling fear of the war and the boys at Devon are certainly no exception. The boys are all very immature at first in this war, and a couple refuse to even believe in it, but they all discover that it is all very real and dangerous, and its effects are not to be taken lightly. The time period did not allow the boys to escape their responsibility and this is the only thing that had the power to do such a thing.

The book is fiction although it conveys a very realistic idea of what war is and its very possible effects on the mind of the youth. It strikes a chord of relatability, but also sympathy in its harsh, yet possible dramatic turn of events. Knowles tries to achieve this by balancing the extreme with the realistic by creating a believable setting and combining it with many compounded small tragedies, that are all likely but the fact that there’s so many of them adds a sense of despair that is not shared by the matured characters.