Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

Hi

I am working on an essay about the symbolism of a passage in John
Knowles' A Seperate Peace. I have my intro paragraph and my 1st
paragraph. I am working on the idea that the loss of snow is symbolic
of the reveling of the war to the Devon boys.

Here is the pasage:

And these Saturdays are worst in the late winter whern the snow has
lost it's noveity and its shine, and the school seems to have been
reduced to only a network of drains. During the brief thaw in the early
afternoon there is a dismal gurgling of dirty water seeping down pipes
and along gutter, a gray seamy shifting beneath the crust of snow,
which cracks to show patches of frozen mud beneath. Shrubbery loses its
bright snow headgear and stands bare and frail, too undernourished to
hide the drains it was intended to hide.

In John Knowles' novel, A Separate Peace, The fading of winter's
beauty into the muddy depressing days of spring represent a loss of
innocence due to the impending war and hostilities among the boys.
Winter brings a new peace to Devon, with snow blanketing the campus,
making everything pure. As temperatures rise and the war begins, the
snow looses its beauty and melts to revel the unpleasant truths it has
been covering.   The loss of innocence at Devon is symbolized by the
when the snow melts to revel the frail shrubbery, the muddy meltwater,
and Devon's network of drains.
    The shrubbery that the melting snow has uncovered is symbolic of both
the War and Leper. Even through the shrubbery had been safely covered
with the innocence of white snow, it's protection melted away to
revel the truth. The "lost novelty" of the once shiny and fresh
snow symbolizes the brutal war in  Europe. The Devon boys initially
embrace war as a new novelty. As they read more and more about bombings
and boys their age going over, the darkness of war, like the frailty of
the bushes is revealed. Knowles furthers uses the bushes to connect
Leper's condition with the change at Devon. At the same time, the
poor diminished condition Leper is reveled to the boys. The snow
covered the bushes frailty like the Devon boy's stories about Leper
at war cover his frailty. Like the once green and vibrant bushes, Leper
has faded to a weak and depressed person.  The shrubbery's changes
were hidden by snow, and once it melted, the harsh realities of war
were reveled.