Pre-AP English 10 – A Separate Peace – Essay Topics: Paper due 11/13/2012 Tues.

  1. Responding to a Critic. Here is what one critic has written about Knowles’s use of symbolism in A Separate Peace. 5 paragraph response.

What happens in the novel is that Gene Forrester and Phineas, denying the existence of the Second World War as they enjoy the summer peace of Devon School, move gradually to a realization of an uglier adult world – mirrored in the winter and the Naguamsett River – whose central fact is war. This moving from innocence to adulthood is contained within three sets of inter-connected symbols. These three – summer and winter; the Devon River, and the Naguamsett River; and peace and war – serve as a backdrop against which the novel is developed, the first of each pair dominating the early novel and giving way to the second only after Gene has discovered the evil of his own heart.” James Ellis

  1. Explore the various interpretations of the novel’s title or the phrase “a separate peace”. Is it the measureless, careless peace of Devon summer, for example?Explore at least 3 different meanings for the title. Support with text and quotes. 5 paragraph response.
  1. Consider these two contrasting views of Finny. Select one and use as a thesis.

Finny in this novel is a magnetic, charismatic character whom people cannot help liking, but he is also manipulative, immature, and self-centered. He is not nearly as innocent as he seems.4 paragraph response

OR

The character of Finny represents innocence – an innocence that is destroyed when it is forced to confront the hatred and evil in the real world.4 paragraph response

  1. In A Separate Peace the narrator states, “So the more things remain the same, the more they change after all. Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence.” In a well-organized essay, discuss your viewpoint on this assertion drawing from the novel with quotes and drawing on your own reading, observations, or experiences to develop your position. 5 paragraphs response. You may use “I”.
  1. The narrator in A Separate Peace states at Devon “there were few relationships . . . not based on rivalry.” Using your own observations, readings, examples from the novel with quotes, and experiences, develop your position. Discuss the validity of this assertion as it applies to relationships in general. 4 paragraphs minimum. You may use “I”.
  1. Conventions are the guidelines for accepted, normal ways of behaving in any society or group. It is clear that Finny is someone who enjoys challenging social conventions and conventional ideas. Write an essay in which you express the advantages or disadvantages of challenging social conventions, drawing on your own observations, examples and quotes from the text, and your own reading as well asexperiences to develop your position. 4 paragraphs minimum. You may use “I”.
  1. In some works of literature, a character that appears briefly, or does not appear at all, can be a significant presence. Write an essay in which you show how such a character functions in A Separate Peace. You may wish to discuss how the character affects the action, theme, or the development of other characters. Avoid plot summary. 4 paragraphs minimum.

Guidelines

  1. N2SSWTSW – No 2 sentences start with the same word within one paragraph unless used for effect.
  1. MLA Format for heading at top left with name, etc.
  1. Add an original title
  1. Do not end a sentence with a preposition: We do not know where he came from.
  1. NOcontractions. Isn’t /is not;here’s/here is
  1. Write from third person except where it states “you may use I “.
  1. Use quotes and details from the novel. Turn to How to Insert Quotations p. 68.
  1. Underline in your paragraphs: 1 of each of these sentence patterns found on pg. 30 Use 1 periodic, 1 compound-complex, 1 cumulative, 1 rhetorical fragment, 1 rhetorical question, 1 anaphora. After the sentence, identify the type of sentence with a parenthesis (anaphora).
  1. Use only 3 figures of speech:Indicate a phrase where you have inserted a figure of speech with italics. Example. Gene’s propensity for surliness was a cloud that hung over him (metaphor). Use: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, irony, hyperbole
  1. Avoid no-no words: thing, stuff, a lot, good, bad, think, show, want, get, go
  1. When referring to a number between 0 and 10, write those words out: zero, one, two, etc. After the number “ten”, use the regular numeric number: 11, 12, 13, 100, etc.
  1. Thesis: last sentence of first paragraph
  1. Closing: No in conclusion. Restate thesis in an original way + 4 sentences minimum. No repeating of info from earlier paragraphs. End with a satisfying statement.
  2. Hook: Interesting and end with thesis.
  3. 12 point font. Length 3 page minimum. Double-spaced. Times New Roman
  4. Turnitin.com on Monday night, 11/12(Veteran’s Day Holiday) by 11:59 p.m. Hard copy Tues., 11/13 at class time.