Blog Entry #5 Personal Response
After reading this book I thought it was, in general, a good read. For being so short it still was stuffed with lots of themes, motifs, symbols, and complex character development. This book was relatable being that the boys in the story are about my age and face the similar balance of schoolwork, sports, and socialization. I understood the struggle they had to stay young and innocent with the pressures of the world, pushing them towards growing up and becoming an adult. It was interesting to read especially because I appreciated the historical connections thanks to my history class. It was fascinating to see the fictional, emotional side, the story of the everyday citizen during WWII, opposed to just all the names and dates I’ve been reading about in my history book. The characters were extraordinarily complex making them very realistic-- the novel’s strongest point in my opinion. I was always contemplating who “the bad guy” was and whether I liked Gene or if he was even reliable narrator. In the end, I admit that Finny’s death really did make me sad because the author described him so well and as readers we learned so much about him that I felt like I might have known him. The writing from a technical standpoint was done well and rich in figurative language and rhetorical strategies. The downside to this book is that all in all A Separate Peace lacked some of the excitement that I normally enjoy in a book .The plot was just a little too slow for my taste. Also, some of the moral truths that the novel attempted to unveil were very similar to the themes in books I have read previously. (All Quiet of the Western Front, Lord of the Flies…).Perhaps I held too high of expectations. Perhaps this is the way of a lot of the books on “College Board’s Recommended Reading List”.
I love your review of the book, as I feel the same way! I agree that it was a good book, however it wasn't too exciting as it did seem a little slow at times. However, I also agree that the writer had managed to pack in a lot of character development and symbols as well. The character development was very extensive and it was nice to be able to understand each character and be able to imagine better what the author was trying to describe in the book.
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