Electronic Journal #1 For Whom the Bell Tolls

In the beginning of For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, the main character, Robert Jordan, is on a mission by the Russian General Golz to pertain in a guerrilla attack on a bridge nearby Segovia. He is escorted by a man named Anselmo meets up with the leader of the guerilla camp, Pablo, who is illiterate, can’t trust anyone but himself, and is on the verge of betraying the Republican side for the Fascists. Then, he meets Rafael, a gypsy who is in the guerrilla camp. Rafael and Jordan exchange stories in their headquarters, a cave, about Kashkin, the person Jordan is replacing and about the last operation where they blew up a train. Then, Jordan meets Maria, a pretty lady who he becomes fascinated with within the upcoming days and makes love to. The next day, Anselmo and Jordan go scope out the bridge to which they are going to blow up. Jordan presents the plan to the other guerilla members and the only one to object is Pablo who is persuaded by his lover, Pilar. One of the guards also remarks to Robert Jordan to pay close attention to his packs which may foreshadow something later. Later that night, Pablo talks to one of his horses and Jordan contemplates if he should have killed Pablo when he had the chance earlier. After that night, Jordan is awakened by enemy planes and wonders if the Fascists found out about the plan. Pilar, Maria, and Jordan then go for a walk to see El Sordo where they talk about Pablo and his massacre of many Fascists. This reminds the young American of when he witnessed the lynching of a black man in Ohio. When they meet up at the camp of El Sordo, they encounter Joaquin who rescued Maria from the ambushed train. When they reach El Sordo, he and Jordan talk about tactics and then the three of them return back to camp.
In this novel, it relates to Slaughterhouse-five in the sense that the course of the book first engages in wartime. You can relate Pablo to Billy Pilgrim because both are detached, feel the comfort of horses instead of people, and both become the blame. Also, with the heated involvement between Jordan and Maria, he somewhat symbolizes the love making of Billy and Montana Wildhack. Both are somewhat spontaneous in which they meet each other quickly and begin making love early in their relationship. Also, these lovers in Hemingway’s novel want to stop time to enjoy their company however in Vonnegut’s novel, you cannot stop time; it just is. In connection to A Separate Peace, there are fewer qualities. First, both novels deal with wartime and are situated in the decisions each of the characters has to make in regard to their operations. Lastly, the young boys at Devon have similar qualities with Pablo in which both want to be rebels. Pablo has the manner of possibly deserting his camp for the Fascists and the boys always want to rebel to become better athletes or just be kids.

Electronic Journal #4

In the last part of the book, the boys at Devon endure in some critical events. Gene arrives back on campus to undergo a snowball fight started by fellow classmates. Brinker and Phineas ask about Leper but Gene is hesitant about telling the true nature of Leper’s disposition. A couple of military groups visit Devon to try to recruit young school boys in their regiments and Finny makes a realization about war. He sees Leper at the school and his miserable state to deduce that the war might actually be real and heartbreaking. Then later that night, a secret trial was held to find out the true nature of Finny’s accident. Finny was so outraged and the misinterpretations given that he consequently left the room, furious. Then, all of a sudden, everyone heard Finny tumble down the marble stairs. Finny remained at the Infirmary for a couple of days, and Gene was extremely scared that he stuck to his monotone routine. Phineas was then scheduled for a surgery to repair his leg by Dr. Stanpole. However, a piece of bone marrow broke off his leg which got stuck in the blood stream and caused his heart to fail. Then at the end, reality sinks in and a brigade of troops brings in sewing machines to the school to start making parachutes for the troops. Gene realized he was nothing without Finny and that everything he admired (fearless, kind, friendly) was everything he has ever been striving for.
With Slaughterhouse-Five in mind, A Separate Peace once again is relevant to the events in Vonnegut’s novel. In one scene, Gene illuminates on the fields at Devon and comes across the condition of the fields and relates it to his life. The fields “were a roaming ghost” and Gene felt as if he “was a dream, a figment which had never really touched anything.” This is comparative to Billy because Billy always was said to be time travelling and never had a sense of where he was or even if it was real/ living. Also, Gene didn’t cry for Finny just like Billy never cried for any human in the war. However, Gene was embarrassed and felt as if it was his own funeral. Lastly, Gene says “you could not change [it].” What was meant by this statement was that he couldn’t change what had happened and in the words of the Tramalfadorians, the time simply is. Finny’s death simply was and he had to deal with it.

Electronic Journal #3

Throughout the novel, it makes apt references to the war and situates the young adults to make rapid decisions. After a couple of weeks through the Winter Session at Devon School, Finny (Phineas) returns and surprises Gene at his dorm. The next day, Finny decides that he wants to explore the campus before returning to his studies to absorb the winter season. He drags Gene along on his journey outside while he somewhat struggles on his crutches but is said to walk smoothly rather than how normally walked as an athlete. They venture to the gym and Finny says he is going to prepare him for the ’44 Olympics to replace himself. This training continues throughout the several months. Also, while on their trip to the gym, they encounter the inevitability of the war dilemma. Finny reveals his point of view saying that it’s all a hoax concocted by the corporate men to save their jobs from the everyday folks. Leper Lepellier becomes fascinated with the ski troops and decides to be the first one to enter into the war from Devon. Later on, Gene receives a note from Lepellier saying he “escaped and need help.” Gene finds out that Leper is “crazy” by visiting his home. Also, Finny, Gene, and Brinker organize The Devon Winter Carnival.
With relation of A Separate Peace to Slaughterhouse-Five, this section of John Knowles’ novel proves to have the most in common to Kurt Vonnegut’s. First off, it’s winter at Devon which is in correlation to the season in Slaughterhouse-Five. Also, a big chunk of this section deals with the idea brought up by Forrester and Brinker to enlist. Finny finds this idea outrageous due to his mental capacity that war is fake and stationed in a manner to make it believable to the proletariat. This mental view is in close relationship with Billy Pilgrim’s. Billy and Finny are similar characters in their mental dispositions to second guess reality and connote a new view. Lastly, when Leper Lepellier joins the ski troops, he “deserts” his troop and is sent home. Leper, like Billy, is incapable of being a soldier since his mind is wandering like Billy’s. Billy’s mind wanders to Tramalfadore while Leper’s wanders to unusual images and his fascination for nature. Both a characterized as “crazy” and have to deal with being scrutinized for most of their life.

Electronic Journal #2

From the end of the first part through the second part of A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester, the narrator has to deal with guilt and develops into an individualized young man. At the end of the first part, Gene’s best friend, Phineas, fell off the limb of a tree and broke his leg. The big contributor to the falling of Phineas was Gene because he shook the branch to intimidate Phineas; however, it led to the inevitable breaking of a leg. Gene has to deal with this guilt because “Finny” is unable to participate in sports anymore because of the severe nature of the breakage. The Summer Session at Devon concludes and Finny has to stay at the infirmary to recuperate. This is depressing because Finny is unable to act in his final “peace” before engaging within the army. Gene returns to the South for a month or so before the Winter Session starts and when it finally does commence, Gene visits Finny. Here, they get into a heated feud where Gene takes the fall of the accident and presents the truth which saddens Finny in the end. Gene returns to Devon and encounters fellow classmates who bash on him and try to chip away at the true accident bestowed on the famous Phineas. Then, a group of classmates go to work at a nearby apple orchard when it begins to snow.
In this second part, some of the same things that were similar in the first part to Slaughterhouse-Five, remain in the second part. World War II is still in the background at Devon school and provides a backdrop into the mindset of the students. To enlist into the draft was the epiphany that each student at their age had to contemplate. They had “to slam the door impulsively on the past, to shed everything down.” Just like Billy, each student was going to be enlisted right after they graduated into the war so each had to consider whether to advance their maturity or wait. Also another scene similar to one in Slaughterhouse-Five includes a train scene. While working, the students see a train full of soldiers and the scene is similar to when Billy was put on a boxcar after he became a prisoner of war. The figurative nature of the scene in A Separate Peace reflects on the conformity of the war. By becoming a soldier, you became a prisoner to death, gruesome images, and regret. The soldiers that were about to go into the war will see that they are just prisoners just like the ones in Slaughterhouse-Five.

Electronic Journal #1

In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the characters explore their innermost desires and ambitious adventures at The Devon School in New Hampshire. Phineas, the charismatic super-athlete leads the narrator onto many journeys to diverge himself away from his studies. This ongoing competition between the two best friends leads to bitter rivalries between them. In one scene, Phineas breaks the school’s swimming record in secret and the narrator starts to question whether the two of them are “even” in nature. The narrator figures out the question to this existentialist question by saying, “You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone.” Each of these characters is trying to find their “separate peace” among confinements of the school. With WWII in the background, it sets up the path to which the 16 and 17 year olds at the school find a way to engage in some fun before their hardships and real life presses forward.
Compared to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse – Five, there are some similarities between the setting, mindset of characters, and the dispositions of the characters. For one, both novels have a backdrop of WWII. Neither of them is necessarily engaged in the war throughout the entire novel, but references and experiences protrude. Secondly, Billy and the narrator of A Separate Peace have similar mindsets in which they question the true nature of what’s happening to them. Billy is always intertwined with time and the narrator is caught up being a teenager for one more time before he could possibly be drafted into the war. Lastly, their dispositions are quite similar. Both characters are considered “followers” in which they never lead a pack or person. Billy follows and tags along with other soldiers and the narrator in A Separate Peace tags along with his best friend, Phineas. In these ways in the first part of A Separate Peace, my first two novels have similarities between them.