Discussion Topic
Symbolism of Snow in A Separate Peace
Summary:
In A Separate Peace, snow symbolizes the gradual and insidious impact of war on the students at Devon. Just as snowfall quietly envelops the school, war's influence creeps into their lives without immediate notice. The snowball fight mirrors the trial events, highlighting themes of loyalty and betrayal. Gene is reluctantly drawn into both, pressured by peers, with confused allegiances and no clear victor emerging. These parallels underscore the chaotic and transformative nature of the boys' experiences.
In A Separate Peace, how is the snowfall analogous to the impact of war on the students?
The snowfall is like the impact of war on the students because of the insidious way it creeps up on them. Although the boys know that the war is coming, when it finally affects them directly, they hardly notice it. Similarly, they know that winter is coming and that with winter will come the snow, but when the change in seasons finally arrives, it is so gradual that it creates no shock at all. About this analogy, Gene says,
"Devon was...very close to the ways of peace...the war was...no more taxing to us than a day spent at harvesting in an apple orchard...Not long afterward...snow came...like noiseless invaders conquering because they took possession so gently...In the same way the war, beginning almost humorously with announcements about maids and days spent at apple-picking, commenced its invasion of the school. The early snow was commandeered as its advance guard."
Another analogy...
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that might be used to compare nature and war that comes to mind is fog, which also creeps slowly and quietly, until it envelops everything, having come almost unnoticed.
The mood of the Summer Session is relaxed, laid back, almost idyllic. In contrast, the Fall Session is intense, busy, and ordered. Some reasons for these differences is that in the summer, the younger students such as Gene and Finny are allowed a great deal of freedom. While the focus at Devon is on the seniors, who are "practically soldiers," the younger boys, for whom the concept of war remains in the distance, are largely left alone, allowed to enjoy their waning days of childhood. The staff is also at a minimum during the summer; there is not a lot of adult supervision or structure, unlike in the fall. In addition, the Summer Session is newly established, and does not have the decades of tradition and order behind it, as does the Fall Session.
In A Separate Peace, how does the snowball fight mirror the trial events?
As was mentioned in the previous post, Gene initially does not want to join in the trial, which is similar to how he behaves when he first sees the snowball fight. However, Finny and the other boys pressure Gene into joining the game—just as he is pressured to participate in the trial. In the middle of the snowball fight, Gene recalls that Finny began switching sides during the game and the boys could not figure out who was on each team. Knowles writes,
"Loyalties became hopelessly entangled. No one was going to win or lose after all" (82).
Similarly, at the trial Gene's loyalties are gradually being exposed, but the process is interrupted by Finny's confusing testimony. The boys do not know what to believe and end up searching for Leper in order to get his perspective on the event. Also, Brinker quickly loses control of the trial the same way his "sense of generalship disappeared" during the snowball fight. At the end of the snowball fight, Finny is overwhelmed by the boys' snowballs. In comparison, Finny also becomes overwhelmed after realizing that Gene purposely shook the branch.