Comparing A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye...

Comparing A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye The coming of age novels, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, and A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, both interpret the lives of adolescent boys journeying through their conflicts and inner confusion to reach the level of maturity. Salinger and Knowles both discern the literal ways a typical teenager grows up with the help of literary elements such as plot, setting, character development, conflicts, irony, symobolism, theme, and point of view. In both of the novels, the setting is taken place in an all boys’ school. The all boys’ school in A Separate Peace was named Devon High School, located in New Hampshire and the school in The Catcher in the Rye†¦show more content†¦Also, the switching of private schools and the way his parents are always neglecting him is another reason of his depression. An example of how they describe Holden’s depression is found early in the novel. In chapter 1, Old Spencer says â€Å"Life is a game bo y. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.† Then Holden replies with, â€Å"Yes sir. I know it is. I know it†¦Game my a**. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right- I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No Game† (Salinger 8). This quote shows that Holden is a victim of depression and in his thoughts he compares himself as not being with the â€Å"hot-shots†, which means that he is alienated in society. However, in A Separate Peace, Gene doesn’t have this conflict because he belongs to a club. This club that he is in is called the Super Suicide Society in the Summer Session where his major conflict started. When Gene causes Finny to have and accident, it haunts him throughout the story. As it haunts him, it develops their friendship into a relationship with jealousy. While this continues, Finny encounters another accident from the confession of the first accident and breaks his leg again. As a result, Finny dies through a surgery from his injury and Gene puts himself in a situation of guilt because if he didn’t break Finny’s leg