"The thought was, "You and Phineas are even already.
You are both coldly driving forward for yourselves alone. .
You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so .
what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last.
term. You would have had an A in that one except for him. Except .
for him."" .
This is what Gene Forrester thought of Phineas (Finny) in John Knowles book, A Separate Peace. Gene absolutely hated Finny, but continues to pretend to be Finny's best friend. At the end of the book, Gene learns that it was not Phineas who was his enemy, but the inner demons of hate, envy, and jealousy. Gene learns he staged a war against Phineas because he had "something ignorant in the heart". Gene finds out he also "was on duty [his] whole time at school," As Gene says, "I killed my enemy there." So Gene understands his enemy must have been the demons within him. Gene also knew of this fear of being second best and of jealousy, but he could not face it. He decided to change his enemy from the demons to his best friend Finny. Then he built " these Maginot Lines against this enemy [he] thought [he] saw across the frontier if he was indeed the enemy." .
Gene was full of ignorance at the Devon School. Gene was jealous of Phineas and could not face how jealous he was. Once, Finny wore a pink shirt and the Devon school tie as a belt. When the substitute dean noticed this, Gene thought Finny would have been finally caught for breaking the school policy. He was wrong, Phineas once again broke a school rule and got away with it. Gene is quoted for saying, "I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." Also, when Finny breaks a school swimming record without a day of practice, Gene develops an even worse case of the green flu. "Perhaps for that reason his accomplishment took root in my mind and grew rapidly in the darkness where I was forced to hide it.
I chose the song "Demons,"" by Imagine Dragons. ... It's where my demons hide; it's where my demons hide. ... It's where my demons hide; it's where my demons hide. ... One has gained the emotional trust needed to expose demons, or conflicted inner-self. The eyes are the window to the soul, giving a glimpse into the inner self, where our demons hide. ...
Beliefs in demons and the Devil represent this personification of evil forces perceived as external to our conscious control. ... Mem. 1.1.1), but Socrates himself said that his daimonion was only an inner voice that cautioned him against doing any wrong, not an evil spirit. ... The civilizations of Mesopotamia and Syria shaped the Western concept of demons and the Devil most directly (Luck 1985, 165). The demons of Mesopotamia were usually hostile spirits and lower than the gods in both dignity and power (Russell 1977, 92). ... There were demons of plagues, graveyards, nightmares, headaches, ...
His outward display of gentility but inner puritanical intolerance is a force of persecution to characters in the novel. ... At one point in the novel the elders of the colony try to take Pearl away from Hester because they think she is a demon-child. ... Hawthorne thinks of Pearl not as a demon but as of a kind of romantic nature-spirit. ...
This dark side is also seen as an alias to our inner demons, which we constantly fight in different ways, lest it conquers us and lashes out. ... This refers to a personal war, in which one is forced to tackle their inner demons and hope to become triumphant. ... Phineas ' loyalty causes Gene to believe that Phineas had no inner demon to face, no immoral thoughts to quash, and therefore as Gene said,"too good to be true.... " (Knowles 196) Through Phineas' passing, Gene's inner demons were eliminated. ... However, it is in our power to keep our inner demons in check. ...
For the myth to continue, our hero Harry must battle with his inner demons of potential dark power upon his arrival at Hogwarts. ... Voldermort represents all of Harry's repressed inner darkness, so only Harry's inner good can defeat him. ... Harry represents the reader, and Voldermort, their inner demons. Watching Harry confront and defeat these demons of repressed desire and pain gives the reader a cathartic feeling of victory. Harry gives the feeling of being able to confront their own demons. ...
To imagine in a way become our demons while we waited till they've had their full? In the story Dr. jekyll has developed a formula in which he can let loose his inner demon complete with different body without hurting his reputation of doctor and a gentleman. ... Mankind must strive to be like God and not let our inner evil have the victory. ...
Susan Rawling, the main character in Doris Lessing's short story "To Room 19", fights against her inner emptiness and the roles she is supposed to play as a mother, a wife, and a house manager. ... Nevertheless, this yearning gives rise to more inner conflicts due to her fear of encountering the real Susan, who might not match the white house. ... There as Susan watches the river passing among the lively trees, she hopes to be really alone so that she can look for her inner self. ... But then, once, she ends up visualizing her fears as a demon: "One day she saw him. ( ) He was looking at ...
Susan Rawling, the main character in Doris Lessing's short story "To Room 19", fights against her inner emptiness and the roles she is supposed to play as a mother, a wife, and a house manager. ... Nevertheless, this yearning gives rise to more inner conflicts due to her fear of encountering the real Susan, who might not match the white house. ... There as Susan watches the river passing among the lively trees, she hopes to be really alone so that she can look for her inner self. ... But then, once, she ends up visualizing her fears as a demon: "One day she saw him. (...) ... Realizing th...