I re-read this book, which I taught to high school juniors many years ago. It's a searing story of mob psychology. Different characters present differI re-read this book, which I taught to high school juniors many years ago. It's a searing story of mob psychology. Different characters present different viewpoints as events unfold, while the first-person narrator, Art Croft, thinks about what it all means and considers where he will stand.
What is justice? Who has the right to administer it? What is the cost of going against the crowd if my heart tells me they're wrong? What is the cost of going along?
We've all been there. Maybe not on a lynching party. But we are so quick to judge.
I really hope that my former students got more out of The Ox-Bow Incident than just another assignment in their English class....more
I first became acquainted with this book when I taught it while student teaching senior English in 1968. It was the very first lesson of my 39 year caI first became acquainted with this book when I taught it while student teaching senior English in 1968. It was the very first lesson of my 39 year career; so it made quite an impression on me.
I just finished rereading it. The book is beautifully written, both in terms of language and thematic content. It's about war -- the war without, and the war within. With the benefit of 50 years of experience with myself and other humans, I don't think I would teach it the same way now.
Without giving too much away, Gene, the narrator, is able to arrive at "a separate peace" -- but at a terrible cost.
A Separate Peace offers a cynical but accurate look at what lurks inside us. The Naguamsett River is the Congo in a prep school Heart of Darkness....more
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