Peace Like A River Analysis

In the novel, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, one of the major connection is to the Bible. The title itself is an allusion from the Bible, Isaiah 14:14, God told the people, “Now if only you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea.” The title has a connection to the novel through the characters. I believe Leif Enger is showing the reality of biblical truth through the events in the novel.

In the novel, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, the author discusses a story of a Minnesota family narrated by Reuben Land, where he explains the several miracles his father, Jeremiah Land, performed throughout his lifetime. Jeremiah Land is a single father with three children. Davy Land being the eldest son, Reuben being the middle, and Swede Land being the youngest daughter. Leif Enger is an American author who dreamed to be a fiction writer ever since he was a teen. The genre of this novel is fiction.

Peace Like a River is a powerful novel that is able to incorporate miracles from the Bible and pull them into a more modern day context. Each character challenges the reader to connect to them in a new way. Reuben has lungs so swampy he shouldn’t be living, and yet here he is the main witness to his father’s miracles. Jeremiah is a devoted and caring father whose faith is unparalleled and whose miracles are a bit random. His other son Davy is almost his complete opposite, relying only on his hands and own hard work to create his life. Then Swede has a wild imagination and sense of wonder yet can’t see the miracles that happen right under her nose. As I read Peace Like a River I was filled with awe and wonder with the miracles Jeremiah did, yet when I was challenged by Reuben to “make of it as you will” (311) I was filled with dread as I was reminded of my own blindness that mimicked Swede’s.

“Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide” (Emerson 370-372). A Separate Peace written by John Knowles in New Hampshire. Gene Forrester’s was a young boy that attended Devon school during the summer, he was considered smart, conformist, and jealous. A Separate Peace emulates three major literary traditions.

In the book Peace like a River, there are many symbols in this book including breath, wind, hands, geography and more. Throughout this book, thumping caught ,my attention as a word used more than is probably should have been. Leading me to now this that umping is a symbol for God and whenever God is present there is thumping to show that he is there.

In Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, Reuben Land had lost his father. He dearly missed him, and often was in conflict with his faith in God due to his lost and the miracles he performed. Most evidently shown in The Curious Music That I Hear, is “… I breathe deeply, and the certainty enters into me like a light, like a piece of science, and curious music seems to hum inside my fingers.” (311). This is referring to The Land of Nod, a poem written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It talks of a child falling asleep and being alone until they awake. Futhermore, it places emphasis on the feeling Reuben had when he last touched his father, Jeremiah, and how Reuben could not join Jeremiah in Heaven. It was not Reuben’s time to die, and Jeremiah had to jump

Insignificant droplets of water plunging to the ground, gradually elaborating into a system which proclaims its existence with such scintillation and momentous significance, the river. The river that carries the same inexorable rate which we live our lives by, parallels to the current of an unstoppable river. Shifted to different directions by the different obstacles encountered, the river finds different routes to get to the destination it desires and life mimics its nature as many avenues close and others open. But the river carries on and does not pass through the same obstacle twice, it does not struggle or brawl the happenings opposed to it, it simply takes another path and learns from its mistakes. The river symbolizes life. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The river plays a significant role on a reflective surface which redirects his actions into the eyes of the protagonist, Siddhartha.

Overcoming internal barriers is a struggle humans typically endure. The novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles focuses on the friendship between two teenage boys, Gene and Phineas, who are the exact opposite of one another. It is told from Gene’s point of view as he journeys through adolescence while attending one of the most prestigious boarding schools in America during World War II, Devon. Gene learns that when times are difficult he can move past his struggles by latching onto an idea, hope, or an essence of peace. As he matures, it is clear that his friendship with Phineas has played a key role in helping Gene discover and accept who he is because he helped him to unveil the enemy that was inside the whole time

“As Christians, we do not merely admire loyalty in others; we ourselves are loyal to family members, friends, and fellow worshippers (1Thess. 2:10, 11)”. “But what loyalty should take first place in our heart? Why, it is loyalty to the One who gave us life!” (Rev. 4:11). Without the faith of God, the Land family would not have had the loyalty to each other, nor made the sacrifices they did for one another. Letting God be the guide and savior in their lives, the family would have never found the missing links that complete their family. The sacrifices the loyal family has made have brought them closer together in their faith and love of family. Peace Like a River is a strong story that elaborates and engages characters, artistic aspect, and its suggestions and belief on faith.

Secondly, the theme of friendship is displayed in A Separate Peace when Gene’s love-hate relationship with Phineas is affected after he sees Phineas in the hospital. The realization of Phineas’s true feelings of their friendship comes to light when he refuses to accuse or put any blame on Gene for his disability resulting in Gene’s guilt, admitting he, “thought we were competitors.” (Knowles 63). When Gene visits Phineas back in their hometown during their break, he gets on a, “familiar friendly level” feeling like, “pals trading stories”(Knowles 65). The use of an anaphora is implemented when Gene’s guilty conscious begins to affect him and his struggle to admit he pushed Phineas off the tree becomes distressing as he believes, “it wouldn’t

For instance, in chapter six of A Separate Peace, John Knowles introduces the readers to a symbolic representation of two rivers: the Devon and the Naguamsett. The upper Devon river is pure and clean which directly relates to the young men’s lives at school – peaceful, serene, tranquil. Whenever Gene glimpsed at the Devon river, it brought up joyful memories about Phineas: “...up shot an uncontrollable leg, and Phineas would tumble into the water, roaring with rage” (Knowles, 67). As a result, the Devon river represents Gene’s escape from reality. However, the author portrays the cruel lower Naguamsett river as merciless and unsympathetic: “It was ugly, saline, fringed with marsh mud and seaweed” (Knowles, 68). This resembles the threats of life outside of Devon; for this reason, the young men view the draft as “governed by unimaginable factors like the Gulf Stream, the Polar Ice Cap, and the Moon” (Knowles, 68). As a result, the movie adaption missed the opportunity to represent the symbolism the novel

Survival, both its temporary means and its ultimate permanence, is certainly a theme throughout this story, and the river is the most obvious metaphorical representation. Among the undulant hillsides, the river remains steady

According to the epidictic lens, Rowan Jacobsen reading, “Down by the River” is partially cusp therefore, makes it a bit good. However, this article does not contain any epidictic environmental advocates, which would have helped made the reading more cusp. Although, some great values of the Quechan tribe and the city of Yuma are mention due to the restoration of the Colorado River bank, which is good. For example it says, “On February 28, 2002, the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge reopened in a spirited celebration. About 800 people turned out to watched the Quechan tribal president drive cross the bridge in antique cars, and the Quechan posted the ceremony on their side of the river”(p.94.) Here we can see that the Colorado River bank restoration

9. The river is a vital symbol in this novel. What is the function of the river and how is it associated with

Peace Like a River is a strong story due to its elaborate and engaging characters, artistic aspect, and its suggestions and belief on faith. Without the faith of God, the Land family would not have had the loyalty to each other nor made the sacrifices they did for one another. Letting God be the guide and savior in their lives, the family would have never found the missing links to complete their family. The sacrifices and loyalty the family has, brought them closer together as one.