Peace Breaks Out

In Peace Breaks Out an example of a flat character is Wexford whose character is easily recognizable as a villain, which is the single quality that defines him. Wexford is a power-seeking, arrogant, egotistical, vengeful, scheming liar who seemingly will stop at nothing to fulfill his selfish aims. On the last page of the book, Pete Hallam calls Wexford "An incipient monster" (178), and compares him to the monsters that came to the top in World War II. And, as Pete points out, "those monsters were once adolescents" (178). This characterizes Wexford as someone who will never change. When he gets away with causing the killing of his arch enemy Eric Hockschwender (a foil character) he crows, "Who is the fairest of us all? Who the most powerful...Who Supreme? Who! Wexford, that's who" (172).

Wexford lies to his parents, to school authorities and to other students, all to get what he wants at any cost. What Wexford is, he was, and will be: "a limitlessly ambitious conniver, momentarily trapped in adolescence" (70).

Pete Hallam, the protagonist, is an excellent example of a round character, someone whose character is complex and many-sided. Over the course of the school year at Devon, he undergoes changes which give him greater self-awareness, and a new different outlook on life. He is first seen as a "burned out survivor" of World War II (91), a lost man numbed by war who returns to Devon School as a teacher perhaps hoping to find the familiarity and security he kne

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ng permanent changes in his character and outlook. He is also an athlete, but does not live with the athletes and has a wider circle of friends. He is thoughtful and analytical, the opposite of Tug who finds his brother Nick "too complicated, unnecessarily analytical" (22). In a verbal confrontation with Wexford, Nick is able to see through him: "This guy has more bullshit than a snake-oil salesman" (32). Nick's ability to reflect and analyze enables him to undergo change. He rejects his father's prejudiced views and is able to think for himself as revealed in a speech he gives in class about his father's views on the Civil War, and his own views on American history as "one long success story" (16). At graduation, after going though many conflicts, he is able to realize that Commencement is not the end, but the beginning for him (177), and this shows his growth to maturity. #2- One of the ironies of the novel is in the title, which is an example of verbal irony. The phrase "peace breaks out" is incongruous, as the opposite is meant from what is said. Peace means accord, agreement, order and safety. The phrase "breaks out" brings to mind something exploding or erupting, some sort of violence bursting forth as in war. I

Category: Literature - P