Analyzing "A Separate Piece"

- What does the setting contribute to the work?

~According to Thomas C. Foster in How To Read Literature Like A Professor, literary geography is about humans inhabiting spaces and spaces that inhabit humans.The setting in A Separate piece contributes to the story by revealing more about Gene. In the beginning of the story Gene is older and returns to his boarding high school Devon (Knowles 9-10) Gene visits the school because the school was one of the fearful places he wanted to see. When arriving there, Gene realizes how the schools look more sedate and new with a coat of varnish on the wood works. " Now here it was after all, preserved by some considerate hand with varnish and wax.( Knowles 9)" He implies how the coat of varnish covers up the school like a mask hiding a the past.

~During the time that Gene attends Devon school, World War 2 is going on." Perhaps the school wasn't as well kept up in those days; perhaps varnish, along with everything else, had gone to war." If the varnish were to symbolize a mask on the school and it had gone to war with everything else, than what would be left? In writing and literature class we discussed how if the varnish was a mask and it took good and everything with it to war then that would have to mean that only bad is left. This bad is the fear that Gene states throughout the story, " Fear had surrounded and filled the days , so much of it that I hadn't even known it was there. ( Knowles 9)"