Characterization- My best friend

hmmmm... my best friend... well I have never really been the type of person to have just one best friend, I have a lot of really good friends.So I will write about the friend that I have know the longest... my friend Shana. Some of my earliest memories have been with Shana, and she has been there for as long as I can remember. Even though she lives far away on Lummi Island and I live here in Olympia, we have managed to keep up our friendship, despite the distance.

My friend shana has blondish, light brown hair, is around average height (but of course taller than me), and is very strong and in shape. She is 11 months older than me, and is almost like an older sister. She always knows what to do, what movies I should see, and is great at giving me advice on life. Shana would never attend a school dance or game, and rarely shops at the mall. She is an excellent ski racer, and could do almost anything athletic.

Shana is a very spunky opinionated person, and she doesn't care what others think of her. I admire her greatly for this, most people are not as confident as Shana is. She is also very independent and sure of herself. Maybe the reason that we have stayed friends for so long is becuase we make up for each others weaknesses. We are nearly opposites! Shana is very adventerous and athletic, while I am more cautious and acedemic. But yet we always find something fun to do when we are together. I think that Shana and I will always be friends, despite our differences.

My Earliest Memory

From the time I was born until I was almost three, my family and I resided on Lummi Island, a beautiful island off the coast of Bellingham, Washington. There were a close knit group of infants and toddlers living on the island when we lived there, and once or twice a week a different parent would care for a few of the children besides their own.

A lot of the time, I would go to my friend Shana's house while my mom ran errands and such. At the time, Shana and I were very much into baby dolls, bottles, and teddy bears, and Shana always had the best baby toys. She had a real pacifier, a bottle with cows on it, lots of dolls, and my favorite; a pink teddy bear that played music. I always wanted to play with the pink teddy bear, but she always told me that it was her "special" toy and I couldn't play with it. I distinctly remember her mom having to carry her off kicking and screaming because she wouldn't share her teddy bear with me. Whenever I get to see Shana, we always laugh about this incident, and to this day, she still has her special pink teddy bear.

A Separate Peace- Motif

In "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, the main literary element is by far motif. Over and over again the symbol of war occurs in Knowles' writing. In occurs in many different ways and forms. The main plot of the story is about the war between the main character (Gene) and his best friend, but while this war is happening, World War II is also a very big part of the boys' lives. Everyone is tangled in this web of war, and in almost every paragraph there is something mentioned about "The war". The story also revolves around Gene's inner war within himself. He wants to be a better person, and be more like his best friend Phineas, but he struggles with what he really believes, and who he really is.

Another major part of the story is the horror and consequences of war. You really begin to realize how terrible war is when one of Gene's friends goes crazy from being in the war. Also, you see how misunderstandings can lead to fighting and wars. Over the course of a year of Gene's life, he learns how wars are caused by the ignorance of human beings, and he begins to understand why people should not hate one another. He finally grasps the reason his friend Phineas was so remarkable; because he never hated anyone, and was not ignorant enough to start any wars.