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A Separate Peace Essays

It is very inevitable that somewhere in our lives, we have been touched by a special bond called “friendship”. That special bond might happen in the most unusual time and place. It might even be connected not just with love, but also with envy and selfishness. A Separate Peace is a timeless novel...

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A Separate Peace: Social Stereotypes Thesis: The five main characters in John Knowles' A Separate Peace represent social stereotypes, according to some people. In his book A Separate Peace, John Knowles represents jocks with Phineas, a character who believes that sports are the key to life...

A Separate Peace: Three Symbols The three dichotomous symbols in A Separate Peace by John Knowles reinforce the innocence and evil of the main characters, Finny and Gene. Beside the Devon School flow two rivers on opposite sides of the school, the Naguamsett and the Devon. The Devon provides...

A Separate Peace: Contrasting Gene and Phineas and the Struggle for Power Julie Gibson John Knowles' A Separate Peace depicts many examples of how power is used. In A Separate Peace, two opposing characters struggle for their own separate might. Gene Forrester, the reserved narrator, is weakened...

Peace only comes at the price of great struggle and sacrifice for most people. In essence, it only comes when you have defeated the enemy, or the enemy has defeated you. John Knowles was able to capture the subtle goal and essence of his novel by titling it A Separate Peace. A Separate Peace is a...

A Separate Peace is a remarkable story about the relationship between two young students, Gene and Phineas. Their friendship develops through the formation of secret societies and late night card games. A tragic event, at first glance an accident, changes their lives forever. As the story unfolds...

"? It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart. " The background of "A separate Peace" is the Second World War and the focus of book is a group of sixteen-year-old boys who are moving...

A Separate Peace Dealing with enemies has been a problem since the beginning of time. "I never killed anybody," Gene had commented later in his life, "And I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform, I was on active duty all my...

Difference Too Often Leads to Hate Many times in the world, differences have lead to hate. Think of Martin Luther King, for example, who stood for fighting against one of the largest differences. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is one of many examples of differences leading to hate. Gene and...

A Separate Peace Obstacles after obstacles came in the path to success. In the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles revealed a very strong idea through one of his characters. Through Gene it was revealed that weak individual who once was weak morally and mentally can become a strong and a more...

A Separate Peace: Friendship, Conformity, and War We have all experienced friendship in our lives; some of these bonds were lasting and others were not. A Separate Peace is a book that deals with the friendship of high school boys. These boys attend an all-boy’s school called Devon School...

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"He was everywhere, he enjoyed himself hugely, he laughed out loud at passing sea gulls"(39). This line is describing Phineas, or Finny, and how he lives life to it's fullest and seizes the day. Finny is an example of living the "carpe diem" (seize the day) philosophy from the movie "Dead Poets...

In John Knowle's A Separate Peace, symbols are used to develop and advance the themes of the novel. One theme is the lack of an awareness of the real world among the students who attend the Devon Academy. The war is a symbol of the 'real world', from which the boys exclude themselves...

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The novel A Separate Peace focuses mainly around a 17 year old named Gene Forrester and his psychological development. The story is set in a boys boarding school in USA during World War II. There are four main boys in the novel and they all undergo major character changes through the story. One of...

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Every person feels rivalry or competition towards others at some point in their lives. This rivalry greatly affects our ability to understand others, and this eventually results in paranoia and hostility. It is a part of human nature, that people coldly drive ahead for their gain alone. Man's...

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In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, one of the main themes is the effects of realism, idealism, and isolationism on Brinker, Phineas, and Gene. Though not everyone can be described using one of these approaches to life, the approaches completely conform to these characters to create one...

A Separate Peace Gene Forrester is a quiet, intellectual student at Devon School in New Hampshire. During the Summer Session of 1942, he becomes close friends with his daredevil roommate Finny, who has a talent for getting away with mischief through his sincere, disarming charisma. Finny prods...

Nathan Gourley Pd2 4/25/00 In John Knowles book A Separate Peace he communicates how the war in him was taking its toll on him. He uses the characters in a complicated plot to show the destructive forces of war. The characters, Gene and Finny, are the opposing forces in a struggle between the...

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Most stories' titles give readers some insight of what the story will be about. This important concept is seen in the novel, A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles. In general the setting is its own separate peace. There are also specific examples of when characters in the novel try to create...

Gene Forrester's difficult journey towards maturity and the adult world is a main focus of the novel, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. Gene's journey begins the moment he pushes Phineas from the tree and the process continues until he visits the tree fifteen years later. Throughout this...

A Separate Peace

John knowles, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

John Knowles’s A Separate Peace is a novel about violence and rancor even though Gene , its protagonist, never actually faces battle. The book begins as news of World War II sweeps over Gene and his best friend, Finny , infiltrating their final summer term and academic year at the Devon School . Despite the constant presence of the war, though, Finny and Gene exist in the halcyon days of youthful innocence, focusing on schoolboy antics and their blossoming friendship. In this regard, they resist the war’s looming influence, simultaneously maintaining and creating a sense of peace that exists separately from the rest of the world. Given this innocence, then, it’s surprising when Gene develops a secret rivalry with Finny, convincing himself that Finny is trying to become a more well-rounded student than him. Thinking this way, Gene causes Finny to fall off a tree overhanging the river, sending his friend plummeting to the bank. This fall changes the course of Finny’s life, and as the consequences of this ugly act reverberate throughout the novel, Gene comes to see that any sense of enmity in his relationship with Finny has sprung from his own toxic sense of rivalry. In turn, A Separate Peace focuses not only on the encroaching influence of literal war on young men like Gene, but also on the internal wars that humans often wage with themselves and their loved ones—wars that ruin a person’s ability to enjoy the simple beauty of things like friendship and innocent happiness.

As 17-year-olds, growing up for Gene and Finny means hurdling toward World War II. As they pass an idyllic summer at Devon, they’re well aware that they’re destined to join the military when they turn 18, as evidenced by the fact that Gene refers to the boys a year older than him as “draft-bait” who might as well already be considered soldiers, since their lives have been consumed by training regimens and a “physical hardening regimen.” Finny and Gene, though, have not yet reached this point, leaving them free to experience the simple pleasures of adolescence. And yet, they can’t ignore what’s happening to the students just one year older than them, which is why Finny suggests that they should jump from a tree overhanging the Devon River—a task that the older boys must complete as part of their pre-military training. This desire to take part in the same exercises as the “draft-bait” students indicates that Finny and Gene are already entangled in the war effort, even if their experience of it is—for the time being—remote and abstract. No matter their age, it seems, they can’t avoid thinking about and preparing for the war.

As the war rages on outside the sheltered environment of Devon, Gene experiences another kind of rivalry. Although he and Finny are affectionate best friends enjoying what will most likely be their last summer as innocent adolescents, a bitter kind of enmity works its way into Gene’s mind. Knowing that Finny is well-liked and the best athlete in school, he starts to suspect that his best friend doesn’t want him to do too well in academics, thinking that Finny wants to be the most well-rounded student in school. This occurs to him because Finny is always trying to distract him from his studies, constantly convincing him to have fun instead of preparing for tests or completing his homework. Consequently, Gene decides that his friendship with Finny isn’t really as innocent as it seems. With this mindset, he senses that he and Finny are “both coldly driving ahead for [themselves] alone,” seeing their friendship not as a beautiful relationship with mutual affection, but as a competition based on self-interest. In other words, he applies the antagonism inherent in war to his bond with Finny, taking cues from the outside world in a way that destroys the insulated, blissful peace that he and Finny have managed to maintain in spite of World War II’s reigning influence.

Driven by this sudden sense of rivalry, Gene unthinkingly causes Finny to fall out of the tree. In doing so, he ends Finny’s athletic career, thereby taking away the thing his friend loves most. And though Finny seems to willfully forget that Gene most likely caused his fall, he later finds himself unable to process his emotions when it finally becomes clear—at the end of their senior year—that Gene acted against him. In fact, he’s so flustered by this realization that he falls down a set of stairs, an accident that ultimately leads to his death in the school infirmary. By calling attention to this chain of events, Knowles illustrates the devastation that rivalry can bring to otherwise healthy relationships, since Finny’s injury and death can be traced back to Gene’s misplaced resentment in the tree that fateful summer day.

At the beginning of the novel, Gene romanticizes the idea of joining the military and fighting in World War II. By the end, though, he tries to avoid any actual fighting, enlisting only so that he can join the safest branch of the military (instead of waiting to get drafted, which might put him on the front lines). This change of heart suggests that he has learned that only sadness, loss, and regret come from embracing the kind of rivalrous mindset that war requires. After all, he allowed this kind of thinking to steer his relationship with Finny, and now Finny is dead. Simply put, he comes to believe that wars are made “by something ignorant in the human heart.” Indeed, it is this emotional ignorance—this bitterness and inability to appreciate love—that he has allowed to leak into his friendship with Finny. And in doing so, he has ruined the “separate peace” that their relationship afforded him, proving that the kind of enmity that accompanies war and rivalry is destructive and tragic.

War and Rivalry ThemeTracker

War and Rivalry Quotes in A Separate Peace

Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence. Changed, I headed back through the mud. I was drenched; anybody could see it was time to come in out of the rain.

I think we reminded them of what peace was like, we boys of sixteen […]. We were careless and wild, and I suppose we could be thought of as a sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve […]. Phineas was the essence of this careless peace.

To keep silent about this amazing happening deepened the shock for me. It made Finny seem too unusual for—not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry. And there were few relationships among us at Devon not based on rivalry.

I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone […]. I felt better. We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all.

He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he.

Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud. It was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make. With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten.

Across the hall […] where Leper Lepellier had dreamed his way through July and August amid sunshine and dust motes and windows through which the ivy had reached tentatively into the room, here Brinker Hadley had established his headquarters. Emissaries were already dropping in to confer with him.

In the same way the war, beginning almost humorously with announcements about [no more] maids and days spent at apple-picking, commenced its invasion of the school.

To enlist. To slam the door impulsively on the past, to shed everything down to my last bit of clothing, to break the pattern of my life […]. The war would be deadly all right. But I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me.

So the war swept over like a wave at the seashore, gathering power and size as it bore on us, overwhelming in its rush, seemingly inescapable, and then at the last moment eluded by a word from Phineas; I had simply ducked, that was all, and the wave’s concentrated power had hurtled harmlessly overhead.

It wasn’t the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and separate peace.

Fear seized my stomach like a cramp. I didn’t care what I said to him now; it was myself I was worried about. For if Leper was psycho it was the army which had done it to him, and I and all of us were on the brink of the army.

You’d get things so scrambled up nobody would know who to fight any more. You’d make a mess, a terrible mess, Finny, out of the war.

I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there. Only Phineas never was afraid, only Phineas never hated anyone.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles Essay

Introduction, the summary of the novel, the characters of the book, the themes of the novel, personal opinion, reference list.

Despite covering the period of World War II, the novel A Separate Peace , the author of which is John Knowles, does not narrate about military campaigns and battles. Instead, it seems to draw a parallel between an external war and an internal struggle within an individual. This essay will give a summary of the novel, describe its main characters, dwell on the issues raised in the book, and provide a personal opinion.

The events of the book are set in the Devon School during World War II. The narrator, Gene Forrester, was 16 years old at that time and had a friend, Phineas, or Finny for short. Finny liked to jump from a tree into the nearby river and encouraged Gene to do the same even though he was scared of it. Finny was so excited about this activity that he organized the Suicide Society. To join it, other boys had to jump from the tree into the water. Perhaps, this occupation was attractive because the school rules forbade it.

Finny was the best athlete in Devon, and Gene wanted to be the most successful student to resemble his friend. Gene, therefore, contributed much time and effort to his studies, but as he was continuously distracted by Finny, he thought that his companion intended to thwart his progress. Gene’s grievance against his friend led to deplorable consequences. When Finn asked his friend to jump from the tree with him once again, Gene impulsively shook the branch, on which they were standing. Finn fell off the tree and damaged his leg, which brought an end to his athletic career.

While Finny was in the hospital, Gene befriended Brinker Hadley, who jokingly accused him of injuring his mate on purpose. However, this new friend turned out to be an enemy. One night, when Finny was already out of the hospital, Brinker gathered him and Gene in the Assembly Room and conducted a trial, during which Finn became convinced of his friend’s blame for his injury. He rushed out of the room angrily, but fell on the stairs and broke his wounded leg. The following day, Gene managed to talk to his companion and explain to him that he had made the accident happen due to an impulse, not on purpose. The friends made peace, but after a while, Finn died during an operation. Gene returned to Devon 15 years later and remembered all the described events. The novel ends with his reflections about enemies, peace, and war.

The first main character of the novel is Gene Forrester, the narrator. In his youth, he was “a somewhat athletic, shy intellectual” (S tudy guide , 2015, p. 1). Gene admired his friend’s sports achievements and the ability to talk others into ventures, and it inspired him to improve his academic record to become the best student. However, this desire caused him to develop envy and resentment since he suspected Finny of hindering his studies. These feelings induced a sudden urge that made Gene drop his friend off the tree. Gene did not do it intentionally as he regretted that deed and felt guilty. Perhaps, his self-blame was so strong that he no longer wanted to be himself and subconsciously denied his identity. In the end, he identified himself with his dead friend, which is apparent from the scene of the burial: “I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case” (Knowles, 2014, p. 194). Thus, Gene was not inherently evil, and the sense of guilt made him despise his personality.

Another main character is Phineas, Gene’s best friend and roommate. Although he tended to disobey rules and instigated others to do the same, he was a good-natured boy. He trusted his friend, which was why he did not believe Gene’s confession that he was to blame for Finny’s injury. Gene was dear to Phineas since the latter forgave his mate quickly even after he learned that his invalidism was Gene’s fault. Thus, Finny was a kind-hearted and genuine person who became a victim of circumstances.

The novel also has an antagonist, Brinker Hadley, who has the leadership among students. His obsession with discipline and will to justice made him reveal the truth about Finny’s fall. Probably, he is partly responsible for Finny’s death because Finny would not have hurt himself once again if he had not been enraged by the trial. Brinker also expressed his interest in war throughout the novel, but eventually, he seemed to become disappointed in it and rejected it.

One of the main themes of the book is warfare, as its events happen in the time of World War II. However, there is also another battle depicted in the book. Gene wages his internal struggle because he has contradictory feelings toward his friend. He wavers between admiration and jealousy, affection and hatred, friendship, and rivalry. Eventually, he concludes that people are apt to make enemies of those who do not intend to harm them. Perhaps, this is the reason for many conflicts and wars.

Another theme concerns rules and the consequences of disregarding them. The novel shows clearly that all the troubles began when Finny decided to jump from a tree, which was a prohibited activity. Sansom (2018, pp. 22-23) considers this plant symbolic and compares it to the biblical tree, which was also forbidden for Adam and Eve to approach. Thus, the book conveys the thought that rules are invented for a reason, and disobeying them may lead to grave consequences.

Finally, the novel raises the issue of such feelings like fear and jealousy. The first sensation is related to the war, as adolescents realize that one day, they may have to fight as soldiers. It also refers to the fear of oneself, when a human understands what terrible deeds he is capable of. The novel depicts that a person consumed with envy may represent a threat to the object of his or her jealousy. Thus, people should be aware of their feelings and prevent negative ones from affecting their behavior.

Apart from the themes mentioned above, the novel shows examples of good and bad friends. Finny represents a person capable of true friendship since he enjoys being together with his companion. Gene, on the contrary, is an example of an unworthy friend because, despite his admiration for Finny, he considered him his rival and envied him, which made their relationship unhealthy. According to Rini (2016, p. 1451), if man rates someone among his friends but subconsciously dislikes him, chances are that in a complicated situation, he will not decide in favor of their friendship. The novel, therefore, teaches that friendly relation implies sincerity and absence of internal grievances that may cause a person to spite his or her mate.

In conclusion, it should be said that the book is worth reading because it raises the essential problems that people face in their everyday life. Perhaps, after reading this novel, readers will review their attitude to their friends and enemies. The book will be of particular interest to adolescents since its main characters are juveniles who try to find their place in this world and solve interpersonal problems that are common at this age.

Knowles, J. (2014) A separate peace . New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Rini, R. A. (2016) ‘Why moral psychology is disturbing’, Philosophical Studies , 174(6), pp. 1439-1458.

Sansom, J. (2018) ‘The tree of panic in A separate peace ’, Kansas English , 99(1), pp. 22-24.

S tudy guide for John Knowles’s ‘A separate peace’ (2015) Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning.

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A Separate Peace John Knowles

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A Separate Peace Essays

An analysis of the dissimilarity between phineas and brinker anonymous, a separate peace.

While World War II rages in Europe, a different type of struggle affects the young students at an all-boys private boarding school. "A Separate Peace", by John Knowles, outlines the emotional struggle at Devon during the 1942 summer and winter...

Growing Up in A Separate Peace Gabriella Calvino 11th Grade

As Ernest Hemingway once wisely proclaimed, “All things truly wicked start from innocence” (Hemingway 73). The truth in Hemingway’s words is that most everything does begin as pure and true, and only through a series of components does it turn...

Dramatic Change in A Separate Peace Duncan McLarty 11th Grade

High school is a time for great physical, mental, and emotional changes in youth. Some students experience a one-foot height change, others, an epiphany. These changes happen over the course of high school, but can be brought about quickly under...

The Before and the After: Finding Identity in the Midst of War Sarah Chow 10th Grade

Everyone, at some point, has an experience that so profoundly alters his or her life that it seems to define time itself. For many Americans, the tragic terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 fractured life into two pieces: before...

The Boarding School Microcosm: The Unrealistic Portrayal of “Real Life” in the Institutions of Young Adult Literature Kelly Bergh College

Young adult novels set at boarding schools typically feature protagonists that encounter trials not necessarily representative of life outside of fiction on their journey towards adulthood. Rather, these texts amplify struggles and cause problems...

One Tree, Hidden Meanings: A Close Reading of Symbolism in A Separate Peace Anonymous 10th Grade

Everyone has a specific object or place that immediately floods them with memories. Whether it be the stretch of road where they crashed or a pencil they used to pass a huge test, these items are everywhere. The memories they hold can be painful...

Symbolic Wages of War Emily McCarthy 10th Grade

As children begin to age and minds start to mature, they are able to comprehend that the world can be a trying place full of crime, death, and war. The older a person gets, the more responsibilities and problems they will encounter. Some may never...

Opposites Attract: Duality as Expressed Through Character and Imagery in 'A Separate Peace' Anonymous 9th Grade

Only when we compare something to its opposite can we see the true value of an object. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, duality is a very important motif that helps set the theme of the entire book. Gene and Finny are two very different...

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My thesis statement for "A Separate Peace" is this: "The relationship between Gene and Phineas drastically changes as the story progresses." The girl who corrected my paper said this is not a thesis statement, but I think it is. Who is correct?

In the story it should be possible to show what the relationship was at the of of the story. Then contrast the relationship at the beginning with the relationship at the end of the story.

That the relationship has changed can be easily supported. Next provide the reader with examples of changes. Define a drastic change. Then compare the the changes in the story with your definition of a drastic change.

Not only do you have a thesis, it should be possible to prove your thesis.

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Singapore’s Riches Grew Under Its Leader. So Did Discontent.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is stepping down after nearly 20 years, oversaw astounding successes, but some Singaporeans want a different kind of politics.

By Sui-Lee Wee

Reporting from Singapore

Singapore was once known as an affluent and strait-laced city-state. Today, it’s a glitzy international destination. It has hosted Taylor Swift concerts and Formula One night races. And it is substantially richer, per capita, than the United States.

That transformation happened under Lee Hsien Loong, the Southeast Asian country’s third prime minister. He made Singapore even more prosperous by largely following the semi-authoritarian and free-market model pioneered by his father, Lee Kuan Yew , the country’s first leader.

On Wednesday, Singapore gets a new leader for the first time in nearly 20 years. Mr. Lee, 72, is handing the office to his deputy, Lawrence Wong, 51. Their People’s Action Party has governed Singapore continuously for over six decades, and has had astounding successes. But there are concerns that the vaunted “Singapore model” is failing more and more people.

Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but it does not have a minimum wage. Housing prices have surged, and many Singaporeans say social mobility has dropped considerably. Others complain that freedom of expression is still tightly controlled, if less so than before. The strains are exacerbated by the need for overseas workers; about 40 percent of Singapore’s nearly six million people are not citizens.

Compared to his famously strict father, Mr. Lee showed flexibility and responsiveness to the public’s demands, but the P.A.P.’s popularity took a significant hit during his tenure. Nonetheless it remains, for now, firmly ensconced in power.

Mr. Wong has tried to project an everyman image: He was raised in public housing, did not attend the same elite schools as his predecessors, and loves playing the guitar. Mr. Lee will stay on as “senior minister,” as his father did after stepping down in 1990. Mr. Lee has said that his children are not interested in entering politics.

Earlier this month, Mr. Lee gave his last major address to the nation at an icon of the new Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands casino resort.

“When I was sworn in as P.M., I promised to build a more inclusive Singapore: one where it is not every man for himself, but everyone working together to make things better for all of us,” he said.

A few hours later, a scene unfolded nearby that would have been unimaginable a few decades earlier. Hundreds had gathered for a rally at Speakers’ Corner, the one place in the city-state where Singaporeans can protest without a permit. Among them were delivery workers, bus drivers and health care workers, and many wore fluorescent yellow safety vests, evoking a French anti-government movement .

Addressing the crowd, Kokila Annamalai, an activist, said the P.A.P.-led government had built systems that “have always protected the wealthy, not the working class.” Singapore, she added, is “a playground for the rich while the poor are squeezed into tiny rental flats.”

The P.A.P. is one of the world’s most dominant political parties. Its ministers are paid high salaries, which the party says prevents corruption. It transformed Singapore from a backwater swamp into a first-world nation and a key cog in global maritime trade. Gross domestic product is about $83,000 per capita, compared with roughly $76,000 in the United States. The city-state, a major financial hub, deftly managed the coronavirus pandemic and rising tensions between the United States and China.

But discontent has been growing. In the 2020 election, the P.A.P.’s share of the popular vote reached a new low of 61 percent, and the opposition won a record 10 seats in Parliament, out of 93 that were up for grabs.

Choo Yi Hung, 30, has never voted for Mr. Lee’s party. Two years after graduating from college with a degree in English language and linguistics, he delivers food and tutors students, making about $2,400 per month. He still lives with his parents; he would like his own apartment, but that is out of reach. He can’t buy a public housing flat from the government until he gets married or turns 35. Not that he can afford one.

Mr. Choo contrasts his predicament with that of his grandmother, who raised five children in the 1960s as an uneducated widow. Her descendants now have lifestyles that he described as “comfortably middle class,” with some owning condominiums and cars.

“I guess a lot of people will say: ‘Yeah, you grew up in a more developed country, a wealthier country,’” Mr. Choo said. “But I would argue that the opportunities for social mobility are far, far less.”

Mr. Lee once said that a two-party political system was “not workable” in Singapore. But in 2020, he formally established the position of opposition leader in Parliament and made concessions that allowed the opposition bloc to control 12 seats, more than the 10 it had won.

“He knew that if he wanted to maintain P.A.P.’s dominance — which I think he has largely done — he had to manage the pace of change,” said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University.

On the social front, perhaps the most sweeping change that Mr. Lee made was repealing a colonial-era law that banned consensual sex between men.

“At least there’s a sense of ‘We can do this now,’ and that ultimately we are not criminals anymore,” said Leow Yangfa, the executive director of Oogachaga, an L.G.B.T.Q. rights group.

But Mr. Lee also moved to cement the definition of marriage as a heterosexual concept. Public discussion of race and religion remains tightly controlled, and rights groups say the government is still combative with its critics. In 2021, Singapore’s High Court ordered a blogger to pay Mr. Lee about $100,000 for defamation . (The New York Times Company apologized and paid fines in 2010 and in the mid-1990s to settle libel claims brought by Singaporean officials over opinion articles.)

Critics say the government has weaponized a law it says was designed to combat fake news.

“You never know when or what you’re going to say is going to run afoul of the authorities,” said Joel Tan, a playwright and podcaster.

In a statement, the Singapore government said it had increased engagement with the public. It also laid out its philosophy on free speech.

“Freedom of expression is an important part of Singapore’s constitution, but it does not confer on Singaporeans an unqualified right,” the statement said. “In situations where it affects the safety and security of people in Singapore, and the peace and harmony that Singapore enjoys, the government does and will intervene.”

For some, Mr. Wong’s appointment is encouraging.

“We don’t have a Lee anymore, but we also have a nontraditional type of leader,” said Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, the editor in chief of Jom, an independent online magazine about Singapore. “I do like that.”

In recent years, Mr. Lee had to contend with a public feud with his siblings and a series of scandals within the P.A.P . that sullied the squeaky-clean image the party projects. But he leaves office as a popular leader.

Zoe Tan recalled seeing Mr. Lee mingling with residents in Teck Ghee, a district in northern Singapore. “He’ll walk the market and is very humble,” Ms. Tan said. “He will take pictures with us.”

On two separate occasions, Ms. Tan said, she emailed the prime minister to ask for a grace period for housing payments. Both times, his office made quick arrangements to help her.

“I feel very sad Lee Hsien Loong is going to retire, I thought he was going to continue forever,” said Ms. Tan, who now works for Singapore’s Community Development Council.

In his speech at Marina Bay Sands, Mr. Lee suggested that political change could threaten Singapore’s prosperity.

“The system does not have to fail outright for Singapore to get into trouble,” he said. “If our politics becomes like other countries, we will end up worse than other countries.”

Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region. More about Sui-Lee Wee