A Separate PeaceA Separate Peaceby John Knowles

• Author Information

• About the Novel• World War II• Homefront • Life at Prep School• Characters• Conflicts• Subjects • Themes• Motifs• Dualities

Author Information• Born on September,

16,1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia

• Left home at fifteen to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire

• After graduation, he spent eight months in the U.S. Air Force, then enrolled at Yale University, which awarded him a bachelor’s degree in 1949.

Author Information• He worked as a journalist and free-lance writer

from 1950-1956.

• He traveled through Europe at this time and began to publish short stories.

• In 1957 he became an associate editor at Holiday magazine.

• Published his first novel, A Separate Peace, in 1960

• The success of this novel allowed him to resign his position as editor and devote his time to traveling and writing fiction

Author Information• He has published eight novels, a book on

travel, and a collection of stories.

• Lectured at Princeton University & University of North Carolina

• None of Knowles’ s later novels received critical and popular acclaim that greeted A Separate Peace

• Knowles often explores the effects of greed, competitiveness, and emotional repression on his characters, many of whom are affluent Americans.

About the Novel• Developed from his short

story “Phineas”• He began writing the

novel in 1954, when he was 28

• Eleven publishers in the U.S. rejected his manuscript before a London publisher finally accepted it

• Published in U.S. in 1960• Over 9 million copies

have been sold

About the Novel• It won the William Faulkner

Foundation Award for a notable first novel & the Rosenthal Award of the national Institute of Arts and Letters

• The character Gene Forrester is modeled after Knowles himself

• Phineas is modeled after his friend, David Hackett, a member of the 1948 U.S. Hockey Team

• According to Knowles, “By no means did all the incidents happen as portrayed, but the emotional truth of it comes out of my life.”

World War II• A Separate Peace is set against the background of

World War II, which lasted from?• 1939 -1945.• The war pitted the Allied against the Axis powers• Who were the Allied powers?• (U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, and France)• Who were the Axis powers?• (Germany, Italy, & Japan)• When did the U.S. enter the war?• In 1941 after Japan launched a surprise attack

against U.S. military installations at Pearl harbor, Hawaii

• Nearly every part of the globe was affected by fighting .

• Estimates of the number of people killed range from ?

• 35 million to 60 million.• Who were the Allied Leaders Mentioned in the

Novel?• Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain

• Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Force in exile

• Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese military and political figure

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of U.S.

• Joseph Stalin, Premier of Soviet Union

World War II on the Homefront• Teenage boys were more

sheltered than boys from Europe from the effects of World War II.

• Many however were preoccupied with the war for many of them were certain that they would have to serve in the armed forces.

• At many prep schools the Anticipatory Program was established to allow students to complete their high school education before they reached the draft age of 18.

World War II• The curriculum was altered

to emphasize subjects recommended by the armed services, such as trigonometry, foreign languages, first aid, Morse code, and rifle marksmanship.

• Knowles once described the loss of young teachers: “Most of the faculty was over 50 and there was not too much rapport between teachers and students. For the most part, we were left pretty much on our own.”

World War II• The U.S. started drafting men

in Sept. of 1940, a year before entering the war.

• All men between 18 and 64 had to register for service (the oldest drafted was actually 38).

• Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. soldiers were drafted.

• A few deferments were granted to men in the fields of agriculture and industrial jobs.

• Others were rejected due to medical problems.

Homefront• Although no battles

were fought in the U.S., World War II had a strong impact on civilian life.

• Women and minorities were encouraged to work in industries that they were once excluded from.

• Communities all over the nation organized scrap drives, collecting metal and other materials that could be useful for military production.

Homefront

Homefront• The government

rationed gasoline, rubber, and certain food products.

• Posters, motion pictures, and publicity events constantly reminded Americans of the need to remain united and support the war effort.

Life at Prep School

• The Devon School is modeled after Phillips Exeter Academy.

• There they learned social skills that will help them fill prominent roles in society.

• The students live on campus & the tuition approaches the level of ivy league schools.

• Schools resembled lavish country clubs with impressive architecture, first-rate sporting facilities, and grounds that stretch for hundreds of acres.

Life at Prep School• Since students live apart from their families,

they tend to form deep and lasting friendships.

• Life at prep schools can also be demanding with intense pressures to succeed, little free time, &. lack of privacy.

• For loners & less competitive students, adapting to this environment can be extremely difficult.

http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/109_519.aspx#id=Exeter%20Is...&num=1

Characters• Who was Gene Forester?

• Gene Forester- This character is the narrator & protagonist whose envy of Finny eventually leads to his untimely demise. He is also suspicious of Finny's motivations since his cynical attitude causes him to think that no individual could be as completely pure as Finny. So, he projects his own devious nature on other people.

Characters

• Who was Phineas?• Phineas- He is a nonconformist &

antagonist who fails to acknowledge school regulations and tradition. This free-spirited behavior is illustrated in his consistent lateness to dinner, wearing the school tie as a belt, wearing a pink shirt, and organizing the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session.

Characters• Who is Brinker

Hadley?• Brinker Hadley-This

character is an elitist student leader that is concerned about losing his power to Finny's popularity.He is politically inclined , somewhat conservative, and very concerned about the proper thing in any situation.

Characters

• Who was Edward Lepellier?• Edward Lepellier - He is an isolationist &

naturalist that was ridiculed by his classmates. He is important in the events of the novel since he was present when Finny "fell" from the oak tree. Leper surprises his classmates by choosing to enlist in the paratroopers after watching an army recruiter video, although he later deserts the army and returns to his Vermont home suffering insanity.

Characters• Chet Douglas, Bobby

Zane, & Brownie Perkins - minor characters. Each exemplify the perfect Devon student; obling and considerate, therefore having no hope of being “somebody.”

• Mr. Prud’homme, Mr. Patch-Withers, & Mr. Ludsbury- Devon teachers

Characters• Dr. Stanpole-is the kind-

hearted school physician who treats Finny’s injured leg and advises Gene on how to best help Finny.

• Phil Latham- school wrestling coach

• Mr. Hadley- Brinker’s father, proponent that one’s greatest privilege and greatest moment is to serve one’s country and one’s goal should be to achieve a

“military record you can be proud of.”

Conflicts• What are the major

conflicts?• Man vs. Man

(External Conflict) Gene vs. Finny

• Man vs. Himself (Internal Conflict) Gene vs. himself

• Man vs. Society Students vs. Challenge of becoming soldiers (face the reality of the war)

Subjects• Jealousy: Gene is envious

of Finny's natural athletic ability.

• Irresponsibility: Finny refuses to follow the school's regulations

• Denial: Finny denies that Gene pushed him out of the tree, since he believes that all people are innately good.

• Insecurity: Gene is insecure about his own ability and intelligence.

• Friendship: Gene & Finny are supposedly “best pals.”

Themes• Understanding conflict within yourself is a

necessary part of growing up.• Friendship grows through conflict, resolving

differences, forgiveness, and accepting strengths and weaknesses of each other.

• A person’s own insecurities may cause him or her to misinterpret a friend’s actions or words.

• Personal joys and pains are felt more strongly than even great public events, such as war.

• There can be no end to aggression and war and rivalry and hate, there can be no freedom on a worldwide scale, until each individual can confront and conquer the “ignorance” in his or her own heart-that fear of imagined enemies.

Symbols• **Tree - war; friendship; hostility & envy;

Garden of Eden, man’s fall from perfection

• Trip to Beach - friendship is declared and admitted; finny is the leader /role-model & Gene is the follower

• **The River-clean Devon=goodness vs. dirty Naguamsett=bad

• Blitzball-Finny’s interest in war & his leadership amongst other boys

• Devon School- U.S. isolation from fighting Europe at the beginning of the war

Symbols• Olympic Games- dream, Finny can no longer play

sports….it didn’t mean that he does not have any influence just because a direct participation is not possible

• The Trial- Finny learns the truth; Brinker tries to “convict Gene” who is also his competitor

• Woods- escape from Gene’s problems

• Finny- goodness, Christ

• Gene-savage, darker side of humanity

• Leper-gentle souls escape from the grotesque elements of reality by developing a mental illness

• Brinker- represents individuals who because of some change in perspective, become disillusioned with their former ideals; “Justice Incarnate”

Motifs

• “Rite of Passage”

• Eden

• Good vs. Evil…..rivers, paradise of Devon vs. rest of world, summer with Finny vs. winter without

Dualities• The two rivers…the upper clear, refreshing

stream vs. the lower, an ugly, salty marsh• War in Europe vs. Peace at Devon, the U.S.• Adulthood and Adolescence• Private vs. Public War• Life of Conformity/Discipline vs.Life of

Freedom/Spontaneity• Present Time vs. the Past• Studious Types vs. Athletic/ carefree types• Rococo (Rococo was characterized by an opulence, grace, playfulness, and

lightness) vs. Puritan architecture (plain style - a mode of expression characterized by simplicity, accessibility, and the absence of ornament)

• Army recruiters vs. teaching Masters

Archetypes:**a typical, ideal, or classic example of

something; something that serves as the model or pattern for other things of the same type