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Publication Novel is based on a short story called “Phineas,” that Knowles published in Cosmopolitan in 1956 Rejected 11 times Finally published in 1959 in London and 1960 in the United States
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Author: John KnowlesAuthor: John Knowles
• Born September 16, 1926 in West Virginia
• Novel is based on his experience attending an all-boys prep school in New Hampshire
• Served in the Air Force, graduated from Yale in 1949, then worked for several magazines as both a writer and a critic
PublicationPublication
Novel is based on a short story called “Phineas,” that Knowles published in Cosmopolitan in 1956
Rejected 11 times Finally published in 1959 in London and
1960 in the United States
What the Critics Said…What the Critics Said…
Immediate praise from reviewers Compared to J.D. Salinger’s Catcher
in the Rye (1953) By the 1960s a major part of high
school English curriculums
Post-PublicationPost-Publication
• Sold more than nine million copies to date
• Still one of the most popular texts studied in high schools
• Knowles went on to publish several other novels, including Peace Breaks Out, a sequel to A Separate Peace (retained the Devon School setting but had a different cast of characters)
Historical ContextHistorical Context
Novel takes place in the 1940s shortly after the United States had declared its involvement in WWII; had troops in Europe and the Pacific
War brought out patriotism in all Americans All 18 year old males were made to register for
the draft Going to war was a constant concern for young
men; draft dodging was unthinkable
Historical ContextHistorical Context
Educational opportunities limited for African Americans and women
All-white, male prep schools were an upper class student’s best chance to get into the best private universities
Pressure to succeed at these prep schools was great
SettingSetting
Set in 1942 at a boy’s boarding school, Devon School, in New Hampshire
Story is told as a flashback from the perspective of an older Gene
CharactersCharacters
Two best friends: Phineas and GenePhineas (Finny): athletic, reckless, charismatic Gene: intellectual, shy, competitive
Others: Elwin Lepellier (Leper), Brinker Hadley, Phil Latham, Mr. Ludsbery, Cliff Quackenbush, Dr. Stanpole
Theme TopicsTheme Topics
Coming of Age War Identity
Point of ViewPoint of View
Told in the first-person point of view by Gene
Now an adult, he is looking at things from a much wiser and more mature perspective.