6.0 English, A Separate Peace

As Gene walks to see the tree by the river, through the mud, he also describes the fog that hangs over the river. Again, it is possible to understand this weather condition as being symbolic. Gene is feeling confused as he searches for the one tree that has meaning to him, and at first he cannot find it. The fog symbolizes Gene's confusion.

Once Gene finds the tree, how does its appearance affect him? The tree looks small and feeble, which makes Gene feel "changed" Seeing the once-impressive tree looking so aged makes Gene realize that nothing lasts forever.

Soon after dismissing and alienating the young boy who accused him of pushing Finny from the tree, Gene makes up an excuse about needing to study French and leaves the room. Briefly, it does seem as if he's escaped and dispelled any notion that he was involved in Finny's fall. As he walks up the stairs, however, he hears someone say, "Funny, he came all the way down here and didn't even have a smoke."

What does the fact that someone notices that Gene came to the Butt Room but didn't even smoke suggest? Gene's behavior seems odd to the other boys. Gene's leaving the Butt Room without smoking is odd to the boys and suggests that Gene was trying to escape from them and their accusations.

With his appearance at the inquiry, Leper shatters every illusion that Devon is a place separate from the ugliness and pain of the outside world. No one, not even Gene, seems more affected by what Leper says than Finny. After all, Finny is the one character who is most attached to the idea of avoiding the unpleasant truths about life and the world outside of Devon.

What impact does Leper?'s blunt, matter-of-fact explanation of the fall have on Finny? Finny is stunned and gets up to leave the inquiry. Finny seems overwhelmed and begins to leave, simply stating that he doesn'?t care.

Immediately after this moment, Gene describes the war as sweeping over him like a wave that he managed to duck with Finny's help. He states that it did not occur to him that one wave is inevitably followed by another. Readers can recognize this moment as an example of foreshadowing.

What is Gene foreshadowing by reminding readers that waves become increasingly powerful when the tide is coming in? Gene is suggesting that he will not be able to avoid the war forever. The imagery here tells readers that, even though Gene avoided facing the war in this instance, he will have to face it at some point because it is not going away.

Coming-of-Age Story

a story in which the main character (either a child or someone who is childlike) goes through important trials that bring that character to adulthood

First-Person Point of View

narration of a story by one of the characters, using the first-person pronouns I and me

Later in the chapter, Gene ends up being thrown in the Naguamsett. Considering the changes in the mood of Devon at the start of the Winter Session, the absence of Finny, and how Gene depicts the Naguamsett earlier, why is it symbolically appropriate that this is the river he is thrown into?

The Naguamsett is affected by the outside world, never used by the boys in the summer. Just as the Winter Session is serious and strict, just as Finny's absence indicates a shift away from the freedom of summer, Gene being thrown into the Naguamsett signals his taking another step into a world that is not safe and isolated. Just as the Devon eventually flows into the Naguamsett, Gene is moving toward adulthood.

He weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, a galling ten pounds more than I did, which flowed from his legs to torso around shoulders to arms and full strong neck in an uninterrupted, unemphatic unity of strength.

This description is extremely positive. Here, Gene captures the beauty and self-contained strength of Finny's physique. Considering what has already been said about Finny's bravery, readers cannot help but be impressed by Finny.

The final chapter of the novel resolves the conflicts and shows readers the logical conclusion of many of the themes Opens in modal popup window that have been recurring throughout the story. One of these recurring themes is Gene's learning to accept himself and to deal with his inner conflicts. In this activity, you will answer questions about Gene's self-acceptance and how his inner conflict is resolved.

Tonight, you should review the novel and its major events, conflicts Opens in modal popup window , characters, and themes Opens in modal popup window . Tomorrow, you will complete the Unit Assessment on A Separate Peace.

After classes begin, Gene describes his walk to an appointment at the Crew House. On his way there, he pauses at the Devon River. At this point, he remembers Finny.

"As I had to do whenever I glimpsed this river, I thought of Phineas. Not of the tree and pain, but of one of his favorite tricks, Phineas in exaltation, balancing on one foot on the prow of a canoe like a river god, his raised arms invoking the air to support him, face transfigured, body a complex set of balances and compensations, each muscle aligned in perfection with all the others to maintain this supreme fantasy of achievement, his skin glowing from immersions, his whole body hanging between river and sky as though he had transcended gravity and might by gently pushing upward with his foot glide a little way higher and remain suspended in space, encompassing all the glory of the summer and offering it to the sky."

Gene continues to view Finny as a rival and enemy for several weeks. Nonetheless, he continues to attend every meeting of the Suicide Society and tries not to let Finny detect any change in their relationship. Then, one evening, Gene has another realization.

"I was facing a total stranger." This short sentence signals a change in Gene's view of Finny. He does not recognize Finny at this point, because Finny is not behaving as the enemy that Gene imagined him to be. ""I didn't know you needed to study," he said simply. "I didn't think you ever did. I thought it just came to you." It seemed that he had made some kind of parallel between my studies and his sports. He probably thought anything you were good at came without effort. He didn't know yet that he was unique." Finny's words destroy Gene's notion that Finny held any ill will toward him. Gene realizes that Finny was never pretending to be genuine or honest; he was just being himself. Gene also realizes that Finny is likely as impressed by Gene's academic brilliance as he is by Finny's athletic brilliance. "I couldn't quite achieve a normal speaking voice." This final line captures the impact that the realization that Finny is not his enemy has no Gene. He is flustered and thrown off by his own misjudgement of Finny.

Gene goes with Brinker to talk to Mr. Hadley *********** Room. The topic of conversation is the war and what role the boys will play in it. Mr. Hadley says that he envies the boys and the opportunity they have to fight in the war. He then asks Gene where he is enlisting, adding that there are many exciting opportunities.

"I was going to wait and be drafted," I replied, trying to be polite and answer his question honestly, "but if I did that they might put me straight in the infantry, Gene's response to Mr. Hadley is poised. He knows it is not the answer the older man is hoping to hear or one he will approve of, but Gene answers honestly. He does not feel intimidated or as if he must please Mr. Hadley. He no longer feels the need to exaggerate, as he once did with his height. and that's not only the dirtiest but also the most dangerous branch of all, the worst branch of all Gene gives his assessment of the infantry bluntly and without romanticizing the violence they face at all. This is in contrast to Mr. Hadley's view of participating in the fighting of the war. Again, Gene's view demonstrates his ability to see through the illusions to the truth. So I've joined the Navy and they're sending me to Pensacola. I'll probably have a lot of training, and I'll never see a foxhole, I hope." The fact that Gene has enlisted demonstrates that he is not running from his duty and responsibilities. He is not backing away from something difficult as he once did. However, he has a realistic view of the situation and admits that self-preservation is his highest priority.

Gene goes with Brinker to talk to Mr. Hadley *********** Room. The topic of conversation is the war and what role the boys will play in it. Mr. Hadley says that he envies the boys and the opportunity they have to fight in the war. He then asks Gene where he is enlisting, adding that there are many exciting opportunities.

"I was going to wait and be drafted," I replied, trying to be polite and answer his question honestly, "but if I did that they might put me straight in the infantry, Gene's response to Mr. Hadley is poised. He knows it is not the answer the older man is hoping to hear or one he will approve of, but Gene answers honestly. He does not feel intimidated or as if he must please Mr. Hadley. He no longer feels the need to exaggerate, as he once did with his height. and that's not only the dirtiest but also the most dangerous branch of all, the worst branch of all. Gene gives his assessment of the infantry bluntly and without romanticizing the violence they face at all. This is in contrast to Mr. Hadley's view of participating in the fighting of the war. Again, Gene's view demonstrates his ability to see through the illusions to the truth. So I've joined the Navy and they're sending me to Pensacola. I'll probably have a lot of training, and I'll never see a foxhole, I hope." The fact that Gene has enlisted demonstrates that he is not running from his duty and responsibilities. He is not backing away from something difficult as he once did. However, he has a realistic view of the situation and admits that self-preservation is his highest priority.

Now look at how Brinker is affected by the conversation with his father and Gene. Note how Brinker handles Mr. Hadley and his attitude and views about the war. Brinker says the following after Mr. Hadley leaves the Butt Room:

"I'm enlisting," he went on, "I'm going to 'serve' as he puts it, I may even get killed. But I'll be damned if I'll have that Nathan Hale attitude of his about it. It's all that World War I malarkey that gets me. They're all children about that war, did you ever notice?"

Read the excerpt and Select the buttons that follow to further understand Gene's behavior *********** Room trial.

"Lousy bet," I said offhandedly, falling into a chair as though losing interest in the game. "You lose. I guess you're Dr. Watson, after all." Gene's nastiness shows how, when cornered, he lashes out. His offhanded way of talking and flopping into the chair indicate he is only pretending to be unconcerned. They laughed at him a little, and he squirmed and looked guiltier than ever. He had a very weak foothold among the Butt Room crowd, and I had pretty well pushed him off it. Gene again uses imagery--his pushing the boy from a weak foothold--that recalls what he did to Finny. This reminds readers of the side of Gene that can hurt others. His glance flickered out at me from his defeat, and I saw to my surprise that I had, by making a little fun of him, brought upon myself his unmixed hatred. For my escape this was a price I was willing to pay. Gene accepts the young boy's hatred in return for not being thought responsible for Finny's fall, but it shows that hurting others has consequences for Gene.

What do readers learn about Leper during Gene's encounter with him?

"It's part of the whole wrong idea. They're ruining skiing in this country, rope tows and chair lifts and all that stuff. You get carted up, and then you whizz down. Leper's thoughts on downhill skiing are telling. While most young people would enjoy the excitement and speed of skiing fast, Leper finds it entirely "wrong." He does not like the idea of rushing to do things. You never get to see the trees or anything. Oh you see a lot of trees shoot by, but you never get to really look at trees, at a tree. I just like to go along and see what I'm passing and enjoy myself." Here, Leper explains why he does not like the idea of going too fast on skis. He feels as if doing things in such a rush prevents one from truly enjoying the trip and enjoying the little details that blur when one speeds by them.

Just as Leper's dislike of rushing through the woods while skiing tells readers much about his personality and his sensitive nature that is at odds with the increasingly adult demands being placed on the boys, readers can learn much about the character of Brinker Hadley by how he behaves. In many ways, Brinker is the opposite of Leper. Brinker is one of the leaders of the mock trial that Gene faces *********** Room, an outspoken boy who composes short, funny poems that trivialize the war. In doing so, it is as if he is suggesting that he is ready for the war, so unafraid and prepared that he can poke fun at it. Never is Brinker's supposed preparedness more obvious than when the boys are returning from their day spent shoveling snow.

"Just like a stag at eve," Brinker roared back. "It was a winter wonderland, every minute." Brinker's answer to Leper makes Leper look foolish. However, readers might also view Brinker's sarcasm as a signal that he is actually somewhat weak or insecure. And out of the side of his mouth, to me,"Everybody in this place is either a draft-dodging Kraut or...a..."the scornful force of his tone turned the word into a curse, "a nat-u-ral-ist!" He grabbed my arm agitatedly. Insulting the defenseless Leper makes readers view Brinker as someone who, like Gene, has the capacity to be cruel to others who are more innocent than he. "I'm giving it up, I'm going to enlist. Tomorrow." Brinker's threat to enlist is his way of saying that he feels he is no longer a schoolboy; he is an adult, mature and ready to fight in the war with men.

As Leper continues, the novel reaches its climax Opens in modal popup window . Leper's candid responses to the questions posed to him have a crushing impact on Gene and Finny. He compares the motion of Gene and Finny on the limb that day to an engine.

"The one holding on to the trunk sank for a second, up and down like a piston, and then the other one sank and fell." Someone on the platform exclaimed, "The one who moved first shook the other one's balance!" Leper's simple description of the fall is striking because it contrasts with the students' reactions from the platform and the importance of the revelation to the novel. Leper's explaining the incident in such an understated way allows readers to grasp the enormity of what he says for themselves. "I suppose so." Leper seemed to be rapidly losing interest. That Leper loses interest after explaining what happened is also telling. It reminds readers that Leper is the one person in the room who has experienced the reality of the world beyond Devon. His experiences make things like Finny's fall seem to him rather unimportant--child's play, perhaps.

Read the quotations from Leper before he joins the army and from after he joins the army. Explore to see the suggested response. "I will if I find what I'm looking for—a beaver dam. It used to be up the Devon a ways, in a little stream that flows into the Devon. It's interesting to see the way beavers adapt to the winter." Timid Peaceful Interested in nature Polite

"You always were a lord of the manor, weren't you? A swell guy except when the chips were down. You always were a savage underneath. I always knew that only I never admitted it." Aggressive Confrontational Bluntly honest Unintimidated

In this activity, you will focus on the depiction of Phineas. You will explore how Gene views his best friend and his accomplishments and behavior.

After Phineas breaks A. Hopkins Parker's swimming record, Gene is excited for his friend. He wants to call in an official timekeeper so that Finny can break the record again and be placed in the Devon record book. However, Finny insists that he doesn't want that. He says that he just wanted to see if he could break the record for his own sake. He also insists that Gene not tell anyone about his achievement. At this point, Gene says to Finny, "You're too good to be true." Though Gene does not elaborate on this point, it is a telling moment in the novel. Gene's statement is, in many ways, accurate. Finny's accomplishments and personality are extraordinary. At the same time, readers may also detect another level of meaning in Gene's statement. On the screens that follow, explore how different moments in the novel affect the way Gene and readers perceive Finny and why Finny is "too good to be true."

When Gene and Finny wake up on the beach at the start of Chapter 4, they go for a quick swim before getting back on their bikes. They return to Devon just in time for Gene to fail his trigonometry test. He tells readers that it was the first test he ever flunked. How does flunking this test, a failure that comes immediately after agreeing to skip studying to spend the day at the beach with Finny, affect Gene and affect his view of Finny? Complete this activity to explore the answer to this question.

After failing his trigonometry test, Gene is in a lousy mood. In a conversation with Finny, Gene has a realization. He conceives of a conflict and begins to think that Finny and he are both secretly trying to outdo one another.

Read the excerpt and select the buttons to explore how the changes in Devon affect Gene and affect the mood of the novel. As I crossed the Far Common I saw that it was rapidly becoming unrecognizable, with huge green barrels placed at many strategic points, the ground punctuated by white markers identifying offices and areas, and also certain less tangible things: a kind of snap in the atmosphere, a professional optimism, a conscious maintenance of high morale. I myself had often been happy at Devon, but such times it seemed to me that afternoon were over now.

As I crossed the Far Common I saw that it was rapidly becoming unrecognizable, with huge green barrels placed at many strategic points, the ground punctuated by white markers identifying offices and areas Tangible Changes: Here, Devon has literally changed. The new items are all there for the military's use, which reinforces the idea of the outside world and the war arriving at Devon. and also certain less tangible things: a kind of snap in the atmosphere, a professional optimism, a conscious maintenance of high morale. I myself had often been happy at Devon, but such times it seemed to me that afternoon were over now. Change in Atmosphere: The changes are more than just additions to the Devon landscape. The mood is no longer carefree, but one of "professional optimism," the kind that adults exhibit.

Read the excerpt and select the buttons to explore how the changes in Devon affect Gene and affect the mood of the novel.

As I crossed the Far Common I saw that it was rapidly becoming unrecognizable, with huge green barrels placed at many strategic points, the ground punctuated by white markers identifying offices and areas, Here, Devon has literally changed. The new items are all there for the military's use, which reinforces the idea of the outside world and the war arriving at Devon. and also certain less tangible things: a kind of snap in the atmosphere, a professional optimism, a conscious maintenance of high morale. I myself had often been happy at Devon, but such times it seemed to me that afternoon were over now. The changes are more than just additions to the Devon landscape. The mood is no longer carefree, but one of "professional optimism," the kind that adults exhibit.

In this activity, you will focus on Gene and how he has changed over the course of the novel. You will explore how he has come to accept himself and the world around him, and the ways in which he demonstrates his maturity in the discussion with Brinker and Brinker's father.

As you know, A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age story Opens in modal popup window . The plot follows Gene's passage to adulthood as the result of the experiences he has in his final year at Devon. If one views Finny's death as the symbolic Opens in modal popup window end of Gene's childhood, then one should view the final chapter of the novel as the readers' first glimpse of Gene as an adult. When observing Gene's behavior and outlook in the final chapter, readers can see the changes in his character from the earlier chapters in the novel. On the screens that follow, explore how Gene demonstrates his maturity in the conversation with Mr. Hadley, and the obvious differences between Gene and Brinker.

setting where and when a literary work takes place

As you know, the setting of a story refers to the time and place where the action occurs. Setting is important because it helps to define a story. Setting is one major factor in establishing what is and what is not believable within the context of the plot. For example, it is perfectly logical for a story set in the Old West to have characters who ride horses and work as cowboys. However, a story set on a space station in the future with the same characters doing the same things would be rather odd. John Knowles set A Separate Peace in America during the 1940s. As a result, the America of this novel is, in many ways, distinct from the America of today. Before you begin reading, it is worthwhile to learn a bit about some of these important differences. At the start of the 1940s, America was still trying to recover from the Great Depression. Despite programs created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to improve the economy by putting Americans to work, unemployment remained high. Additionally, World War II had begun in Europe. Much of the country was divided over whether the United States should enter into the war. While America clearly supported England and the Allies against the aggression of Germany, many people felt it was best for America to stay out of Europe's war. Then, on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan was fighting on the side of Germany at this time. Consequently, the attack swiftly triggered America's entrance into World War II. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, thousands and thousands of young men enlisted in America's armed services. Those young men who were too young to serve soon realized that they would be expected to fight when they came of age. America's entry into the war did not only affect those people who chose to join the armed services. The war had a major impact on the country's economy. American factories, many of which had struggled greatly during the hard times of the Depression, began to increase output to support the war effort. Automobile factories, for example, began to make tanks and other war vehicles. Naturally, these factories needed workers again, so employment increased. Today, it is generally accepted that it was World War II that truly pulled the United States out of the Great Depression. Of course, the war did much more than change the nation's economy. The war changed everyday life in America in the 1940s. A great number of consumer goods, such as women's stockings and denim clothing, along with food items like bacon, butter, and meat, were rationed. This meant that each person was only permitted to purchase a limited amount of these items. All these factors combined to shape the way Americans thought and behaved in the 1940s. Having lived through the hardships of the Depression, seeing the country attacked, and dealing with the conditions brought on by participating in World War II not only made people accustomed to sacrifice but also unified people by giving them a shared purpose or goal. This is the world that John Knowles writes about in A Separate Peace. As you read the novel, keep this background information in mind to help you better understand the experiences and attitudes of the book's characters.

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At the start of Chapter 9, Gene explains that what allows him to "lapse into Finny's version of peace" is his own sense of happiness and contentment to be at Devon with Finny. Gene says that his own happiness prevents the confusion of the outside world from having any impact on him. The Winter Carnival is Finny's way of helping the boys to briefly escape from the dreariness of winter and the approaching responsibilities of adulthood. The carnival is, in many ways, a return to the carelessness and youthfulness of the Summer Session, when Finny was the natural leader. Why does Leper's telegram have such a jarring effect on the Winter Carnival? The telegram is a reminder of the danger of the war, which Leper is already confronting. The boys have been joking about Leper and are enjoying themselves like they did in the summer, but the telegram brings reality crashing in on them. How is Leper changed when Gene goes to see him at his family's home in Vermont? Leper seems distant, angry, and scared, like a very different person than he was when he was at Devon. The changes in Leper give Gene a firsthand look at what the war can do to those who are not prepared for it. At the end of Chapter 10, Gene tells Leper to shut up because Gene is terrified by what the war has done to Leper, by what it might do to him. Leper is the only person Gene knows who has enlisted, and his condition is naturally frightening to Gene.

Now look at how Brinker is affected by the conversation with his father and Gene. Note how Brinker handles Mr. Hadley and his attitude and views about the war. Brinker says the following after Mr. Hadley leaves the Butt Room: "I'm enlisting," he went on, "I'm going to 'serve' as he puts it, I may even get killed. But I'll be damned if I'll have that Nathan Hale attitude of his about it. It's all that World War I malarkey that gets me. They're all children about that war, did you ever notice?"

Brinker makes these comments after his father has left the Butt Room. What does this response tell you about his character's maturity in comparison to Gene's maturity? Brinker's response demonstrates his immaturity. This is clear because he doesn't voice his objections to his father, but to Gene after Mr. Hadley leaves. If Brinker were as mature as Gene, he wouldn't speak behind his father's back. The other indicator of Brinker's immaturity is how emotional he becomes when disagreeing with his father. Brinker is not as secure or comfortable with entering the war as Gene, so he takes things more personally than Gene.

Brinker makes these comments after his father has left the Butt Room. What does this response tell you about his character's maturity in comparison to Gene's maturity?

Brinker's response demonstrates his immaturity. This is clear because he doesn't voice his objections to his father, but to Gene after Mr. Hadley leaves. If Brinker were as mature as Gene, he wouldn't speak behind his father's back. The other indicator of Brinker's immaturity is how emotional he becomes when disagreeing with his father. Brinker is not as secure or comfortable with entering the war as Gene, so he takes things more personally than Gene.

6.02 A Separate Peace CHECK YOUR READING

Devon seems like a museum to Gene when he first returns there after 15 years because it seems varnished and newer, more sedate and straight-laced than before. (Gene notices these things immediately, saying it bothers him because its preservation also preserved the fear that filled his time there.) What has Gene specifically returned to Devon to see? the marble stairs of the First Academy Building and a tree by the river (The stairs and the tree have the biggest impact on Gene when he sees them and send his mind into his past.) Which statement best describes Gene's view of Finny? Finny is athletic, strong, and honest and has a rebellious streak. (Finny's depiction in this section is quite flattering and sets him apart from the other boys.) Why is Finny frequently able to avoid getting in trouble when he breaks the rules at Devon? Finny's friendly nature and smooth-talking win over the teachers at Devon. (Finny is not just likable to the other students, but Devon's teachers are also charmed by him.) Gene mentions several times that the summer of 1942 was his sarcastic summer. He later remarks that, long after, he recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak. What can readers infer from this statement? Gene is admitting that he was weak during the summer of 1942. Gene's admission is important because it lets readers know that he can be trusted to eventually recognize his own shortcomings.

After noting that Finny doesn't know how to behave or feel when being helped, Gene realizes that he never saw this aspect of Finny before because

Finny saw Gene as an extension of himself. Because Finny saw Gene as an extension of himself, he was not self-conscious or uncomfortable when Gene helped him.

In this activity, you will focus on how Gene deals with Finny's injury. Explore the way Gene thinks and behaves as he grapples with his feelings of guilt and shame.

Finny's injury causes a crisis of conscience for Gene. He is filled with guilt and fear, naturally ashamed and sorry for jouncing the limb, but also not sure what will happen next. Before seeing Finny, Gene does not know whether Finny realizes what caused the fall, but he feels as if his friend must know the truth.

How does Finny's refusal to accept Gene's confession affect the way you view his character? Does he seem naïve, does she seem truly convinced that Gene is confused or incorrect, or is he in denial?

Finny's refusal to accept the truth can be viewed in several ways. His belief that Gene is his best friend suggests that he honestly does not think Gene caused his fall. Finny would never hurt Gene, so he naturally assumes that Gene would never harm him. Yet the fact that Finny did initially suspect that Gene caused his fall--a feeling he never spoke about--may indicate that, deep down, he knows Gene is telling the truth.

Because Finny is a natural leader, the others generally want to make a good impression on him. But, jumping from the tree is scary. Only Gene is willing to put his well-founded fear aside so that Finny will not think less of him. "When they torpedo the troopship," he shouted, "you can't stand admiring the view.Jump!" What was I doing up here anyway? Why did I let Finny talk me into stupid things like this? Was he getting some kind of hold over me? "Jump!" With the sensation that I was throwing my life away, I jumped into space.

Finny's shouts from below and his reference to the war help to create a sense of urgency that exerts additional pressure on Gene. A moment before jumping, Gene asks himself several questions. This demonstrates his discomfort with what he has agreed to do. He blames Finny for getting him into this situation. Gene's feeling at the second he jumps is telling. He is giving up control, and he has done so not because he wanted to, but because Finny demanded he do it.

In this activity, you will focus on how Finny's fall remains an important event in the novel. You will explore how the summer event becomes a part of life at Devon during the Winter Session.

From the time when Finny falls to when Gene returns to Devon for the Winter Session, Gene thinks a great deal about what happened to his friend and about his own guilt. However, after Finny refuses to accuse his friend of jouncing the limb, Gene does not have to confront the truth. Then, Brinker Hadley jokingly suggests that Gene hurt Finny on purpose so that he could have their room all to himself. Though Gene nervously tries to deny Brinker's claim, he ends up *********** Room being confronted in a type of mock trial. Explore Gene's behavior and feelings during this confrontation.

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Gene calls his experience in the Naguamsett a baptism and says that he had to wash after being thrown in, which he would not have had to do if he had fallen in the Devon. Since the Naguamsett is the river that is affected by the outside world, why is it appropriate that Gene is thrown into it in a fight? Gene is forced into this river, just as he and the others are being forced to face the impact of the world beyond Devon. Gene and the others will no longer be able to be isolated from the outside world and the war like they were when they played in the Devon River over the summer. Which of the following best describes Brinker Hadley at this point in the novel? Brinker seems to be the most mature or adult-like of the boys. Brinker's appearance, his manner of speaking, and his attitude all indicate his maturity. Which of the following demonstrates the increased maturity and adult behavior demanded of the boys? the day spent shoveling off the train tracks The boys are old and strong enough to do physical labor, and their work contributes to the war effort by allowing a troop train to continue on its journey. What does Finny's return to Devon signal to Gene? a return of the sense of peace that characterized Devon during the summer Gene's realization that enlisting and leaving Devon would mean abandoning Finny makes him again feel as though he is isolated from the outside world. Finny helps to keep him safe and apart from the war. On the morning when Gene finally finds his "rhythm" while running, when he finishes without even being winded, he describes Finny as suddenly appearing older and smaller to him. Why might Finny appear older and smaller to Gene at this point? Finny's tremendous athletic abilities do not seem so amazing to Gene after he realizes his own potential. Gene suggests that Finny may appear smaller because Gene's own achievement has made him feel bigger, as if he can do the same things that Finny could once do.

He was my height—five feet eight and a half inches

Gene compares himself to his best friend. By noting that he and Finny are the same height, Gene suggests that, upon first glance, there is nothing remarkable or striking in Finny's appearance.

When Brinker suggests that he is going to enlist, his statement has a profound effect on Gene. In this activity, focus on why the idea of enlisting grabs Gene's attention and how the events that immediately follow Brinker's statement change Gene's views on the notion of signing up for military service.

Gene describes the feeling he gets when Brinker states that he is going to enlist as a "thrill." Gene looks at joining the military as an opportunity to break the pattern of his life and slam the door on the past. Not that it would be a good life. The war would be deadly all right. Gene's recognition of the serious and deadly nature of war demonstrates that he is mature enough to realize that the war is not an easy escape from the past. But I was used to finding something deadly in things that attracted me; there was always something deadly lurking in anything I wanted, anything I loved. And if it wasn't there, as for example with Phineas, then I put it there myself. This further demonstrates Gene's maturity. He understands himself enough to admit that his personality is, in some way, attracted to dangerous and deadly things. But in the war, there was no question about it at all; it was there. One of the things that attracts Gene to the war is that, in the war, he will not have to inject danger, nor will he mistake who is the enemy, as he did with Phineas.

By telling ridiculous jokes about Leper, the boys make their only definite link to the war seem unrealistic. Of course, this is what most of the boys secretly desire. Since the joke about Leper is based on illusions, the boys who latch on to the illusions can escape the frightening reality of their situation. Gene says that Finny is the only one who does not participate in the jokes. The winter months drag on at Devon, and Gene describes how the weather remains snowy and depressing. Then Finny has an idea. He decides to organize the DevonWinter Carnival. Though Devon has never had a Winter Carnival before, Finny presses ahead as if he is only keeping with tradition, and soon the boys are enjoying themselves one snowy Saturday afternoon.

Gene leaves immediately after the telegram to go see Leper at his family's home in Vermont. When he arrives, he finds Leper much changed from his military experiences. The change is so drastic, so noticeable, that after one of Leper's outbursts, Gene even notes that, "None of this could have been said by the Leper of the beaver dam." On the next screen, compare descriptions of Leper before and after his enlistment in the military.

Still it had come to an end, in the last long rays of daylight at the tree, when Phineas fell. It was forced on me as I sat chilled through the chapel service, that this probably vindicated the rules of Devon after all, wintery Devon. If you broke the rules, then they broke you.

Gene links the freedom of summer with Finny's injury. Without rules and routines, tragedies occur. Such a view of the rules indicates an increasing maturity in Gene.

Appropriately, when Finny is gone and Dr. Stanpole confirms to Gene that the leg has broken again, the doctor shuts off the lights and Gene is left in darkness. The darkness is a symbol Opens in modal popup window for the confusion and sadness he feels as they take Finny to the Infirmary. Not sure what to do, Gene goes to the Infirmary and waits outside. While waiting, Gene begins to imagine what Dr. Stanpole, Phil Latham, and the night nurse are doing. To divert his mind from the seriousness of the situation, he begins to think funny thoughts. Gene finds his thoughts so funny that she starts laughing aloud: "I put my hand over my mouth; then I tried to stop my mouth with my fist; if I couldn't get control of this laughing they would hear me in the room. I was laughing so hard it hurt my stomach and I could feel my face getting more and more flushed; I dug my teeth into my fist to try to gain control and then I noticed that there were tears all over my hand."

Gene notices tears all over his hand just after he says that he could not stop laughing. What does this tell you about his character at this point? This moment shows how little control Gene has over his emotions at this point. He is careening between hysterical laughter and tears. His lack of control shows just how powerfully he has been affected by Finny's injury and just how much he cares about his best friend. It also demonstrates that, although he is trying to escape from the tragedy of Finny falling again by laughing, he cannot escape from the sadness of the circumstances.

Later, Finny again keeps Gene from considering the war. At first, it is just Finny's return that makes Gene abandon his plans. Once classes start, Finny actually has a theory about the war that he shares with Gene. Finny tells Gene that the war is not real; it is something made up by fat old men to keep people from enjoying themselves. When Gene rejects Finny's idea as preposterous, suggesting that if Finny keeps on like this Gene will have to send him to the Funny Farm, Finny persists. "In a way," deep in argument, his eyes never wavered from mine, "the whole world is on a Funny Farm now. But it's only the fat old men who get the joke."

Gene tells Finny that fat old men are not the only ones who get the joke if Finny gets it, too. And when Gene presses Finny, asking what makes him so special, Finny blurts out an answer. Go to the next screen to learn more.

After completing the jump, Gene is proud of himself, feeling as if he and Finny are on the same level. They begin to walk back to school together. However, when Finny suggests that Gene tends to back away from things, Gene gets defensive. He insists, "I've never backed away from anything in my life!" But immediately after insisting that he's never backed away, Gene acknowledges that Finny's observation is especially difficult to accept because it is completely true. As Gene admits this, he says that Finny "walked on, or rather flowed on, rolling forward in his white sneakers with such unthinking unity of movement that 'walk' didn't describe it." How does Finny's observation about Gene's tendency to back away from things, coupled with the way both boys react to Finny's saying this, affect the way you understand each of their characters?

Gene's denial of Finny's statement shows again his insecurity. Finny just walks on, confident that he has said what Gene knows to be true. This moment shows two sides of Gene. He is sympathetic because he, like most people, has difficulty admitting his flaws. Yet he tries to deny what is obviously true, so he seems less than honest. The exchange elevates Finny, who is above denying obvious truths because he is comfortable with himself.

Gene is a first-person narrator, so readers have only his perspective to relate this story. How do Gene's failure to admit his own flaws and his mixed feelings about Finny affect the way readers view his character and the relationship between Finny and him?

Gene's failure to admit his flaws calls his reliability into question. If he cannot admit his flaws, how can he be honest with readers? This question relates to Gene and Finny's relationship. Gene insists he does not harbor any grudge against Finny. However, whether it is because Finny influences Gene to jump from the tree or because he gets away with wearing the school tie as a belt, it is clear that Gene sometimes resents Finny.

In Gene's memory, Finny is again depicted as verging on supernatural. When balanced on the canoe, Finny was so impressive that it seemed to Gene that he might have been able to actually levitate. Considering what Gene did to Finny, why is Gene's musing over this possibility symbolically appropriate?

Gene's imagining that Finny seemed at times like he could defy gravity is symbolically appropriate because, of course, Finny is severely injured when he loses his balance and falls to the ground. By remembering a time when Finny's balance seemed so supreme, Gene comforts himself. It is as if he sometimes believed that Finny was not subject to the pull of gravity, that he never would fall.

I spent as much time as I could alone in our room, trying to empty my mind of every thought, to forget where I was, even who I was. One evening when I was dressing for dinner in this numbed frame of mind, an idea occurred to me, the first with any energy behind it since Finny fell from the tree. I decided to put on his clothes.... I was Phineas, Phineas to the life.

Gene's immediate reaction to Finny's fall is understandable. He wants to forget everything, including who he is. If he can forget this, he can forget what he's done. By dressing in Finny's clothes, Gene escapes from himself and symbolically becomes Finny. This is fitting since it was jealousy that caused Gene to jounce the limb.

How does Gene's view of Finny as a conniving phony fit with what you have seen of Finny so far? How does the fact that Gene is a first-person narrator affect your understanding of his new view of Finny? How does Gene's idea make you see Gene?

Gene's new view of Finny contrasts with the way Finny has been depicted to this point. If Finny caused problems for Gene, it always seemed unintentional and not malicious. Because Gene is a first-person narrator, readers may be influenced to accept his negative view of Finny. However, since there is no hard evidence of Finny's deviousness, readers may also view Gene as petty and his view as being rooted in jealousy.

Moments after Leper calls Gene a savage, he accuses Gene of intentionally knocking Finny from the tree, of crippling Finny for life. What does Gene's reaction tell you about Leper's evaluation of Gene's character?

Gene's reaction to Leper's accusation shows that Leper is accurate in his evaluation of Gene. Gene attacks Leper, even though what Leper says is true. Again, this is a reaction that readers have seen from Gene before. When he is accused or cornered, he lashes out. Later, when Gene suspects that Leper's mother probably thinks he is a good boy underneath it all, he admits that Leper is closer to the truth about his true character.

6.05 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 7 and 8 of A Separate Peace, you will focus on how life at Devon affects the characters as the Winter Session progresses, how Finny's fall continues to trouble Gene and remains an important conflict in the novel, and how Finny and his ideas fit at Devon when he is well enough to return to school. Remember to print the Student Guide so you can take notes as you work through the lesson. Also print the Journal Assignment for Lessons 5-8, which will be due in Lesson 8.

6.06 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 9 and 10 of A Separate Peace, focus on Leper's enlistment and its effect on the students at Devon. Then explore the concept of "a separate peace" and how Finny's Winter Carnival contrasts with Gene's encounter with Leper. How does Leper re-ignite Gene's own inner conflict?

In literature, it is common for light to symbolize Opens in modal popup window good, while it is common for dark to be associated with evil or danger. With this in mind, what does it mean when Leper describes one of the figures in the dark tree to be touching the black trunk and being anchored by it?

Leper's description of one of the boys as touching the trunk of the dark tree, anchored by it, suggests that this boy is better equipped to deal with or face the danger. This figure is literally in touch with one of the symbols of danger in the novel, and is therefore comfortable there. Gene, of course, is the one touching the trunk, and Gene has already said that he is naturally drawn to things that have something deadly about them.

As Finny climbs the tree, Gene describes his friend. Read this description and select the buttons to explore further how the details included help define more than just Finny's physical appearance.

He was my height—five feet eight and a half inches (I had been claiming five feet nine inches before he became my roommate, but he had said in public with that simple, shocking self-acceptance of his, "No, you're the same height I am, five-eight and a half. We're on the short side"). He weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, a galling ten pounds more than I did, which flowed from his legs to torso around shoulders to arms and full strong neck in an uninterrupted, unemphatic unity of strength.

(I had been claiming five feet nine inches before he became my roommate, but he had said in public with that simple, shocking self-acceptance of his, "No, you're the same height I am, five-eight and a half. We're on the short side").

Here, Gene veers from the physical description of Finny to capture another important part of his friend's personality. Finny is open, honest, and secure. He has no need to exaggerate his height as Gene used to do.

Did you notice how the author creates a different image of the Devon Gene remembers in the flashback? I went along beside him across the enormous playing fields toward the gym. Underfoot the healthy green turf was brushed with dew, and ahead of us we could see a faint green haze hanging above the grass, shot through with the twilight sun. Phineas stopped talking for once, so that now I could hear cricket noises and bird cries of dusk...

Here, the playing fields are covered in healthy green grass, rather than mud and icy puddles. There is no gusty wind or fog to make the walk unpleasant. Rather, it is a hazy, sunny summer day. The imagery in this section appeals to readers' sense of hearing, describing the crickets and birds chirping at dusk. Again, this description contrasts with the unpleasant conditions that Gene experiences in the same place 15 years later.

Read the excerpt and select the buttons to better understand Finny's response to Gene's question and the aftermath of this moment.

His face froze. "Because I've suffered" he burst out. Finny thinks the war is meant to keep people from enjoying life. His injury already keeps him from enjoying life, so he reasons that he can be in on the war "joke." We drew back in amazement from this. In the silence all the flighty spirits of the morning ended between us. Finny's outburst is sudden; Gene has never seen this side of his friend. As both boys draw back, one might think that Finny hasn't seen this side of himself either. He sat down and turned his flushed face away from me. Finny's actions indicate that he is ashamed. This builds sympathy for Finny, who is always trying to put on a brave face and not let others know how upset he is.

Finny's second fall is different from his first fall. This time, Finny falls after being confronted with an ugly truth about his best friend. Finny is no longer innocent or naïve because of the knowledge he now has.

How can the fact that Finny's second fall is down stairs that are noted by Gene for their "exceptional hardness? be viewed as symbolic? The hardness of the stairs is representative of the hard truth and ugly reality that Finny is forced to face about Gene. Just as Gene is confronted with the ugliness of reality when he is thrown into the Naguamsett, so do the dangerous hardness of the stairs affect Finny. This fall can be understood as a loss of innocence.

Earlier, you saw how Gene's description of Devon when he returns as an adult affects the mood of the novel's opening. Now you have seen how Devon appears in the flashback. Consider how the different description of the school in the flashback relates to the mood of the flashback.

How do the descriptions of Devon within the flashback affect the mood of the novel in this section? They create a sense of vibrancy in this section of the novel. These descriptions show Devon in a very different light, full of life in the pleasant summer weather.

John Knowles's depiction of the nasty weather conditions Gene faces while walking around the grounds continues later in the first chapter. He describes Gene's walk to the tree: "Near the center of the fields there were thin lakes of muddy water which I had to make my way around, my unrecognizable shoes making obscene noises as I lifted them out of the mire."

How do the descriptions of the weather and of Gene's walk affect the mood of this section of the novel? They help to give this section its troubled sadness. These descriptions are quite melancholy, and they contribute to the gloominess of this section.

Looking at himself in Finny's clothes has a profound impact on Gene. He doesn't just look like Finny; he feels like Finny. He sees Finny's pleasantly optimistic appearance and manner when he looks in the mirror. Gene succeeds in temporarily escaping his confusion about his own character. However, when he wakes the next morning, Gene realizes that the illusion is gone. He must confront who he is and what he has done to Finny.

How do the events of this morning coincide with Gene's understanding that he must confront what he has done to Finny? It is this morning that Gene will see Finny for the first time since the fall. Just as Gene realizes that he must internally confront what he's done, he must also literally confront the person he hurt.

When Gene realizes that Finny was never competing with him and was never his enemy, he numbly agrees to go to the Suicide Society meeting. Along the way, he captures his feelings with these words: "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."

How does Gene's realization that he was "not of the same quality" as Phineas affect him? The realization makes Gene angry. Immediately after realizing that Finny is better than he is, Gene says, "I couldn't stand this."

Select the buttons to better understand the relationship between the war and life at the Devon School in the summer of 1942. 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. Anyway, they were more indulgent toward us than at any other time; they snapped at the heels of the seniors, driving and molding and arming them for war. They noticed our games tolerantly. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up in destruction.

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. ...We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up in destruction. Gene tells how his age group was on the cusp of being ready for war. However, because they were still too young, they were allowed to enjoy themselves that summer. Anyway, they were more indulgent toward us than at any other time; they snapped at the heels of the seniors, driving and molding and arming them for war. They noticed our games tolerantly. The treatment of the seniors reminds readers that the younger boys have a limited time to enjoy themselves before they are old enough to be molded and armed for war.

6.04 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 5 and 6 of A Separate Peace, you will focus further on Gene's character, particularly how he behaves after Finny's injury. You will explore how injury becomes an important theme in this novel and how previous events affect the mood and the setting of the novel. Remember to print the Student Guide so you can take notes as you work through the lesson. Also remember that your graded Journal Assignment for Lessons 1-4 is due today.

When Leper leaves for the war, there is little fanfare. Leper is so quiet and unassuming that his departure does not make a deep impression on the boys. Then Brinker starts a running joke about Leper's role in the war, sarcastically imagining Leper's role in major war operations. However, there is much meaning in the fact that the boys are joking about Leper.

In the silences between jokes about Leper's glories we wondered whether we ourselves would measure up to the humblest minimum standard of the army. I did not know everything there was to know about myself, and knew that I did not know it; I wondered in the silences between jokes about Leper whether the still hidden parts of myself might contain the Sad Sack, the outcast, or the coward. Gene confesses that the boys joke about Leper because they are scared. Gene is worried he might not be able to handle the war, that he will turn out to be a coward. We were all at our funniest about Leper, and we all secretly hoped that Leper, that incompetent, was as heroic as we said. If it were only true that Leper was heroic, then the boys would all be able to handle the war, since Leper was considered the weakest of them all.

CHECK YOUR READING

In what way do the Jeeps that Gene watches rolling into Devon serve as symbols of adolescence? The Jeeps look like they'd rather be doing something more exciting than rolling into Devon. Gene likens the strength of the Jeeps to the energy and verve of young people in a rush to grow up. Gene does not want to talk about Leper because nothing can be done about what happened to Leper. Gene does not see any point in talking about what can never be changed. How does Brinker's father feel about his son's decision to join the Coast Guard? He is rather disappointed in Brinker's decision. Mr. Hadley believes that the Coast Guard is an easy way out and does not command the same respect that other branches of the military do. By the end of the novel, Gene realizes that wars are started by something ignorant in the human heart. Gene's experiences with his own ignorance allow him to see that others seek out danger and destruction as well. Why is Gene unable to speak of Finny in the past tense? Finny's presence is still too real at Devon. Finny's impact on Devon and Gene was so great that even death does not cause Finny's presence to fade.

How does Brinker's assertion that he is going to enlist affect Gene?

It thrills Gene. With Brinker's statement, Gene sees enlisting as an opportunity to break from the past cleanly and finally, and the idea excites him.

Now look at the description of the Devon.

It was nothing like the fresh-water Devon above the dam where we'd had so much fun, all the summer. Here,Gene again distinguishes the two rivers. The Devon is fresh-water, which carries positive associations that contrast with the salty and muddy Naguamsett. The Devon's course was determined by some familiar hills a little inland; it rose among highland farms and forests which we knew, passed at the end of its course through the school grounds, Unlike the Naguamsett, shaped by forces beyond the school, the Devon is governed by geography that is present and simple. Gene's description makes the Devon seem safe and comforting. and then threw itself with little spectacle over a small waterfall beside the diving dam, and into the turbid Naguamsett. This final section exposes the link between the two rivers. The Devon inevitably flows into the Naguamsett, so the Devon is not entirely isolated just as the boys were not entirely isolated during the summer.

In this activity, you will focus on Leper's enlistment—how he comes to the decision to join the armed services and how his departure affects the boys at Devon. You will explore the ways in which Leper's choice to enlist relates to Finny's theory on the war, to the mood at Devon over the winter, and the events of the Winter Carnival. You will then deal more closely with Gene's trip to see Leper in Vermont and the interaction between the two boys there.

Leper's enlistment occurs shortly after the boys view a film shown during the visit of a recruiter from the U.S. ski troops. The film depicts ski troops smoothly making their way down a mountain, and Gene says that made an impression on Leper because it put a "recognizable and friendly face" on the war. After watching the film, Leper is obviously excited. For Leper, the film makes the notion of downhill skiing suddenly make sense. He realizes that there is a purpose to hurrying down the mountain, and he begins to see downhill skiing as an example of the sport progressing. Leper then says something very important: "Everything has to evolve or else it perishes."

Remember that the Winter Session is a time when the boys at Devon are being prepared for adulthood and for the role that they will soon play in World War II. Does the encounter with Gene suggest that Leper is ready for the responsibilities and demands that will soon be placed on him? Why or why not?

Leper's love of nature and for spending the day doing something he enjoys rather than shoveling snow off of the train tracks both suggest that he is not ready for the responsibilities and demands that will soon be placed on him. Further, the fact that Leper does not like to rush to do things does not make him seem like someone who is ready to enter a world at war, in which he will most likely have to fight.

On his return to Devon, Gene decides to stop and see Finny in Boston. Though he is still not able to walk, and Gene says that he no longer looks like an athlete, Finny's mood is much better. He talks with his characteristic optimism and good nature, and his eyes are no longer dimmed by pain medication. After some small talk about what happened to Gene on break, Gene finally gets up the courage to confess to Finny.

My own voice sounded quiet and foreign. "I jounced the limb. I caused it." One more sentence. "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." Gene's description of his own voice here as sounding foreign indicates a sense of distance between himself and what he's confessing. He confesses simply and with little emotion at first. He looked older than I had ever seen him. "Of course you didn't." The description of Finny as looking older indicates how this news affects him. It ages him and makes him less youthful and innocent. It is not something he wants to hear, so Finny quickly dismisses Gene's confession. "Yes I did. I did!" I'm going to hit you if you don't sit down." When Gene insists that Finny accept the truth, Finny threatens violence for the first time in the novel. Gene's anger over Finny's not believing him is equaled by Finny's anger at Gene for making him confront the truth about his fall.

6.08 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapter 13 of A Separate Peace, you will focus on the changes at Devon as the novel reaches its conclusion. You will reflect on how Gene has grown and consider both the symbolism and the resolution of the conflicts of the novel.

6.08 A Separate Peace, 8

Now that you have finished reading Chapter 13 of A Separate Peace, you will focus on the changes at Devon as the novel reaches its conclusion. You will reflect on how Gene has grown and consider both the symbolism and the resolution of the conflicts of the novel.

6.07 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 11 and 12 of A Separate Peace, you will focus on the betrayal that characterizes these chapters, the climax of the novel, and the aftermath of Finny's learning the truth about his injury.

6.03 A Separate Peace

Now that you have finished reading Chapters 3 and 4 of A Separate Peace, you will focus on Finny's character. You will then explore further how Gene's perception of Finny affects his feelings toward his best friend, and you will examine the developing conflicts that stem from those feelings. Remember to print the Student Guide so you can take notes as you work through the lesson.

After sharing with Gene his theory about the war, Finny tells his friend something else. He tells Gene that he was planning on competing in the Olympics in 1944. Since the injury may prevent him from competing, and since there is no war to cancel the games, Finny decides that Gene will compete for him. So the two boys begin training Gene for the competition.

Once again, the theme of Gene becoming Finny recurs in the novel. It began with Gene wearing Finny's clothes, continued with Finny insisting that Gene was going to play sports if he could not, and now extends to Gene taking Finny's place in the Olympics in 1944. On the next screen, focus on how Gene's training leads him to learn something unexpected about himself and about Finny.

6.01 A Separate Peace

One of the most famous novels set during World War II does not take place on the battlefields of Europe, but at a secluded private school in New England. In this unit, you will read John Knowles's A Separate Peace, a masterful coming-of-age story about friendship, jealousy, fear, and acceptance set against the backdrop of a world in conflict. John Knowles, best known for being the author of A Separate Peace, was born far from the manicured lawns of the New England preparatory school that he fictionalized in his most famous novel. Knowles was born in 1926 in the coal-mining town of Fairmount, West Virginia, his family's third child. At the age of 15, Knowles left West Virginia to attend New Hampshire's prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy. Phillips Exeter served as Knowles's basis for the Devon School in A Separate Peace. After graduating from Exeter in 1944, Knowles enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program, but World War II ended before he ever saw combat. After being discharged, Knowles enrolled at Yale University. At Yale, he studied English while writing for the Yale Daily News and publishing several short stories in student literary magazines. Knowles graduated from Yale in 1949 and began to work as a reporter in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1951, he left his job with the Hartford Courant to work as a freelance writer. Over the next four years, Knowles lived in Italy, France, and Greece before returning to New York City. In 1956, Cosmopolitan published a short story by Knowles entitled "Phineas," a piece based on some of the author's experiences at Phillips Exeter academy. It was this story, and its title character, that Knowles later decided to expand into the novel A Separate Peace. Knowles finished A Separate Peace in 1959, while living in Philadelphia and working as an editor and writer for a magazine. After the novel was rejected by an American publisher, the book received its first publication by a British company. In 1960, A Separate Peace was a critical and popular success in England, and American publishers took notice. The novel first appeared in the United States later that year. Though not an immediate best seller, A Separate Peace was widely acclaimed as an extremely important novel by critics and literary scholars. Knowles was awarded the Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel and also the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Award, which is given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The novel was also a nominee for the National Book Award. Such recognition seemed to signal the arrival of Knowles as a major new author. However, though he published eight novels, a collection of short stories, and a nonfiction travel book, Knowles never again matched what he achieved with A Separate Peace. While his work was praised for being clear and well written, his characters were often seen as unrealistic or as one dimensional. During the 1960s, Knowles served as writer-in-residence at the University of North Carolina and at Princeton University. In the 1980s, Knowles moved to Florida to teach creative writing at Florida Atlantic University. He died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2001.

First Person Point of View

One reason why it is possible to clearly witness the change in Gene as he matures over the course of the novel is that A Separate Peace is told from the first-person point of view. This means that the narrator of the novel is a character in the story, and he uses the pronouns I and me. So, when something happens to Gene, readers are able to learn how it affects him in his own words. Of course, just because a story is told from the first-person point of view does not mean that the narrator is completely reliable. It is important to remember that, because the narrator is a part of the action he describes, he may in fact be unreliable. For example, if the narrator must describe an incident in which he made a mistake, his own embarrassment or shame may lead him to give a less-than-accurate report of events. As you read A Separate Peace, keep in mind how Gene's position as first-person narrator affects how he tells his story and how you understand the events he describes.

Coming of Age Story

One way that stories are categorized is by which genre they fit into. Some stories are romances; other stories are comedies or tragedies. A Separate Peace is frequently categorized as a coming-of-age story. But what does this mean? A coming-of-age story is one in which the main character moves from childhood or adolescence into adulthood. As a result, the protagonists of coming-of-age stories are usually young people who deal with events that change them, pushing them away from innocence and simplicity toward knowledge and experience. Some famous coming-of-age stories that you may already be familiar with include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Red Badge of Courage, The Outsiders, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. As you read A Separate Peace, consider how the narrator, Gene, comes of age as a result of the experiences in the novel. Note how he changes, grows, and evolves in response to the world around him.

Realizing that forcing Finny to accept the truth is a selfish act because it will only bring him more pain, Gene withdraws his confession. He even has a moment in which he entertains the possibility that Finny is right—that he did not intentionally jounce the limb. He then abruptly tells Finny that he should leave and get back to Devon. As he leaves, Gene promises Finny that he will not start living by the rules, but he knows that it's a lie.

Rules seem to be everywhere when Gene returns to Devon. When he arrives, he immediately notices a change in the place. The carefree feel of the Summer Session is gone, replaced by the familiar traditions that have governed Devon for more than 150 years.

Finny seems overwhelmed and begins to leave, simply stating that he doesn'?t care.

Read the description of what happens after Finny leaves and select the buttons to understand better this crucial moment in the novel. The excellent exterior acoustics recorded his rushing steps and the quick rapping of his cane along the corridor and on the first steps of the marble stairway. The clearness of the sounds contrasts with the confusion and muddled sounds that characterized the inquiry. Once the truth is exposed, everything is more distinct. Then these separate sounds collided into the general tumult of his body falling clumsily down the white marble stairs. Confronting reality, Finny cannot retreat into illusion. He falls violently on the stairs that Gene observes for their "exceptional hardness" at the novel's start.

Finny consistently excels in athletics. Before breaking the swimming record, he invents and stars in the game of blitzball.

Read the excerpt and select the buttons to better understand how Finny's performance in blitzball affects the way Gene and readers see him. To escape the wolf pack which all the other players became he created reverses and deceptions and acts of sheer mass hypnotism which were so extraordinary that they surprised even him... (Here readers see Finny's talent. Gene compares Finny to a hypnotist capable of tricking people with his skills. This description clearly places Finny in a class by himself, able to demonstrate his superiority at will.) I never saw him tired, never really winded, never overcharged and never restless. At dawn, all day long, and at midnight, Phineas always had a steady and formidable flow of usable energy. (This description of Finny as having a seemingly endless supply of energy again makes him seem larger than life. While it is impossible for a person to have never-ending energy, this is Gene's perception of Finny.)

As the novel moves on, Knowles provides several examples of Finny's personality and its effect on others. Finny manages, through his honest good nature and friendliness, to be both a chronic rule-breaker and a favorite of the teachers at Devon. When Gene and Finny are confronted about missing dinner, Finny's smooth talking prevents them from being punished. When he wears the Devon School tie as a belt to the Headmaster's house, he deftly manages to use his sense of humor to avoid getting in trouble. With each silver-tongued escape from punishment at the hands of Devon's teachers, Finny becomes more impressive to readers. However, Finny's charm has a different effect on Gene.

Read this excerpt from Chapter 2 and select on the buttons below to see how Gene reacts to Finny's ability to charm everyone he meets. Phineas was very happy; sour and stern Mr. Patch-Withers had been given a good laugh for once, and he had done it! He broke into the charmed, thoughtless grin of a man fulfilled. He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it. "He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment." Gene's initial reaction is disappointment. Gene's feeling let down that Finny did not get in trouble is rather unusual, considering Finny is Gene's best friend. "That was because I just wanted to see some more excitement; that must have been it." Gene tries to explain why he feels disappointed. He suggests that he simply wanted some more excitement, but his rationalization leaves readers unconvinced.

The appearance of the setting and the mood created are not the only things that change once Gene's flashback begins. The character of Gene changes, as well. Once the flashback begins, readers see Gene as a teenager and are also introduced to his best friend, Phineas. In this activity, you will focus on how the depictions of Gene and Phineas in these chapters shape your perception of them.

Soon after the flashback begins, readers meet Finny. Standing next to the tree by the river, Phineas immediately distinguishes himself by suggesting that all of the boys climb the tree and jump from its limb into the river. Readers learn a crucial aspect of Finny's personality here: He is brave. This characteristic is further emphasized as Gene describes the rest of the boys' feelings about climbing and jumping from the tree. Only Finny is not intimidated by the idea. And, as if to prove that he is not the least bit scared, Finny climbs the tree and jumps without hesitation.

How does the atmosphere at Devon once the military arrives affect Gene?

The atmosphere once the military arrives reminds Gene that his childhood is over. The military?s arrival changes the place that Gene most associates with his childhood, and in doing so reminds him that he is an adult now.

How does the atmosphere at Devon once the military arrives affect Gene?

The atmosphere once the military arrives reminds Gene that his childhood is over. The military?s arrival changes the place that Gene most associates with his childhood, and in doing so reminds him that he is an adult now.

Finny's second injury and death mark the end of Gene's childhood and his entrance into adulthood. Just as his character changes as he matures, so too does his environment. In this activity, you will focus on how the changing circumstances at Devon mirror the changes that Gene has undergone.

The final chapter of A Separate Peace takes place months after Finny's death. It is early June, a beautiful spring day. The chapter begins with a description of Devon, and of the Far Common, which is used by the military for the summer. This focus on Devon and its appearance is a familiar element in the novel. The changes in the school setting continue to mirror the mood and changes in Gene. Before the final chapter, Devon has always existed as a place that is essentially separate and distinct from the outside world. Now, however, the outside world is literally entering or invading Devon.

Finny's second injury and death mark the end of Gene's childhood and his entrance into adulthood. Just as his character changes as he matures, so too does his environment. In this activity, you will focus on how the changing circumstances at Devon mirror the changes that Gene has undergone.

The final chapter of A Separate Peace takes place months after Finny's death. It is early June, a beautiful spring day. The chapter begins with a description of Devon, and of the Far Common, which is used by the military for the summer. This focus on Devon and its appearance is a familiar element in the novel. The changes in the school setting continue to mirror the mood and changes in Gene. Before the final chapter, Devon has always existed as a place that is essentially separate and distinct from the outside world. Now, however, the outside world is literally entering or invading Devon. Go to the next screen to learn more.

One of these recurring themes is Gene's learning to accept himself and to deal with his inner conflicts.

The final chapter of the novel resolves the conflicts and shows readers the logical conclusion of many of the themes Opens in modal popup window that have been recurring throughout the story. One of these recurring themes is Gene's learning to accept himself and to deal with his inner conflicts.

I was glad of it, I had almost caught the rhythm of it, the dancing, clicking jangle of it during the summer.

The imagery here of music and dancing, used to describe the Summer Session, helps to contrast the strict routine that governs Devon during the Winter Session.

The climax of the novel is the mock court martial that the boys stage in the Assembly Room of the First Building. They are seeking to establish the truth about Finny's injury, and they begin by forcibly taking Gene and Finny from their room. Again, the fact that Gene and Finny are brought to face the inquiry by their friends is a type of betrayal.

The lock turned; we went in, entering the doubtful reality of a hallway familiar only in daylight and bustle. Our footsteps fell guiltily on the marble floor. We continued across the foyer to a dreamlike bank of windows, turned left up a pale flight of marble steps, left again, through two doorways, and into the Assembly Room. Though Gene has often been in the Assembly Room, it is different at night. The language captures the moment's mood: doubtful, dark, filled with guilt, dreamlike. About ten of the members of the senior class sat on the platform, all of them were wearing their black graduation robes. This is going to be some kind of schoolboy masquerade, I thought, some masquerade with masks and candles. The boys in black robes are dressed up, pretending to be something they are not. The word masquerade captures the sense that the entire event is phony.

Later in the chapter, Gene says that Army Air Force is doing calisthenics on the playing fields at Devon. How does the fact that the fields are being put to this use again demonstrate the symbolic Opens in modal popup window changes at Devon?

The playing fields are associated up to this point with athletic competition, with Finny's version of what life should be about. The fact that the fields are now being used to train young men for war again signals the end of the world that Finny inhabited and shaped, replaced by a grown-up world into which he could never fit.

It was a raw, nondescript time of year, toward the end of November, the kind of wet, self-pitying November day when every speck of dirt stands out clearly. Devon luckily had very little of such weather—the icy clamp of winter, or the radiant New Hampshire summers, were more characteristic of it—but this day it blew wet, moody gusts all around me.

The words raw and nondescript help readers to feel the same unpleasantness that Gene experiences as he walks around Devon. Self-pitying suggests some level of sadness that exists in this scene. This section suggests that this type of weather is not typical for Devon. That fact further makes the conditions stand out as important and unusual. The phrase moody gusts again calls to mind the notion that the weather is a mirror for Gene's emotions as he walks around his old school.

Read the excerpt on how Gene feels when training for the Olympics with Finny. Explore those sections that expose the revelation Gene has during this session.

Then, for no reason at all, I felt magnificent. It was as though my body until that instant had simply been lazy, as though the aches and exhaustion were all imagined, created from nothing in order to keep me from truly exerting myself. Now my body seemed at last to say, "Well, if you must have it, here!" and an accession of strength came flooding through me. Gene's finding reserves of energy that he never knew he had and suddenly viewing the pain and fatigue he previously felt as figments of his imagination are symbolic. Gene's athletic breakthrough is representative of a personal revelation--he is strong and capable of more than he previously thought. Buoyed up, I forgot my usual feeling of routine self-pity when working out, I lost myself, oppressed mind along with aching body; all entanglements were shed, I broke into the clear. Gene's elated feeling demonstrates just how profoundly he's been affected by his breakthrough. The image of him breaking into the clear is appropriate because the realization of his own strength has allowed him to break away from the negativity and troubled thoughts that have plagued him.

Finny refuses to admit that the war is a reality. When Gene refers to the war, Finny calls it Gene's "fantasy life." How does Finny's view of the war make Gene view his friend? How does Gene's view of his friend influence the way readers view Finny's theory about the war?

There are moments when Gene wants to believe Finny's theory or makes jokes about people thinking that there is a war, but Gene never truly agrees the war is a sham. And because Finny seems to fully believe his own theory, Gene views him as, perhaps, a bit naïve or immature. Since Gene is a first-person narrator, readers tend to develop the same view of Finny's war theory: attractive, but ultimately unsophisticated and incorrect.

Though Gene admits that the boys secretly hope that Leper truly is performing heroically in the war, the jokes about Leper are, of course, sarcastic. Based on what Gene says about sarcasm earlier in the novel, what does the use of a running sarcastic joke indicate about the boys?

They are weak. Earlier, Gene says sarcasm is a sign of weakness, and the boys make jokes about Brinker because they are scared and not strong enough to face their fears.

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. Anyway, they were more indulgent toward us than at any other time; they snapped at the heels of the seniors, driving and molding and arming them for war. They noticed our games tolerantly. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction.

This excerpt, along with the details earlier in the novel of the older students having to complete a physical training regimen, suggests the reality of the war. Logically, Gene knows and accepts that the war is a real event that is affecting the entire world. Still, the war does not always seem entirely real.

Then a second realization broke as clearly and bleakly as dawn at the beach. Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitzball, that explained the nightly meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions. The way I believed that you're-my-best-friend blabber! It was all cold trickery, it was all calculated, it was all enmity.

This image recalls when Gene wakes up and comments that Finny appeared dead. The realization that Finny is trying to wreck his studies fits with this memory because it destroys Gene's image of Finny. This captures the suddenness of Gene's insight. Describing what Finny said to him at the beach as "blabber" contrasts his earlier assessment of Finny's speech as genuine and courageous. Gene concludes that Finny is competing with him. He assigns to Finny a very devious and calculating streak that has inspired all of his previous actions.

At the end of the day at the beach, Gene and Finny are talking as they lie on the sand. Finny tells Gene that he considers Gene his best friend. Gene notes that Finny's open statement of his feelings is extremely brave, adding that he should have said something similar to Finny. How does Finny's opening up to Gene, and Gene's not doing the same, affect the way you view their characters?

This moment is another example of Finny's natural goodness coming to the surface. His genuine expression of how much he cares about Gene again underscores his purity and nature. Gene's failure to return the gesture demonstrates that he is not as open and kind as Finny. It makes Gene seem less than Finny is.

Finny's return to Devon has a major effect on Gene. Finny is a walking reminder of the freedom of the Summer Session that Gene realizes is absent from Devon in the Winter Session. With Finny back, it is as if Gene can somewhat return to those days. In this activity, you will focus on the behavior of Gene and Finny after Finny returns and what can be learned about both characters based on their behaviors.

Though Gene immediately decides against enlisting when he sees that Finny has returned to Devon, Finny learns that Gene had considered this option. Finny's reaction to this possibility is an important moment in the novel. Gene describes the impact of Finny's reaction: ...I have never since forgotten the dazed look on Finny's face when he thought that on the first day of his return to Devon I was going to desert him. I didn't know why he had chosen me, why it was only to me that he could show the most humbling sides of his handicap. I didn't care. For the war was no longer eroding the peaceful summertime stillness I had prized so much at Devon, and although the playing fields were crusted under a foot of congealed snow and the river was now a hard gray-white lane of ice between gaunt trees, peace had come back to Devon for me.

Think about Leper's statement about the necessity of everything evolving if it is to survive. Though Leper is specifically talking about the sport of skiing, how might his statement be understood to relate to the events of the novel? Does it foreshadow Opens in modal popup window anything? Who is evolving and who is not?

Though Leper talks about skiing evolving, readers can understand his statement in the context of the novel. The boys are growing up and coming-of-age. They are changing and evolving as they prepare for their future, the war. Leper's statement suggests that those boys who do not change to prepare for the war will not survive. In the novel, readers can see the changes in Gene as time goes on, but Finny does not seem to change very much.

Later in Chapter 2, Gene explains how his setting and age made the war seem. Bombs in Central Europe were completely unreal to us here, not because we couldn't imagine it—a thousand newspaper photographs and newsreels had given us a pretty accurate idea of such a sight—but because our place here was too fair for us to accept something like that.

Though the war is a fact of life, it does not always seem real to Gene and the others. How does this affect the way readers understand the situation that these boys face? It makes this time of safety seem even more precious. The fact that the boys are just on the cusp of having to prepare for the war makes this time seem more innocent and valuable, something that they should enjoy while it lasts.

Gene's stab of disappointment when Finny is able to make Mr. Patch-Withers smile is not the first time that Gene has this type of reaction to Finny's ability to charm others. Earlier, Gene says that he feels unexpectedly excited when he thinks that Finny will not get away with wearing the school tie as a belt.

What do Gene's feelings about Finny's getting in trouble suggest about their relationship? Gene is sometimes jealous of Finny, but won't admit to such feelings. Gene is not entirely honest with Finny or himself about the mixed emotions he sometimes has regarding Finny.

In Chapter 7, the characters of Leper and Brinker come to the forefront. Though Leper was introduced earlier in the novel, his personality and behavior are dealt with here in more depth. Brinker, on the other hand, appears later in the book, so this chapter is the first opportunity for readers to get to know him. In this activity, you will focus on Leper and Brinker and how they fit in with the remaining students at Devon during the Winter Session.

Up to this point in the novel, Leper Lepellier has existed as a character on the fringes of the plot. Though he is present at various points in the story, John Knowles does not devote a great deal of time to describing him. Readers know that Leper was afraid of jumping from the tree over the summer. The fact that readers know relatively little about Leper stems from the fact that Gene does not have a great deal of one-on-one contact with Leper. Since Gene is a first-person narrator, the only way for readers to learn about Leper is for Gene to have an encounter with him. This encounter occurs in Chapter 7, when the boys have volunteered to help shovel snow off the train tracks. Though Leper is not shoveling, the boys see him on their way to work. He is going to ski through the woods in search of a beaver dam on the Devon river.

Immediately after this memory of Finny, Gene describes the two rivers that Devon is astride: the Devon River and the Naguamsett. His memory of Finny occurs as he looks over the Devon.

We had never used this lower river, the Naguamsett, during the summer. Gene quickly distinguishes the rivers here. The fact that they had never used the Naguamsett during the summer means that the river has no link with Finny. It was ugly, saline, fringed with marsh, mud and seaweed.A few miles away it was joined to the ocean, so that its movements were governed by unimaginable factors like the Gulf Stream, the Polar Ice Cap, and the moon. The description of the Naguamsett as an ugly river affected by forces beyond Devon is symbolic. It is appropriate that the boys never used it in the summer, because they were isolated during those months and there seemed not to be any forces beyond Devon that could affect them.

View a video that describes how an American town was inspired to unite and make sacrifices for a shared goal during the war. Narrated by actor Henry Fonda, "It's Everybody's War" is a short film that was made to inspire people across the nation to sacrifice for the war effort. The town in the film has learned that the company it sent to the Philippines has been captured and is imprisoned. At first the townspeople sink into grief and anxiety, but then they spring into action with shared purpose--to help the soldiers win and to end the war. TRANSCRIPT:

We tried to make some plans. A committee phoned the Red Cross in New York to try to see if there was any way to get letters to the prisoners of war under the Japanese. And the rumor mongers tried to start up again, telling harrowing tales of Japanese atrocities to prisoners. But they didn't get very far. Our lives weren't idle now so we didn't have time for rumors. We knew the enemy and what he was like. And then things started to happen. Our salvage drives took on new meaning to us because our boys could've used the things we'd been wasting. We didn't keep for ourselves anything that could help our soldiers. And we realized in a way how lucky we were. We were a little ahead of the rest of America. We had learned the full meaning of this war because we had lived with its pain. There was no doubt in our minds now, no complacency, no indecision, no time to think of our own troubles, just time to fight...to work overtime. A lot of the kids went out to the farms to help harvest the crops. Hands were important now, more important than experience. Our high school teacher, a filling station man, and Doolin Daniels organized a fix-it committee. They were all handy with tools so they worked after hours on refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, automobiles. In that way, an airplane factory got two more mechanics they needed to make the planes we didn't have at [unintelligible]. A shipyard got a welder who helped launch a ship three days ahead of schedule. And there was one more man in America making guns. We all either walked, or stayed home, and gave up our tires so that our Army can roll. And our planes can land. We didn't realize how many things we could do that we hadn't done before. We made over our clothes so our soldiers could keep warm. We didn't waste electricity, and the smelters a hundred miles away had more power to make steel. We sent the Navy six pairs of good binoculars, and an access radar was sunk in the Atlantic. We didn't spend our money either; we put it to work to get our boys back home. We weren't going to face them again after all they'd been through without being able to say with a clear conscience—we did everything we could to help you. Not a little bit or more than we thought we had to, but everything, all day, in every way we could. And in spite of the gnawing grief that was always inside us, we began to feel a little elated. There was joy in our work because we knew we could face our boys. To those who had given arms, and legs, and eyes, we could say that we gave not only our sickening luxuries and comforts, but our money, our thought, our skills, our work, and our sweat.

After spending the day at the beach, Gene and Finny go for a walk along the boardwalk. Read Gene's description of Finny's appearance at this point and answer the question that follows. I noticed that people were looking fixedly at him, so I took a look myself to see why. His skin radiated a reddish copper glow of tan, his brown hair had been a little bleached by the sun, and I noticed that the tan made his eyes shine with a cool blue-green fire.

What is the relationship between the description of Finny in this passage and the previous descriptions of him? Finny's appearance here justifies Gene's positive descriptions of his athletic abilities and personality. Finny is literally glowing in this scene; his appearance, like his athleticism and personality, is extraordinary.

As the inquiry proceeds, the tension of the scene rises. Gene and Finny are confused by what is going on, and their confusion is increased by the fact that it is difficult to see and hear in the Assembly Room. This is another example of the important role that setting Opens in modal popup window plays in the events of the novel. When Brinker and others interrogate Finny about the circumstances surrounding his fall, the question of whether Gene was in the tree with Finny comes up. Though Gene was indeed with Finny in the tree, he does not say this to the panel of judges in the Assembly Room: Finny turned toward me. "You were down at the bottom, weren't you?" he asked, not in the official courtroom tone he had used before, but in a friend's voice.

What might you infer from Finny's suggestion that Gene was actually down at the bottom of the tree at the time of the fall? What are his intentions at the inquiry? Perhaps Finny realizes that the purpose of the inquiry is to blame Gene for his fall, and he wants to protect Gene. By saying he thinks Gene was not in the tree, Finny shows his noble nature and how much he cares about Gene. Or, perhaps Finny cannot cope with the idea that Gene deliberately caused his fall and has invented another illusion (like the fake war) that is easier to live with than the harsh reality he faces.

While there is the seed of some conflict developing between Gene and Finny in these opening chapters, there exists a larger conflict in the novel that has a great impact on the story. Gene's flashback returns the action to the summer of 1942, and World War II is raging in Europe. There are several mentions of the war in these chapters. Now focus on how the war and news of the war affect the boys spending their summer at the Devon School.

When Finny first suggests that he and the others jump from the tree into the river, he does so knowing that the older students at Devon have to do so in training for military service. Indeed, when Gene is up on the limb, Finny shouts up to him and suggests that jumping from the limb is like jumping from a torpedoed ship. This is just one example of how the war affects the Devon School and the mindset of the students there. Later, when Gene and Finny go to the Headmaster's house, one of the central topics of conversation is the bombing of Central Europe. However, there does seem to be a conscious effort at Devon to shelter the younger students from the war. Even the bombing of Central Europe is discussed in vague and general terms. Gene mentions that the radio in their room is illegal and suggests that the reason the teachers seem to behave differently that summer is related to the war.

Think about how Gene feels when Finny suggests they do a double jump from the tree at the end of Chapter 4. In which way or ways is Gene's decision to jounce the limb symbolically related to his feelings about himself and his position in relation to Finny?

When Finny suggests that he and Gene do a double jump at the end of Chapter 4, Gene listlessly agrees. He says he would have agreed to anything. At this point, Gene feels as low as he ever has. It is symbolically appropriate then that he jounce the limb at this point. Since he knows that Finny is better than he is, Gene tries to bring Finny down to his level by making him fall.

Later in this chapter, Gene learns from the doctor that Finny will never play sports again. After hearing this, Gene begins crying "for Phineas and for myself." What does this moment, coupled with Gene's earlier decision to dress in Finny's clothes, suggest about the way Gene views the relationship between himself and Finny?

When Gene enters the hospital room to meet Finny, Finny seems different. His tan is faded, and he looks smaller. Additionally, his eyes are slightly clouded from the pain medication he is taking. Consider what happens between the boys during this first encounter and answer the questions on the online Gene and Finny Meet page. When you have finished, print the page, compare your answers to the suggested responses, and save the page in your Notebook. Click Gene and Finny Meet to begin.

When Gene returns to Devon from his visit with Leper, the novel moves quickly toward its climax Opens in modal popup window . In this activity, you will focus on the events that lead up to the climax and the ways in which betrayal and truth are central to the novel's turning point.

When Gene first returns to Devon from his visit to see Leper, he walks into the middle of a massive snowball fight. Though he tries to avoid taking part in the fun, Finny quickly drafts Gene onto his team. Soon after, however, Finny turns and begins to hit his own teammates with snowballs. The snowball fight descends into anarchy, which, of course, is what Finny lives for. Despite the fact that the snowball fight is another example of the boys enjoying something that diverts their attention from the war, readers might also view this incident as an indicator of what is to come. It is a symbolic Opens in modal popup window incident in which one person's betrayal of the others plays an important role. Soon after, Finny is reading Julius Caesar, a play by William Shakespeare which one of the most famous moments is the betrayal of Caesar by his friend Brutus. With both the snowball fight and the detail about Finny reading Julius Caesar, John Knowles is setting up readers for the novel's climax Opens in modal popup window .

Flashback a narrative technique that allows authors to introduce past events that have a direct impact on a story´s present

When Gene realizes that nothing endures, he leaves the tree feeling "changed" and walks back through the mud. He says that he realizes that it is time to get out of the rain, but he does not state definitively how he has been changed. It is at this point that the story shifts. The shift can be understood as Gene's attempt to explain why and how seeing the tree changed him. As the narrator, Gene employs a flashback, and readers return to Gene's days as a student at Devon. Using a flashback here allows Knowles to give readers a new perspective on the setting of the novel. Gone is the raw wetness, gusty wind, and unpleasant mud of Gene's present situation. These negative weather conditions are replaced by a sunny summer day from Gene's past. The tree is no longer feeble, but tall and imposing like a church steeple. On the next screen, you will read an excerpt describing Devon after the flashback has begun.

A Separate Peace opens with Gene's returning to the Devon School after 15 years. In this activity, you will focus on the setting of the novel when Gene returns to the school and how the setting affects his story as he later remembers his days as a student there. As you consider the importance of the novel's setting, pay particular attention to the way in which John Knowles uses language to enable readers to form a mental picture of the world he describes.

When Gene returns to Devon in the novel's opening pages, he is a grown man. He tells readers that he has not been to the school in 15 years, though much of what he sees remains familiar to him. He also says that the school seems like a museum to him. It looks as if it has been preserved. This observation leads readers to wonder what exactly is being preserved. Along with physical objects and landmarks—the buildings and the streets—Gene remarks that the fear he felt while attending Devon seems to have been preserved, as well. The two places he specifically wants to visit are described as "fearful sites." As he walks the campus to these two places, Gene's language helps to create a specific mood for the book's opening.

Gene agrees with Finny, lying to the inquiry that he was indeed at the bottom of the tree at the time of Finny's fall. However, the students in their graduation robes, led by Brinker, continue to press the issue. Finally, it is established that Gene may have been in the tree, but only Leper, who was an eyewitness, can confirm all of the details. After Finny says that he saw Leper at Devon that afternoon, two students are quickly dispatched to bring him to the inquiry.

When Leper returns, he begins to describe the scene of the accident and how it looked to him from the ground. Read the passage and explore the different sections of the text to reveal the meaning of the imagery in this section. "I could see both of them clearly enough because the sun was blazing all around them," a certain singsong sincerity was developing in his voice, as though he were trying to hold the interest of young children, The vibrant language Leper uses signals that the incident made a vivid impression on him. His manner of speaking, as if talking to children, suggests that Leper is more knowledgeable on this topic than the others. and the rays of the sun were shooting past them, millions of rays shooting past them like—like golden machine-gun fire. Leper uses violent imagery to describe the sunlight, imagery that calls to mind war. This is appropriate, of course, because Leper is the only one who has had real experience with the war. That's what it was like, if you want to know. The two of them looked as black as—as black as death standing up there with this fire burning all around them." Here, Leper contrasts the appearance of the sunlight with the darkness of Gene and Finny standing on the limb. By comparing their appearance to death, Leper's language suggests the seriousness of the situation. He also associates their dark appearance with danger.

Just as Gene's description of Finny makes Finny impressive to readers, so does Finny's personality, courage, and strength have an impact on the other boys.

Which of the following best describes Finny'?s role among the boys at Devon during the summer of 1942? Finny is a natural leader, to whom the others are naturally drawn. Finny?'s physical strength, bravery, and honesty make him someone that others naturally like and want to be around.

CHECK YOUR READING

Which of the following best describes how Gene feels toward Finny at the very start of Chapter 3? Angry Gene is angry because he almost fell from the tree, and it was Finny's idea to jump from the tree. In what way is blitzball a sport that is tailor-made to showcase Finny's abilities? Blitzball requires one individual to outperform an entire group of people. Finny's natural athletic abilities are matched perfectly with what is required to excel at blitzball. Why does Finny break the school record for the 100-yard freestyle swim? He just wants to see if he can do it. Finny is not motivated by anything other than his own curiosity. Each time that Finny tries to distract Gene to get him to stop studying and have some fun, Gene becomes increasingly suspicious of Finny's motives. Gene thinks that Finny is competing with him and wants him to do poorly in school. On the walk to the tree, before Gene jounces the limb, Gene realizes that Finny has never been in competition with him. This realization makes Gene feel even worse for suspecting Finny of such pettiness.

Another example of Finny's seemingly endless supply of energy comes later in this chapter, when he and Gene are on their way to the beach. He told long, wild stories about his childhood;as I pumped panting up steep hills he glided along beside me, joking steadily.... He rode backward with no hands, he rode on his own handlebars, he jumped off and back on his moving bike as he had seen trick horseback riders do in the movies.

While Gene struggles to ride his bike up steep hills, he describes Finny as moving effortlessly. Finny seems to glide and is able to joke while Gene is panting. Finny's joking not only demonstrates his fitness, but that he is pleasant and personable in all circumstances. Finny's ability to perform all of these tricks on his bike is another example of his tremendous physical abilities. Gene's straightforward manner of describing the tricks helps readers understand that such behavior, exceptional if done by anyone else, is commonplace for Finny.

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Why does Gene naturally want to see Finny at the start of Chapter 11? Finny does not believe in any conflict, except that between athletes. Finny represents an escape from the truth about the war and what it does to people like Leper. This idea is now comforting to Gene who has just seen what war does to people, namely Leper. After the snowball fight, Gene tells Finny that he should be careful about not hurting his leg again. This is another example in the novel of foreshadowing. The exchange between Gene and Finny suggests what is going to happen in the future. What finally causes Finny to admit that the war is a reality? He sees Leper at Devon. When Finny sees Leper and sees what the war has done to Leper, he admits that it is real. At the start of the novel, Gene returns to Devon to see two things: the tree by the river and the white marble stairs. How do the events of Chapter 11 demonstrate the relationship between these two things? The stairs and the tree are the places where Finny's injuries occur in the novel. Finny's first injury occurs when he falls from the tree; his second happens after he angrily leaves the mock-court martial scene. After Finny is admitted to the Infirmary, Gene begins to have several funny thoughts about Phil Latham, the night nurse, and Dr. Stanpole. This can be understood as Gene retreating into his own imagination to avoid the truth about what has happened. Gene is so troubled by the events of that evening that he avoids reality by thinking funny thoughts; in some ways this can be viewed as a scaled-down version of what happened to Leper in the army.

As he walks back to the dorm, Gene continues to think about enlisting versus remaining at Devon. He thinks, "Why go through the motions of getting an education and watch the war slowly chip away at the one thing I had loved here, the peace, the measureless, careless peace of the Devon summer?" With the responsibilities and rules of the Winter Session pushing him and the other boys toward adulthood and the war, anyway, Gene decides that it is better to enter the conflict of his own accord. He realizes that entering the war is a major decision in his life, and he wants to make it for himself. This again indicates a level of maturity in Gene. However, when Gene returns to the room, all his thoughts and decisions change in an instant. Finny is back.

Why is Finny's return enough to make Gene want to stay at Devon? Finny reminds Gene of what he loves about Devon. Gene associates Finny with the "careless peace of the Devon summer", which has been absent during the Winter Session to this point.

CHECK YOUR READING

Why is Gene so upset when the doctor tells him that "sports are finished" for Finny? Gene knows that one of Finny's greatest joys in life was sports, and he realizes that he has taken them from his friend. Gene says that he cried for Finny and for himself, because he knows he is responsible for what happened. When Summer Session ends, Gene says it felt as if it had been suspended, stopped before its time. Why does Gene feel this way? Gene still hadn't told Finny the truth about what caused him to fall from the tree. Gene makes this comment about Summer Session immediately after Dr. Stanpole interrupts him as he's trying to tell Finny the truth. In Boston, as soon as he confesses what he's done to Finny, Gene realizes that confessing is only going to hurt Finny more. Gene realizes that confessing is a selfish act. It may ease his own mind, but it will crush Finny. In what way is Gene's decision to become assistant senior crew manager symbolic? The assistant senior crew manager position is usually held by a boy with a physical disability. Gene's taking such a position points to his unhealthy state as a result of what he did to Finny. How does Gene's encounter with Mr. Ludsbury demonstrate the changed atmosphere at Devon? Ludsbury's rather strict and by-the-book demeanor reflects the return to Devon's usual sternness in the Fall semester. The casual and relaxed feel of the Summer Session is gone, and Devon is again governed by strict rules.

As the Winter Session begins, Gene notices many changes around Devon. For example, Leper no longer lives in the same room with his dust motes and creeping ivy and snails. He is replaced by Brinker Hadley, who keeps files where Leper kept his snails.

Why is it appropriate that the re-emergence of Devon's rules and traditions, the hustle and bustle of classes, and things like Brinker's files replacing Leper's snails occur when Finny is not present? Finny's personality does not fit with the pace and attitude of the Winter Session. Finny is best suited for the freedom and lapse in discipline that characterized the Summer Session.

Though the moments after Finny falls down the stairs are hectic, Gene points out that it is not a scene of mass confusion. "Everyone," he says, "behaved with complete presence of mind." The doctor is summoned and everyone plays their part relatively calmly. This includes Finny, who is conscious and calm.

Wrapped tightly in his blanket, with light flooding down on him from the chandelier, Finny lay isolated at the center of a tight circle of faces. People aren't ordinarily carried in chairs in New Hampshire, and as they raised him up he looked very strange to me, like some tragic and exalted personage, a stricken pontiff. Finny's appearance, with the light shining on him and being raised in a chair, calls to mind his superiority and his genuine goodness. However, he is being carried because he is hurt. He is not elevated through his own powers. Once again I had the desolate sense of having all along ignored what was finest in him. Perhaps it was just the incongruity of seeing him aloft and stricken, since he was by nature someone who carried others. I didn't think he knew how to act or even how to feel as the object of help. Gene understands why the view of Finny being carried is so odd to him: Finny is normally one who does for others, not one who has people do things for him. The act of being helped by others makes Finny seem confused and unnatural.

Genre

a category of literary work, such as poetry, novel, or drama

conflict

a clash or struggle between people, ideas, or feelings; characters can have a conflict within themselves, with another character, with society, or with nature

The somber mood and the fact that the inquiry has the feel of a masquerade, of the boys pretending to be something they are not, suggests that

the boys don't understand what they are doing. The boys' lack of understanding makes the inquiry seem reckless and dangerous.

mood

the emotions or feelings that are conveyed in a literary work

symbolism

the literary technique of using something to stand for or represent another idea; for example, a dove frequently symbolizes peace, while a single red rose sometimes symbolizes love

Protagonist

the main character; the character around whom the action of the plot centers

Based on this encounter with Gene, which ends with Leper's leaving to seek out a beaver dam farther up on the Devon, which of the following best describes Leper's character?

thoughtful and sensitive Leper's love of nature and his distaste for rushing through things indicate that he is a unique and contemplative young person.