A Separate Peace
Which line shows why Gene doesn't enlist when returning to Devon?
"He wanted me around. The war passed away from me, and dreams of enlistment and escape and a clean start lost their meaning to me."
Finny's last words to Gene were:
"I believe you."
What happens at the traditional tea?Why was Gene disappointed by these events in the traditional tea?
At the traditional tea, Phineas unexpectedly used a tie for a belt. But this morning the first tie at hand had been the Devon School tie. Gene was becoming excited at the thought of Phineas getting in trouble. But Finny was able to get away with it
Why does Finny think Gene works so hard?
Because he thinks Gene wants to be 1st in the class
Why did Finny love winter?
Because if you loved something it will love you back. it should have been true. He's enticed by Finny because he's enticed by the world Finny has created - a world of youth and peaceHe said it on their way to class but he wanted to ditch
Speaker of the quote, "I'm giving it up, I'm going to enlist tomorrow."
Brinker
The character that Leper intensely hates.
Brinker
The character that began the joke about Gene pushing Finny.
Brinker
The character that represents how people conform to their environments to please others instead of doing anything for oneself.
Brinker
The creator of the poem: "The war is a bore, our chore is the core of the war."
Brinker
After working at the railroad, what does Brinker announce? What does Gene decide? What happens to change those plans?
Brinker says he is fed up with Devon life; he says he wants to enlist as soon as possible, which makes Gene think about doing the same thing. Gene wants a sense of purpose to his life, and feels that enlisting will give this to him. But, then he goes back to his room, and finds Finny there; suddenly, what he resolved to do no longer matters, as he has a purpose to stay at Devon again.
Where does Brinker take Gene and Finny at night? What is their purpose?
Brinker took Finny and Gene to the Assembly room at night. The purpose was to investigate Finny's accident.
What does Brinker say that upsets the narrator (Gene)? Is he serious?
Brinker visited Gene. He immediately starts to accuse Gene of arranging Finny's accident in order to get the room all to him. Brinker was playing around.
What is not something that forces the boys to see the truth about the world?
Brinker, when Leper tells him about the best thing in life.
Gene's main rival for head of the class.
Chet Douglass
The character that made a point to say that he was enlisting after he graduated.
Chet Douglass
The character who represents the people who do things because they have interest and passion for it.
Chet Douglass
Who is the Crew Captain of the Rowing team?
Cliff Quackenbush
The character that was fighting with Gene.
Cliff Quakenbush
Something that you use in your mind either consciously or subconsciously to protect yourself
Defense mechanism
To not accept something to be true
Denial
What does the doctor tell Gene? How does Gene react? Why? (after finny's second fall)
Dr. Stanpole told Gene that Finny had died. In the middle of the surgery, Finny's heart had stopped beating. The only explanation was that his marrow of the bone flowed into the blood stream to the heart. But Gene did not cry about Finny. He never cried because he could not escape the feeling that Finny's funeral was also his own funeral.
What does the doctor tell him about Finny's condition?
Due to Finny's leg he can never play sports again
At the railroad the boys realize they're "nothing but children playing among heroic men". What did Brinker NOT do in response?
Enlist and recruit other members of the school to join him.
At the end of chapter 7 what do Gene and Brinker decide to do?
Enlist in the army
His fatal flaw is that he believes everyone thinks, acts, and feels the way they should.
Finny
The character that represents peace.
Finny
The character who created a separate peace.
Finny
The character who only believed in the war after seeing Leper in the bush.
Finny
Who stops Gene and Brinker from enlisting?
Finny
What is the winter carnival? Whose idea is it?.
Finny decides to organize the first winter carnival at Devon, so that there's something fun to do outside. Gene is persuaded, then manages to get the newly-rebellious Brinker in on their plans.
What is the one thing that Finny believes in?
Finny doesn't believe in books and teachers. But it is important for him to believe in Gene because he knows him better than anybody.
What is the climax of the story
Finny falling off the tree branch
How does Finny react to this testimony? What happens to Finny
Finny freaked out and ran out of the room. He falls down the marble steps and re-breaks his leg
Finny's leg was not "broken", but "shattered". What does the word "shattered" foreshadow?
Finny never being able to achieve his dreams- his dreams are shattered.
Why were the summer instructors at Devon so willing to overlook Finny's constant breaking of regulations?
Finny represented their idea of peace and innocence in the world.
Who does Finny see hiding in the bushes? What does seeing him prove to Finny?
Finny saw Leper hiding in the shrubbery next to the chapel. It proved that Gene was telling the truth about Leper. Leper became mentally unstable.
Interpretation that could be supported with the line, "Finny, his balance gone, swung his head to look at me with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways...".
Finny was shocked that human nature (Gene) was capable of such a thing.
What does Finny say about denying the war? What does Gene say about Finny being a solider?
Finny wished to God there wasn't any war. He had been writing to the Army and the Navy and the Marines and the Canadians and everybody else all winter. He declined to be apart of the army because of his medical report. Finny will always hate it everywhere if he is not in this war. However, Gene said that he wouldn't be good in war, even if nothing had happened to his leg. Gene said that Finny would make a terrible mess out of the war.
What is Brinker investigating in chapter 11?
Finny's accident
You interoperate the text through how gender is protrude as
Gender
Speaker of the quote, "What deceived me was my own happiness; the peace is indivisible, and the surrounding world confusion found no reflection in me."
Gene
Speaker of, "You are both driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what?'
Gene
The character that finds peace after Devon... 15 years.
Gene
The character that never cried over Finny's death.
Gene
The character who represents the flaws and truths of humanity.
Gene
Wants to be valedictorian.
Gene
Who is responsible for Finny falling off the tree?
Gene
What happens when the boys go to the Butt room?
Gene and Brinker go to the Butt Room in the basement to smoke. Brinker told the other boys about Gene's wrongdoing in the room. They set up a mocktrial for Gene. Everybody started to play along with it including Gene.
why did gene start to envy finny
Gene envies Finny because he is able to get away with anything. Gene is also athletic,good looking, smart...he has it all.
Who is Quackenbush? What happens between him and the narrator? What causes this to happen?
Gene goes to crew practice, which is run by Quackenbush, the uniformly disliked crew captain. Gene is assistant captain, and not on the team; Quackenbush immediately challenges him, not trusting Gene because of his non-participation in school sports other than to manage and help out. They have a fight
What does Gene say his war was?
Gene never killed anybody and never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. His war ended before he ever put on a uniform. He was on active duty at school. He killed his enemy there.
What does Brinker think is the reason for Gene not enlisting?
Gene pities Finny
Why did the narrator decide to be assistant crew manager?
Gene really wants nothing to do with sport. The guilt of Finny's injury haunts him that much. Finny also inquires but Gene merely says sport no longer interests him. When Finny persists, Gene realises that perhaps sport can provide a way to make things up to Finny and become more a part of his life.
What branch of the service does Gene join? Brinker?
Gene was going to wait and be drafted but if he did then they might have put him straight in the infantry. The infantry was the dirtiest and most dangerous branch of all. Gene joined the Navy and they were sending him to Pensacola. Brinker was all set for the Coast Guard.
Why did Leper "escape" the army?
He "escaped" the army because they were going to give Leper a Section Eight discharge. It was a discharge for the nuts in the service, the psychos, and the Funny Farm candidates. It was a dishonorable discharge to Leper. No one is able to get a job after receiving a Section Eight discharge.
Gene yells at Leper to shut up. What causes the outburst?
He doesn't want to recognize that the war is real, and he is afraid the same thing that happened to Leper will happen to him.
What does Gene not do at Finny's funereal?
He dosen't cry
Why was Gene angry when they got back to the school from the beach? What did Gene start to believe about Finny?
He failed his trigonometry test; Led Gene to think that Finny was sabotaging him
What happens to Finny after he storms out of the Court room?
He falls down the staircase and breaks his leg again
What happens to Finny at the end of chapter 4?
He falls of the tree
Where does Gene visit when on his way t Devon for the Fall session?
He goes to Finny's house in Boston
The significance of Gene's baptism in the Naguamsett.
He is forced into it (not willing/ didn't volunteer to be good again), the water is muddy (won't make all the bad disappear), thrown into a river during a fight (conflict and war still in Devon, though they tried to make it separate).
What is Finny's reaction when Gene confesses for causing the accident?
He is very defensive and calls Gene crazy
Who does Gene get a telegram from? What does it say?
He received a telegram from Leper. It said that he had escaped and needed them to meet him and bail him out of the trouble he was in.
What did Leper say in the telegram?
He say's he escaped from the army, and he is at "Christmas Location"
How does Finny get away with tying a tie around his waist instead of a belt?
He says it is a tribute to the bombing in Central Europe
Gene thinks Finny is trying to "ruin" him. What does he do as a result?
He thrives and becomes better because of the competition.
Entails a rewriting of history to suit the needs of your own interest
Historical Revisionism
What does Gene tell Finny about the War?
It is fake
Why did Gene push Cliff for using the word "maimed"?
It reminds Gene of what he did to Finny, and it forced Gene to realize he was flawed/disabled because of his obsession with competition.
What does Finny tell Gene about the war?
It was all a conspiracy made by old fat men
Why is Leper fascinated with the dining room?
It's predictable, stable, and constant.
What are Finny and Gene study before they are called to the court room?
Julius Caesar
The character who tells Gene the truth about being a savage inside and calls Gene out.
Leper
The first character to enlist in the war.
Leper
Who does Brinker have testify during the Trail?
Leper
Who does Gene get a telegram from during the winter carnival?
Leper
Who does Gene see skiing while his is clearing the railroads?
Leper
Who is the first to enlist?
Leper
What is the boys' relationship with war after Leper left
Leper is their connection to war
What does Leper say that sets Gene off? What does Gene do?
Leper said that Gene was "like a savage underneath." He then accused Gene of knocking Finny out of the tree. Gene was furious and shoved his foot against the rung of his chair and kicked. Leper went over in his chair and collapsed against the floor. Leper's mom scolded Gene for hurting a boy who is ill.
Who is the surprise witness for the trial? What does he say?
Leper was there and said that he was a witness to gene pushing finny
"There isn't any question that we are conforming in every possible way to everything that's happening and everything that's going to happen."
Line that foreshadow who Finny believes is at fault for people changing and doing things they aren't supposed to do.
Using writing to deal with an internal problem
Literary Catharsis
What position does Gene tryout for on the rowing team?
Maneger
A smaller community or grouping used to represent a global issue
Microcosm
Who does Gene meet on his way to the train? What is this person doing?
They passed by Leper who spent his day cross-country skiing. He wanted to find the beaver dam
What was the Devon boys' reaction to Leper's enlistment?
They were still unable to realize the truth behind the war.
why did gene kill his enemy?
because when finny died, a part of himself died, the part of him that envied finny. finny took his fury with him. Gene never really realized how much time he spent trying to make himself like Finny or better then Finny which resulted in Gene slowly loosing himself
What is the name of the game Finny makes?
blitzball
How did Gene find the tree?
by its scars and the protruding branch over the river
what school was this book based on
exeter
What happens to Finny when Doctor Stanpole set's his broken bone?
he dies
What does Finny want to do at the tree?
he wants to jump off of it
What does Finny want to do that night at the tree? What happens at that night
he wants to jump off the branch but Gene jounced the limb and Finny fell and hurt his leg
Why was Gene stay for lunch after Leper and his conversation?
he was guilty and he had to show that he was civilized
Finny has always denied war because
he wasn't able to enlist.
What is Phineas' emblem?
his pink shirt; He wore it because he read on the paper that they bombed Central Europe for the first time. He wanted to celebrate but they don't have a flag. Phineas wore his shirt to replace it.
What was Finny's opinion on sports?
if you are a participant you are a winner; no one loses (unless you don't participate)
Why is it called A Separate Peace?
in chapter 9, when Finny and the boys were dancing around, it wasn't because of their cider, it was because they were happy and free and at peace no thoughts about war
How is it a Frame Narrative
its story within the story; Gene talks about his friend, Phineas 15 years ago. Talks about summer of 1942 during WWII
What did Phineas want to do? Why?
jump off the tree into the water; to contribute to the war effort
When he returns to Devon, Finny does NOT
long to be the best at everything, and take anyone down who gets in the way of his goal.
What does Finny make Gene do? What does he tell Gene his aim was?
says he wants to coach Gene for the 1944 Olympics; Gene knows there won't be any because of the war, but of course Finny wouldn't listen
What summer does most of the action take place?
summer of 1942- sarcastic summer
It is actually on the page
text
What does Finny tell the narrator while on the beach?
that they are best friends
Where does Gene enlist?
the Navy
A freedom or certain right, and an issue of socioeconomic class
Privilege
The study of the thought process of the author and the character
Psychoanalytic
What does Brinker accuse Gene of doing?
Pushing Finny off the tree
"You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone." "The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all."
Quotes that represent Gene attempting to be even with Finny?
What is weird about Leper's telegram to Gene?
"signed your best friend" -he was desperate
How do Finny and the narrator compare academically and athletically?
...Academically- Gene outshines Finny Athletically- Finny is the best athlete
What kind of feeling does Gene have when he's goes to bring Finny his Clothes?
A "this is it" feeling
Someone who's death resembles the death of Jesus Christ
A Christ Figure
Who is Mr.Prud'homme
A substitute teacher at Devon for the Summer Session
What images does Gene use when describing the war?
A wave that can be escaped once but continues to get more powerful, and won't be escapable later. A snow that barely covers the ground, is gone, then a couple days later covers the ground for the rest of winter.
Realtes ot poetry, you appreciate the beauty of the text
Aestheticism
When Gene confesses to jouncing the tree limb, why does Finny reject the truth?
If Finny accepts Gene's confession, he must also acknowledge that the war in life is true.
What does Finny represent in contrast to Gene
Innocence and everything good vs. guilty persona, lets his emotions rule, paranoia
You study how the work of literature portrays the time in history where the story is taking place
New Historicism
Entails looking at a text without any outside information
New criticism
Can Finny play sports after the accident?
No
Finny calls Gene his "best pal", does Gene respond?
No
What does Finny want to do on his first day back on campus? Where do they go?
On Finny's first day back to school, he decided that he and Gene had to skip class. He wanted to walk around and see the place. They went to the gym.
What happens with Phineas and Mr. Prud'homme?
One of the school masters, Mr. Prud'homme, noticed the boys' absence from dinner the previous evening, and pays them a visit to discuss the offense but Mr. Prud'homme is won over by Finny's charm
What is one of the things the boys do to help out due to the war effort? What is another thing that they did?
One of the things that the boys do to help out due to the war effect was that they worked on the railroads and shoveled them. They also harvested apples since all the workers had been drafted.
When discussing the Butt Room and its occupants, Gene says the students have many faces. What theme does this address?
People are trained to conform to their environment.
What society do they form?How often does the society meet? How do all meetings begin?
Phineas and Gene formed a suicide society, and the membership requirement is one jump out of the tree. They called it "The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session."The society began to meet every night to initiate them. The Charter Members, Phineas and Gene, had to open every meeting by jumping into the water.
Who broke A.Hopkins Parker's swimming record? What was his reaction?
Phineas broke it; Gene wanted everybody to know but Phineas wanted it to be kept as a secret
What is blitz ball? Who creates this and makes up the rules?
Phineas made up a new game called, "blitzball." Bobby Zane suggested making the game something to do with the war like a blitzkrieg. It is a mix of rugby and football. He added new rules as they go. Phineas was the best adapted to this game because he was the one who made it.
What was Phineas the only one not to do during his time on earth?
Phineas was never afraid and never hated anyone. He didn't possess the enmity that everyone else had. Other people experienced this fearful shock somewhere, this sighting of the enemy, and so began an obsessive labor of defense. All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against an enemy. They didn't even know if their enemy was an enemy.
Whose relationship in LOTF is parallel to Leper and Gene's relationship?
Piggy and Ralph; piggy looked up to Ralph just like leper looked up to gene, leper is very logical but is an outcast
What kind of response does the author want to get from the reader
Reader Response
Where did the narrator return to? How long had passed since he had been there last?
Returned to the Devon School, its been 15 years
What's ironic about Leper being released with a Section 8?
Section 8 deals with insanity, and Leper saw the world most clearly after going into the army, compared to all the other boys at Devon.
What was to army going to give to Leper?
Section Eight discharge, which the army gives to the insane
Your have to interpret between the lines when reading
Subtext
Season vs. Season
Summer in the past vs. winter in the present ; summer- free, happy,youth, winter-dull and dead
What does Finny say will happen the night before the French final exam?
That Gene will pass anyway
What does Finny start training Gene for?
The 1944 Olympics
Where do Finny and Gene go in chapter 3? (hint: going here was breaking the rules)
The Beach
What do the two rivers, Devon River and the Naguamsett River symbolize?
The Devon River is Finny; god-like while the Naguamsett River is the lower river, is ugly and messy unlike Devon, it is like Gene
What does Finny plan in the middle of winter?
The Winter Carnival
Who is the first boy to enlist? What branch of the service does he want to join?
The first boy to enlist was Leper Lepellier. He was convinced by a video of American ski troops that he must enlist and become one of them.
How does the narrator react to the meeting? What does Finny tell him to do and why?
The narrator really wants to go .Finny tells him to study because he needs to pass this test.
What moves into the Far Common in June?
The school donated the quadrangle to the military for a parachute riggers' school. Gene stood by his window and watched the war moving in the Far Common in early June.
What is the name of the Club they set up where you jump of the tree?
The super suicide society of the summer session
What two places did Gene visit?
The tree and the marble stairs (places where finny fell)
How did Gene's memory of the tree 15 years compare to the tree now?
The tree is now weary,enfeebled, and dry but he remembered it as a tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple tree
What two places does Gene see when his visits Devon at the beginning of the book?
The tree, and the staircase
Why is the faculty more indulgent with these boys?
They distract the staff from the war
What do the boy's do at the Winter Carnival?
They drink hard cider and award prizes for athletic feats and the building of snow statues.
What was Gene's goal for the school year?
To be the head of the class; valedictorian
Why does Gene visit Finny's House?
To tell him he is responsible for the accident
Figurative language in literature for artistic effect or Cliché or recurring literary devices across literature
Trope
What does Gene do on his way back to school?
Visited Finny's house and told him that he pushed Finny from the night of the accident
What does the narrator do one evening when dressing for dinner?
Wears Finny's clothes
What describes the instance that Finny is forced to face reality in regards to the war?
When Gene tells him that Leper was driven crazy by the war.
What is going on in the World while the story is being told?
World War 2
Does Finny forgive Gene?
Yes
Is Gene an unreliable narrator?
Yes, his memory was not reliable
What is blitzball?
a game in which everyone tried to knock down the ball carrier, and when there was a new ball carrier everyone tried to knock him down
How do the boys get to the beach? How long does it take?
the boys rode their bikes there and it took a whole day.
Who does Finny think is making up the war?
the fat old men
What does the narrator realize about himself and Finny?
they are exactly the same
Did the Army turn Leper crazy?
yes
