"A Separate Peace" -- Study Guide Questions & Answers -- Chapters 1-5

8. What article of clothing is a symbol of Finny's nonconformity?

Answer: A pink shirt.

8. What jars the reader in the following statement, & what is implied? "Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence." What literary term is employed?

Answer: Everything changes in life. It grows old & withers away.

By Laken_2020

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Chapter 1

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Chapter 2

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Chapter 3

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Chapter 4

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Chapter 5

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8. What revelation does Gene have in the hospital room?

Answer: Gene realizes that they were never competitors.

3. How much time has passed since he was a student there? How old do you think the narrator is now? Why do you suppose the author decided to tell the story as a reminiscence, instead of just starting his story in 1942?

Answer: Fifteen years; 31- or 32-years-old; The author decided to tell the story as a reminiscence, instead of just starting in 1942, because whatever happened at school was traumatic & effected life after school.

6. Which of Finny's character traits "stun[s] people"?

Answer: Finny always says what he is thinking.

6. Why does Finny apologize to Gene?

Answer: Finny apologizes to Gene because he was thinking ugly thoughts. He had a feeling that Gene caused the fall, & you do not accuse your friend of that with only a feeling.

8. How does Finny break the swimming record? Why won't his time not count?

Answer: Finny beats the time by 0.7 seconds., because it was not during a meet with a referee there.

7. Regarding Finny's breaking of the swimming record, why does Gene say, "It made Finny seem too unusual for-- not friendship, but too unusual for rivalry"?

Answer: Finny does not want others to know what he did, he is very modest. You cannot be a rival to someone who wants to compete.

10. How does Finny react when Gene admits that he caused the accident? Is Gene being virtuous-- or selfish-- by telling the truth? Why doesn't he "take it back" when he sees Finny's reaction?

Answer: Finny does not want to believe it. He tells Gene to stop. I think he is a bit of both. Finny should hear the truth & Gene should not keep up the lie, but if the truth will hurt more, then help. Maybe he should keep it to himself.

12. Why does Finny fall? Can you explain Gene's actions?

Answer: Finny falls when Gene "jounces" (bounces) the branch he is standing on. I do not think that Gene understands why he did that. Probably out of jealousy.

15. According to Finny, why was he "good for" Gene? Did Gene agree?

Answer: Finny gets Gene to do things he normally would not do, which was unsafe stuff. Gene silently agrees.

5. Finny is "a model boy who was most comfortable in the truant's corner." How do you explain this contradiction in terms?

Answer: Finny is a good student & he flaunts the rules. He breaks them, but excepts his punishment when he gets in trouble. He does not mean to be bad.

14. What makes Finny such an attractable, likable person?

Answer: Finny is not mean. He wants to do good. He loves the school.

4. Does Finny suspect Gene of causing the fall? Finny hasn't told anyone about Gene's role in the accident. What is Gene's guess as to why not?

Answer: Finny is not sure what happened. He has a feeling, but is not sure what the feeling is. Gene thinks that he did not tell anyone because he wanted to confront Finny to his face.

2. The boys have broken a rule by missing dinner. How does Finny explain to Mr. Prud'homme?

Answer: Finny rambles about everything they did, including watching the sunset, until Mr. Prud'homme could not help but smile.

15. On what dramatic note does this chapter end?

Answer: Finny saves Gene from falling out of the big tree.

10. How does Finny avoid getting into trouble at the tea? Does he lie? How does Gene feel about the episode?

Answer: Finny states wearing the school tie as a belt makes the school part of the war effort, it "ties" it all together with the pink shirt. It's a tribute no, no lie as Finny next states he only thought about holding up his pants this morning. Gene is disappointed, once again Finny is not in trouble.

10. Why does Finny want Gene to jump with him? How is that ironic?

Answer: Finny thinks they really are best friends. He wants to jump together as friends.

4. Why does Finny try to win over Mr. Prud'homme?

Answer: Finny wins him over to get out of trouble & to stay on the teacher's good side.

1. With what realization does this chapter open? Why didn't Gene feel very grateful toward Finny for saving his life?

Answer: Gene almost lost his life, & because Finny insisted they jump from the tree again.

11. As Gene hurries to get to the station, Finny says, "You aren't going to start living by the rules, are you?" Gene says no, but "that was the biggest lie of them all." What do you think Gene means?

Answer: Gene always lives by the rules. He does not like life being out of order.

4. When Gene speaks of Finny's treachery & the hate contained in the world, what treachery & hate is he referring to?

Answer: Gene believes Finny is trying to sabotage his studies to make him flunk. Gene feels that they are even now, even in hatred.

8. Why does Gene reverse his opinion, & why does this menace his understanding?

Answer: Gene does not want Finny telling him what to do. He is thinking more & more that Finny is trying to sabotage him.

13. How does Gene ensure that he will win the competition in the tree?

Answer: Gene ensures that he will win by bouncing the limb Finny stood on. That caused him to fall.

1. What effect does Finny's injury have on Gene? On the other students? On the teachers?

Answer: Gene feels a lot of guilt. The students are upset, & they wonder what happened. The teachers are also upset that Finny was hurt, & they find it to be so unfair.

13. In the first three paragraphs on page 22, what are the mixed feelings that Gene expresses?

Answer: Gene is disappointed Finny did not get in trouble. He wanted to see the sparks fly, happy Finny is his friend.

2. Why do you think Gene puts on Finny's pink shirt?

Answer: Gene misses his best friend. He wants Finny back.

5. What happens to Gene's grades after he flunks the test?Do you think Gene would have become such a "good student" if he hadn't been so angry at Finny? How is Gene like Chet? How is he different?

Answer: Gene now becomes a top notch student, even better. No, he would not have done so well. He is like Chet in that he excels, works hard, but the difference is Chet loves to learn, wants to learn more. Gene is competing, he is not learning.

7. Why do you think Gene decides to tell Finny the truth? Is it the right decision? Why doesn't he follow through, on the first visit to the infirmary?

Answer: Gene tells the truth because he knows Finny would have done the same. Yes, it was right. Finny should know what Gene was feeling & how it led to the fall. He cannot say this time because the doctor sends him out of the room.

5. Finny asks Gene to see. What is Gene's guess as to why? What is the actual reason?

Answer: Gene thinks that Finny is going to yell at him for causing the accident. Finny wants to see Gene for his friendship. He needs to try & get his mind off sports.

6. At the bottom of page 32, what could we read beneath the surface of Gene's words?

Answer: Gene wants to be like Finny, to be liked by everyone,. to excel sat school & sports.

14. Gene says "my knees bent." Why do you suppose he doesn't say "I bent my knees"?

Answer: He does not say that he bent his knees because he does not want to admit that he did it on purpose.

11. What does Gene envy in Finny?

Answer: He envies him getting away with everything, & is still a good person, not a conniver.

9. How does Finny "get away" with wearing a pink shirt? How does Gene feel about that?

Answer: He explains that it is an emblem for the victory in Europe. Gene is envious that Finny gets away with a lot of things.

5. How can you tell Gene is jealous of Finny's skill at blitzball?

Answer: He is jealous because he keeps saying Finny is great & how lucky he is to be his friend.

7. How does Finny react when Gene finally asserts himself & says that he needs to study? Do you think Finny should have realized how angry with him Gene has been all these weeks?

Answer: He is surprised at first, but then tells Gene to stay put & study, to not worry about going. I am not sure, Gene has not made his feelings clear to Finny. Finny does not have a clue.

11. Why does Gene agree to forego his studies & venture to the tree?

Answer: He is trying very hard to be equal, & he cannot let Finny upstage him at the tree.

9. "Changed, I headed back through the mud." The word changed" seems a little unusual here. What do you think the narrator means by it? What previous line is he echoing?

Answer: He means he, himself, has changed over time. He is echoing "nothing endures".

11. What did Gene do to his own belief, & why did he do it?

Answer: He skipped studying for the big test the next day to go to the beach.

12. How does Finny get out of trouble with Mr. Patch-Withers at the tea?

Answer: He turns the tie into an emblem with the pink shirt. It is about the war.

14. Why did Finny jump from the tree? How did Gene feel about jumping?

Answer: He wanted to be the first younger class man to jump from the tree. Gene did not want to jump. It was scary, & a boy could get seriously hurt.

10. In the last paragraph, what keeps Gene from responding in kind when Finny says that Gene is his best friend?

Answer: He was feeling very deep thoughts, truths that maybe he is not the best friend.

1. A number of times in this chapter, the narrator mentions that "fear" is a major part of his school life. In what way could his school life could have been filled with fear?

Answer: His school life could've been filled with fear by the fear of going off to war, not being good enough, & not being good enough academically, athletically, or socially as others.

4. What images do you recall after reading the first few pages where the narrator's recent visit to Devon is described? What sights, sounds, smells, etc. are most vivid in your mind? What is Devon like?

Answer: I recalled marble stairs, a lot of wood, varnish, the hard steps, old building, & a stale smell as the description. Devon is a very large school, as well as an old school.

2. Is it Finny's fault that Gene flunked the test? How does Gene feel about the flunking?

Answer: I think it is kind of Finny's fault, he should not have suggested the beach & Gene should have said no. He is not happy he flunked. He wants to succeed.

3. What suspicions does Gene develop about Finny? Why do these suspicions make Gene feel better?

Answer: If Gene wins, they would be on even footing, both good at something, he also thinks Finny would be unhappy if he won. He cannot trust Finny.

3. What is the Suicide Society like? What does Gene think of it?

Answer: It is a group of boys who meet every night by the tree, Gene & Finny jump every night. Gene is becoming uneasy, does not like jumping.

9. Why doesn't Gene want to go to the beach with Finny?

Answer: It is forbidden, big trouble, Gene has homework to do & it is out of order. He wants his whole life in order. He goes because it is Finny.

4. What is blitzball & how do the rules of blitzball come to be? How does the game reflect on Finny?

Answer: It is knock down. The person with the ball cannot use their arms. They can throw it to someone else. Finny makes up the rules as he goes. Finny believes in winning, doing your best all the time, once again it is something he is good at.

7. As an adult looking back, the narrator thinks he understands why the faculty were "looser" with students that summer. Why?

Answer: It is war, but the young boys remind the teachers of what peace is, when you do not have a care in the world.

3. How bad was Finny's injury? How does Finny take the news?

Answer: It was a really bad break. He will walk, but he cannot do sports. He is done with it. Finny is not taking the news well.

16. Why does Gene's West Point stride bother Finny?

Answer: It's too much authority, & it gets in the way of happiness.

3. How does Mr. Prud'homme react to the explaination? How does Gene feel about that?

Answer: Mr. Prud'homme smiles & laughs at the different explanations. Gene knows the teachers are more tolerant of the sixteen-year-olds.

9. Is Gene relieved to find out that Finny isn't guilty of treachery-- that he really wants Gene to do well?

Answer: No, he is not relieved. Now he thinks he is a bad person, & the two of them are not equal.

13. Who does it appear will be a major character in this story, besides the narrator (Gene), & what do we find out about him in this first chapter?

Answer: Phineas seems to be a main character, he does his own thing, questions everyone has definite ideas of life. He is of small build, good athlete.

6. Why does Finny tell Gene to stop studying for his French exam?

Answer: So they can see Larry jump out of the tree finally.

10. How was the summer of 1942 at Devon different from what it would have been if there hadn't been a war on?

Answer: The boys know that life is changing fast. They are going to have to grow up quickly.

1. What sort of long lasting impression does dawn on the beach create for Gene? Why does Gene think of it as Lazarus?

Answer: The dawn at the ocean was not as glorious as he thought it would be, took a while to become beautiful. Finny still asleep & the gray light looks dead, but with the light comes alive.

12. As the flashback unfolds, how does the mood of the last part of the chapter change?

Answer: The last part of the chapter is calm. You feel the comradeship between Gene & Finny.

11. What mood is conveyed in the first five & a half pages, & how is this mood reinforced by the description of the day?

Answer: The mood is one of question, of uncertainty, which fits the cold, rainy, breezing day.

6. Why does the narrator conclude that the stairs must be very hard? How does that fact make him feel? Why?

Answer: The narrator concludes that the stairs must be very hard because they don't look very worn. The fact makes him feel not understanding because he wants to know why he never noticed it before. He did quite a lot of thinking in the past.

2. What is implied when the narrator speaks of "how far my convalescence had gone"?

Answer: The narrator implies how he has recovered from his school & from his fears & adolescence.

1. Who is the narrator of this story? How long as he been out of school? Why is this story said to be narrated in flashback: What type of narration is this?

Answer: The narrator is Gene. He has been out of school for fifteen years. It is a flashback, because it starts out during the present, then jumps back to the past.

2. What rules does Finny keep faithfully? How do these rules differ from the rules he does not obey?

Answer: The rules are ones he puts on himself,not school rules. He does not lie.

7. How is the narrator surprised by the tree's appearance? What does he mean by saying that he remembered it as "high as a beanstalk"? How does it seem now?

Answer: The tree is bare of leaves. it looks old & worn & feeble. He remembers the tree as very tall, now it is not so tall. It's smaller.

5. What two specific spots does he seek out to revisit?

Answer: Two specific spots he seeks out to revisit are the First Academy Building, & the tree.

9. What can you tell about Finny's family background from his home?

Answer: You can tell that they have money, are very popular, & everything is in order.