A S eparate P eace

1. ASeparate Peace Introduction to By John Knowles

2. About the Author • John Knowles • Born in West Virginia on September 16, 1926 • Knowles was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, which served as a model for the setting of A Separate Peace. • A Separate Peace was Knowles’ first work, which earned him the Rosenthal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. This established Knowles as a successful author.

3. World War II • Began in 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland, and officially ended in August 1945, when the Japanese surrendered. • A Separate Peace takes place during the summer of 1942, directly in the center of World War II. • In America: • In order to cope with the war, America instituted rations on books, sugar, coffee, and other goods. • To conserve gasoline, a national 35 MPH speed limit was implemented, and driving for pleasure was banned. • By the summer of 1942, many Americans realized that the war was far from over. Historical Context

4. A Separate Peace belongs to a genre of literature called ____________________. This is a German term which describes a novel whose main character _____________ over time, usually from childhood. • The novel is based on events that happened during Knowles’ years at the Phillips Exeter Academy. • Similar to Lord of the Flies, A Separate Peace deals with children coming to terms with their ________ set against the backdrop of World War. Literary Context

5. Internal and external conflicts. The relationship between war and peace. The nature of friendship. People’s ability to change. Biblical allegory. Main Themes

6. Devon School, the setting of A Separate Peace, is based heavily on the Phillips Exeter Academy. Phillips Exeter Academy

7. John Knowles was educated at the _______________________________. The novel A Separate Peace takes place during ____________________. The nature of ___________________ is one of the theme’s of the novel. _______________________ is a term used to describe literature about growing up and maturing. Because some people see Finny as a Christlike character, A Separate Peace has been called a _____________________. What Did you Learn

8. Types of Narrators • First Person Narrator • First person observer • First person participant • Gene Forrester is a First Person Participant • Story telling technique:

9. Setting • New England Prep School • Gene Forrester is from the south • World War II is omni-present.

10. Characters • Stories seek to reveal character: either a particular individual or of human nature in general. • Protagonist • Antagonist

11. Plot • Structure • ______________ • Protagonist’s life is in relative order, although he may not be satisfied • Gene is a young man. • Follows the rules, likes order, hard worker. • Has a perfect best friend in Finny • _________________ • Something disrupts the status quo and creates conflict • Finny is a foil for Gene, upsetting Gene’s life • Gene perceives that Finny is jealous of Gene, whereas the opposite is true • Gene’s jealousy consumes him.

12. Plot • Rising Action • _____________________________ • ______________________________ • ______________________________ • Climax • _________________________________ • _________________________________

13. Plot • Having resolved the conflict, a new state of equilibrium is achieved. • _______________________________ • ________________________________ • _________________________________ • _________________________________

14. Characterization • Round • ____________________________________________________________________________________ • Flat • ____________________________________________________________________________________ • Dynamic • ____________________________________________________________________________________ • Static • ____________________________________________________________________________________

15. Characterization Grid High impact on events Significant emotional development & change Little emotional development & change Low impact on events

16. Literary Devices • Similes • Cliffhanger • Irony

17. Literary Devices • Allusion: • ________________________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________________________ • Foreshadowing: • ________________________________________________________________________

18. Literary Devices • Personification: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. Literary Devices - Metaphors • World War II • The internal war that each student fights within himself. The focus of the novel is internal and on the young people. • ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Finny • _________________________________ • WWII • When Gene can not acknowledge his feelings and is at war with himself. • Finny is a victim and a casualty • Winter Carnival • _______________________________________________ • _______________________________________________

20. Literary Devices - Metaphors • Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a comparison between two unlike objects is suggested or implied. • Blitzball: • A sport without competitors • Life at Devon. Individual struggle or every man for himself • Finny triumphs at this game • Snowball Fight: • Similar to blitzball, but this time Finny is defeated. • It brings an end to Finny and the peace he represents. • The surf at the beach. • The control that Finny had over Gene

21. Literary Devices - Symbols • Symbols: The use of one object to represent or suggest another. They embody universal suggestions of meaning. • _____________________________________ • __________________________________________ • _________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _________________________________________. • ___________________________________________. • ________________________________ • ______________________________

22. Bildungsroman • Conflicting and confusing emotions. • Gene: • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • Finny: • __________________________________ • Brinker: • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • __________________________________ • Leper: • __________________________________

23. Motifs • War • ______________________________________________________. • WWII is a key element of the setting • It encroaches on life at Devon • Students like Gene at war with themselves • Peace • ________________________________________________________ • Competition among the students • __________________________________________________________ • Athletics • __________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________ • Blitzball • _____________________________________ • Jealousy, Envy • ________________________________________ • Rash Actions • _________________________________________

24. Themes – Ignorance & War • Ignorance in the human heart leads to conflict or war. • ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (202-203) • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

25. Bildungsroman • Coming of Age story • The journey from innocence to experience. • ________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________ • Discomfort leads to suspicion and jealousy.

26. Forming an Identity • Seeking to establish, but being uncomfortable with one’s identity. • Gene is from the south and does not quite fit in. • He makes up a false identity. • The pictures of the old south on his walls. • Gene’s desire to blur his own identity with Finny’s. • Wearing Finny’s clothes. • After accident they depend on each other. • Gene does sports for Finny. • Gene lets Finny coach him. • Finny live vicariously through Gene. • Gene finds happiness in losing himself in Finny. • Gene does not like himself. • Gene likes Finny very much. • In the end Gene feels as if Finny’s funeral is his own.

27. Tone • Does the author focus on the innocence of youth or the difficulty in growing up? • Is the tone hopeful or dark? • Are people basically good or evil?