A Separate Peace Summary
John Knowles

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A Separate Peace Summary & Study Guide
64 Student Essay
2 Encyclopedia Article
16 Literature Criticism
1 Book Note
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180 Multiple Choice Questions
60 Short Essay Questions
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A Separate Peace Summary

A Separate Peace is a novel by award-winning author John Knowles. In this novel, Gene Forrester is a preparatory school student whose best friend is an outgoing and much beloved athlete named Phineas. Gene finds himself struggling beside Phineas and comes to the conclusion that Phineas wants to sabotage Gene so that he can be the star of the school. When this assumption proves to be false, Gene becomes confused. Gene causes an accident that will end Phineas' athletic career and derail his plans to join the war overseas. Gene will struggle with this single episode for months until finally Phineas learns the truth. A Separate Peace is a story of coming of age and of young men who struggle to find out who they are and what motivates them in a time of uncertainty and fear.

Gene Forrester returns to Devon,... View more of the A Separate Peace Summary

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Encyclopedia Articles (2)

A Separate Peace - John Knowles - 1959

9,368 words, approx. 32 pages

A Separate Peace - John Knowles - 1959 Introduction A Separate Peace is John Knowles's most famous work and has been a popular secondary school text since its first publication in 1959. This is... Read more

A Separate Peace

3,863 words, approx. 13 pages

A Separate Peace by John Knowles John Knowles was born in 1926 and attended the prestigious New England boarding school Phillips Exeter Academy in the early 1940s. The following decade Knowles wrot... Read more

John Knowles Biography (2)

John Knowles

10,064 words, approx. 34 pages

Biography EssayJohn Knowles, the third of four children of James Myron and Mary Beatrice Shea Knowles, was born in Fairmont, West Virginia. He has an older brother and sister who are twins, and a youn... Read more

John Knowles

11,666 words, approx. 39 pages

[This entry was updated by Hallman Bell Bryant (Clemson University) from the entry by Robert M. Nelson (University of Richmond) in the Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography, volume 6, pp. ... Read more

Essays & Analysis (80)

Critical Essay by Michael Dirda

492 words, approx. 2 pages

Critical Essay by Michael Dirda In 1960 A Separate Peace catapulted Knowles both to international prominence and to life as a full-time novelist. Unfortunately, with each succeeding work … Know... Read more

Critical Essay by John Mcinerney

280 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by John Mcinerney Most people remember John Knowles as the author of A Separate Peace, a brief, enormously popular novel which searchingly studied the lives of two boys on the brink of ... Read more

Critical Essay by Simon Raven

513 words, approx. 2 pages

Critical Essay by Simon Raven [A Separate Peace], modest as it is in tone, is likely to leave you thinking. The misuse of science now makes it necessary to articulate a new and purely practical form o... Read more

Critical Essay by James L. Mcdonald

1,775 words, approx. 6 pages

Critical Essay by James L. Mcdonald It may be too early to attempt more than a tentative appraisal of the overall achievement of John Knowles. Certainly one can say that he ranks among the most promis... Read more

Critical Essay by Franziska Lynne Greiling

1,104 words, approx. 4 pages

Critical Essay by Franziska Lynne Greiling The topic of this article will be not innocence but freedom, the Greek theme of A Separate Peace. (p. 1269) Knowles is concerned with the implications of cer... Read more

Critical Essay by Sally Kempton

445 words, approx. 2 pages

Critical Essay by Sally Kempton John Knowles's first book, "A Separate Peace," was one of those legendary adolescent novels, passed hand to hand around the dormitories at Groton, ... Read more

Critical Essay by The Times Literary Supplement

308 words, approx. 2 pages

Critical Essay by The Times Literary Supplement [A Separate Peace] is, indeed, a novel of altogether exceptional power and distinction. [Mr. Knowles] writes of a New England preparatory school—... Read more

Critical Essay by Jack Sullivan

259 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Jack Sullivan John Knowles, author of the highly acclaimed A Separate Peace, has now written a soap operatic historical novel about a coal baron's family in West Virginia that... Read more

Critical Essay by Paul Piazza

530 words, approx. 2 pages

Critical Essay by Paul Piazza In Peace Breaks Out, John Knowles revisits Devon School, the New Hampshire prep school that provided the setting for his 1950s best seller, A Separate Peace. Perceptively... Read more

Critical Essay by Julian Moynahan

743 words, approx. 3 pages

Critical Essay by Julian Moynahan The continuing appeal of "A Separate Peace" has little to do with its wartime atmosphere, though that is well handled. Rather, the attraction is its cen... Read more

Critical Essay by Maurice Richardson

161 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Maurice Richardson A Separate Peace is a short, thoughtful, ambitious American study of a fatal relationship between two upper-class schoolboys in late adolescence during the war... Read more

Critical Essay by Harding Lemay

282 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Harding Lemay "A Separate Peace," John Knowles' first novel, is a consistently admirable exercise in the craft of fiction—disciplined, precise, witty and ... Read more

Critical Essay by Time

213 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Time [A Separate Peace, Knowles's] excellent first novel, is remarkable not only for the virtues it possesses but for the faults it lacks. There is little of the melodrama cus... Read more

Critical Essay by James Ellis

1,863 words, approx. 7 pages

Critical Essay by James Ellis To read A Separate Peace is to discover a novel which is completely satisfactory and yet so provocative that the reader wishes immediately to return to it. John Knowles&#... Read more

Critical Essay by Ronald Weber

2,872 words, approx. 10 pages

Critical Essay by Ronald Weber Professor Halio's recent appreciation of the two short novels of John Knowles [see excerpt above] was especially welcome. Knowles's work, and in particular... Read more

Critical Essay by Paul Witherington

2,903 words, approx. 10 pages

Critical Essay by Paul Witherington The development and resolution of tensions between Gene and Finny provide the well-balanced structure of A Separate Peace, as several critics have noted. What has n... Read more

Finding Peace

1,080 words, approx. 4 pages

John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace is based considerably on the time he spent himself at Philips Exeter Academy. John Knowles was admitted to the academy in September 1943. The summer session of 19... Read more

Separate Peace: Envy between Gene and Finny

1,124 words, approx. 4 pages

"Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him...The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinte... Read more

The Loss of Finny's Flow in "A Separate Peace"

863 words, approx. 3 pages

"Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress." -Martin Luther Kin... Read more

Imagery of A Separate Peace

375 words, approx. 2 pages

The imagery in the book A Separate Peace written by John Knowles was manifest through his use of similes and symbolisms. The imagery brought out by Knowles enhanced the flavors and colors of the story... Read more

Significance of the Tree in A Separate Peace

765 words, approx. 3 pages

A Separate Peace is a captivating novel compounded by a genius. This brilliant author, John Knowles, not only wrote a wonderful story, but he smothered it in symbolism. The comparisons tha... Read more

A Separate Peace

492 words, approx. 2 pages

"It wasn't the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special a... Read more

Personal Fear and Modification in "A Separate Peace"

619 words, approx. 3 pages

In his book "A Separate Peace", author John Knowles deals with the life of four young people and their conflicts, which occur at Devon School during the last years of the Second World War. The novel s... Read more

Does Finny Equal Fun and Brinker Discipline?

1,485 words, approx. 5 pages

Does Finny Equal Fun and Brinker Discipline" A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is about a boy, Gene, who spent his summer at The Devon School along with his best friend Finny. The summer is... Read more

Loyalty To Friendship

919 words, approx. 4 pages

Loyalty to Friendship Gene Forrester the narrator of A Separate Peace, never failed a test until his roommate Finny challenges Gene's conformist viewpoints. Gene accommodated Finny, by following his... Read more

A Seperate Place

546 words, approx. 2 pages

A Separate Peace Not guilty is when you're innocent from what you are being accused of. In A Separate Peace, Gene was blamed for killing Finny, which is not true. Gene was charged for killing hi... Read more

Character Analysis in "A Separate Peace"

827 words, approx. 3 pages

Main Characters in "A Separate Peace" The four main characters in A Separate Peace are Gene Forrester, Phineas (Finny), Leper Lepellier, and Brinker Hadley. All of the characters change in one way ... Read more

Rivers in A Separate Peace

965 words, approx. 4 pages

Two Sides of the Story The rivers in A Separate Peace by John Knowles play an important part of the plot. It is a river that stands between life and death when the boys jump from the tree,... Read more

Themes from a Seperate Peace

768 words, approx. 3 pages

A Piece of A Separate Piece In John Knowles' novel, A Separate Peace, there are a number of themes: competition and jealousy, the effects of denial, and how the combination w... Read more

A Seperate Peace, Inhumanity to Man

387 words, approx. 2 pages

In most books the author creates a theme to the book. In The book A Separate Peace, many themes were used to get across the point of the story. Among these themes were: escape from reality, conformit... Read more

A Seperate Peace: Why Gene Jounces Finny

364 words, approx. 2 pages

Gene has a natural reserved and conforming personality. He would rather go along with what each and every person is doing than it is for him to show his own style. Gene never expresses his precise fe... Read more

Envy in A Separate Peace

1,332 words, approx. 5 pages

The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis chapter 4 is a classic example of jealousy and rage. The story goes that Cain and Abel, brothers and sons of Adam and Eve, bring offerings to the Lord. God look... Read more

Phineas in A Separate Peace

1,003 words, approx. 4 pages

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Phineas is the main character who looms larger than life in that he is charismatic, caring, and true to heart. It is necessary for Phineas to die at the end of th... Read more

A Separate Peace

509 words, approx. 2 pages

In A Separate Peace, the main characters are foils of one another. The plot is pushed along by the changing dynamics of their friendship. Their relationship begins to drift apart when their personal... Read more

Analysis of Chapters 1-3 in "A Separate Piece"

826 words, approx. 3 pages

The story starts off with Gene, the narrator in this story, who tells us about his past at Devon School and all of his teenage memories. Gene's best friend and roommate during his life at Devon School... Read more

A Separate Peace Vs. Dead Poet's Society

862 words, approx. 3 pages

The decision of what to do and make of life usually confronts most people in adolescence. At two private schools, boys learn that choices can affect their lives for years to come. In A Separate Peace... Read more

Finny's Illusions

886 words, approx. 3 pages

"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone... you have ceased to live" (Mark Twain). A person often creates illusions to make the world just right for himself. In A Separate Peace, by John... Read more

A Separate Peace

961 words, approx. 4 pages

John Knowles' A Separate Peace is a young boy's struggle to discover personal identity in an ever-changing world. Gene develops an intense resentment towards Finny because he embodies charisma, talent... Read more

Passions of Gene and Finny: Athlete Vs. Student

789 words, approx. 3 pages

In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene and Finny are two friends with very different character traits. Finny is more laid back and would rather have fun than work. Gene is a very hard wo... Read more

Gene Forrester, from "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

705 words, approx. 3 pages

Gene Forrester is an ordinary American Citizen faced with the turmoil of the 1940's. During this time, his enrolment at Devon school for boys alters his life entirely. Throughout his four-year atten... Read more

It Takes Two

793 words, approx. 3 pages

"..I lost a part of myself to him then, and a soaring sense of freedom revealed that this must have been my purpose from the first to become a part of Phineas." A Separate Peace, a novel written by J... Read more

Man's Inhumanity to Man- Separate Peace

1,906 words, approx. 7 pages

What is inhumanity? The definition of inhumanity is the lack of pity or compassion; a cruel act. In the novel, A Separate Peace, there are many inhumane actions displayed. The main character, Gene ... Read more

A Separate Peace Dialectical Journal

1,319 words, approx. 5 pages

Quotations From Text Conflict "This tree flooded me with a sensation of alarm all the way to my tingling fingers. My head began to feel unnaturally light, and the vague rustling sounds from the near... Read more

What I Have Learned about Gene and Finny

575 words, approx. 2 pages

Gene and Finny greatly differ from each other. They both have different qualities and traits. Some of them may be bad and some of them may be good. Once you understand Gene and Finny's role in A Se... Read more

The Power of the Mind- a Separate Peace

1,786 words, approx. 6 pages

Today in our society many people think it's an admirable thing to have complete control of another's mind and what they do with their actions. For instance in high school guys are supposed... Read more

"A Separate Peace"

678 words, approx. 3 pages

The main character, Gene Forrester returns to visit the campus of Devon School, an all-boys elementary school in rural New Hampshire, which he attended fifteen years ago. Two locations have a mysterio... Read more

"Finny" Character Analysis

398 words, approx. 2 pages

In the book, "A Separate Peace," Phineas, or Finny, was a rebellious, yet modest, and charming young man. He was well-liked by most people. These characteristics make him a very interesting person. ... Read more

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

1,011 words, approx. 4 pages

John Knowles is a known author based on his most famous novel "A Separate Peace." "A Separate Peace" is not merely a title or phrase, but is in concordance with how the main character Gene gains fr... Read more

A Separate Peace

615 words, approx. 3 pages

World War II was a frightening and chaotic time in history. In great distress, many people found a way to ignore and distance themselves from the war. The novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, se... Read more

Biblical Allusions in "A Separate Peace"

584 words, approx. 2 pages

Throughout chapter four of A Separate Peace, there are many biblical allusions. In particular, the story of Eden, and the resurrection of Lazarus are mentioned as ways of presenting the similarities ... Read more

Relationships in "A Separate Peace"

832 words, approx. 3 pages

The book "A Separate Peace" contained many different and unusual, yet original relationships between the many characters in the book. There are many exciting and emotional relationships that occur i... Read more

A Separate Peace

1,556 words, approx. 6 pages

Everyone needs a friend in their lives. A good friend is one who can be trusted, obliging, and will be there when one needs them the most. A friendship is either a good relationship or a bad one. A Se... Read more

A Separate Peace: Analyzing Themes and Characters

2,011 words, approx. 7 pages

Question # 8 Many claim that Finny can be a very manipulative person. He uses this power to make people do whatever he wants them to. I feel that Finny uses this power too often towards Gene and hi... Read more

A Separate Peace: the Death of a Friendship

1,232 words, approx. 5 pages

A Separate Peace, a novel by John Knowles, opens with the narrator revisiting the Devon School located in New Hampshire, the school he attended fifteen years ago. Visiting sites such as the marble s... Read more

A Separate Peace: A Character Study

655 words, approx. 3 pages

What do you do when you're jealous of your best friend? Why? Is it because they're funny and likeable? Is it because they don't choose sides; they're on everyone's team? It because they seem to get aw... Read more

A Separate Peace: A Review

1,137 words, approx. 4 pages

Soldiers all look the same when they are marching to the front line with guns on their shoulders and helmets on their heads. However, the faces under their helmets show the "differences." By "diffe... Read more

A Separate Peace Theme Comparison

668 words, approx. 3 pages

A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, tells the story of two boys at a boarding school and how they discover their true selves. Throughout the book, many themes become apparent, one being the th... Read more

Literary Elements in a Seperate Peace

863 words, approx. 3 pages

One example of symbolism John Knowles' A Seprate Peace is from page one. As Gene visits Devon School, he finds it looking oddly newer than when he was a student there fifteen years before. Gene notic... Read more

A Seperate Peace: Does Jealousy Destroy Friendship?

1,123 words, approx. 4 pages

A Separate Peace; Does Jealousy Destroy a Friendship" It was once said that jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies, but what about being jealousy of a friend? Does jealousy ... Read more

Gene Forrester's Battle

1,124 words, approx. 4 pages

"My war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there" (204). When Gene Forrester stated this quote in A Separate Peace by John Knowles, he ... Read more

A Separate Peace: Literary Analysis

646 words, approx. 3 pages

A Separate Peace Literary Analysis In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, friendship is a major but complicated theme. This idea is expressed through the relationship between two boarding... Read more

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

647 words, approx. 3 pages

A Separate War In John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, like most other literature, conflict resides within the main character himself. Throughout the course of the novel, Gene Forrester struggles to... Read more

Phineas and Gene's Relationship in "A Separate Peace"

895 words, approx. 3 pages

In the novel A Separate Peace by, John Knowles, takes place during the time of World War Two at a place called Devon High School. The characters in this novel are pressured to go into the war. The mai... Read more

Freudian Psychology in "A Separate Peace"

1,366 words, approx. 5 pages

In Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the characters are incredibly unique and have various sources of motivation. Some of the characters are intrinsically motivated, they motivate themselves and do not... Read more

A Seperate Peace

484 words, approx. 2 pages

A Separate Peace The war is a constant environment for the boys at Devon they become used to it surrounding them. One boy in particular is getting interested in the war not so much interested but no... Read more

A Separate Peace Symbolism

858 words, approx. 3 pages

In our lives, we grow each living day. When we are born, we are helpless and innocent, simply living though the day with no complex thoughts. As adults, we are sure and confident of ourselves as we pr... Read more

A Ruined Friendship in "A Separate Peace"

1,176 words, approx. 4 pages

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is the story of two seemingly best friends, Gene and Phineas. Tension and competition grow between them throughout the book, causing jealousy and hatred. Gen... Read more

Competition in a Separate Peace

776 words, approx. 3 pages

Everything seemed perfect about Gene and Finny’s relationship with each other; however Gene went above and beyond the limit of “idolizing”. Competition arose. A little competition b... Read more

Reality and Truth in "A Separate Peace"

1,637 words, approx. 6 pages

When does one need protection from his life? This could be answered in many different ways. One person can need protection to hide from an experience that's been haunting their lives like a death in t... Read more

The Complicated Friendship of "A Seperate Peace"

481 words, approx. 2 pages

Growing out of the adolescent stage at a time period when your country is on the brink of the Second World War, and you are overly sheltered by the confines of a private school, you can definitely be... Read more

Disparity Vs. Equality

737 words, approx. 3 pages

Disparity vs. Equality A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, takes place in a New England boarding school during World War 2. The two main characters, best friends Phineas and Gene, go through trials a... Read more

Finny Essay

618 words, approx. 3 pages

"Because I've Suffered" "Because I have suffered." Those were the words Finny said that shocked Gene. Perhaps it was because he really was mad Gene for knocking him out of the tree. However, that... Read more

Gene Forrester in John Knowles' A Separate Peace

815 words, approx. 3 pages

War and Peace Three scores and six years ago, deep inside the heart of Europe, a great tension which has been slowly mounting for decades finally detonated. The Axis Powers, led by Hitler and Mussol... Read more

Gene's Biggest Enemy In A Separate Peace: Himself

385 words, approx. 2 pages

The novel, A Separate Peace, revolves around one character more than any other. The name of this complex character is Gene. John Knoweles presents these complexities many times throughout this great p... Read more

A Separate Peace Thesis Paper

559 words, approx. 2 pages

Around 5000 B.C.E. the Greek historian, Herodotus, had proclaimed Egypt " the gift of the Nile" because all the floods that were happening there had turned Egypt into a productive agricultural region ... Read more

Competitive Friendship in "A Separate Peace"

910 words, approx. 4 pages

Competitive Friendship The book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles was written about the friendship of two teenage boys during the time of World War II. The two boys are very much alike, but at the... Read more

Gene's True Motive

1,019 words, approx. 4 pages

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, a grown man named Gene Forrester reflects on his past experiences at Devon School in New Hampshire. He narrates his high school memories and describes the interes... Read more

Conflicts that Bind A Friendship in "A Separate Peace"

1,422 words, approx. 5 pages

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is about two boys who grow and learn from each other. Gene and Phineas are two completely different people, who dissimilar personalities compliment each other. One ... Read more

A Seperate Peace

1,360 words, approx. 5 pages

The Enemy Inside The saying, "our greatest enemy is ourselves," is shown in A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. The novel takes place during a time of war, but at Devon, an exclusive New England prep ... Read more

Characters' Reactions to War in "A Seperate Peace"

735 words, approx. 3 pages

In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, a tragedy known as World War II strikes America, and impacts the lives of the boys at Devon School. Each character in the book deals with the w... Read more

Free Book Notes (1)

A Separate Peace

20,889 words, approx. 70 pages

A Separate Peace Book Notes is a free study guide on A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Browse the summary below: Author Biography / Context of the Work One-Page Plot Summary ... Read more

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How does Gene feel about his actions in the tree?

-- Gene, in A Separate Peace, feels guilty for what happens at the tree. He purposely made Finny fall... read more

In A Separate Peace Chapter 12, why does Gene say that as he wanders through the night he does not exist?

-- Gene feels lost, like a ghost; without an identity, a goal, or any sense of himself. He has spent so... read more

Why is Saturday "battleship grey" is A Separate Peace?

-- Battleship grey describes the late winter sky where they are. But, on a symbolic level, it represent... read more

In A Separate Peace, how has the war changed Leper?

-- Leper becomes unhinged. He loses his mind and is given a section 8. He is sent back to his family to... read more

In A Separate Peace, what is the "separate peace" that Finny has established in the book?

-- Each boy all of the boys have faced and lived with fears of different sorts...except for Finny. And... read more

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