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, and it is a river that Gene falls into while fighting with Quackenbush. The 2 bodies of water at Devon school, however, are more than just a physical part of the setting. They are also symbols of the two sides of life described in A Separate Peace. They each have their own meanings, and although they share some things in common, they are generally very different.

The Devon River is a cool, clean stream that came to Devon from the inlands, passed through the school's property, and then threw itself over a small waterfall and into the Naguamsett. The Devon represents all that is good in the world and at Devon...