Point of View

This story is written in the first-person point of view. The narrator follows Thomas Peaceful, for whom the book is named, as he spends one torturous night remembering his life and waiting for the morning which will bring the death of his brother and best friend.

Thomas tells most of this story from his own personal memories and feelings as he remembers the life that brought him to that old farmyard barn in Belgium, waiting for his brother's execution the next morning.

Setting

This story has a split setting. Overall, this story takes place in a barn in Belgium, over the course of one night, toward the end of the first World War.

As Thomas remembers his entire life, however, the setting includes almost eighteen years and many places. The story of Thomas's life begins in the small village of Iddesleigh in Devon, England. After joining...