1. A Separate Peace
Guided Notes

2. Author John Knowles is a West Virginia native
Educated at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
A Separate Peace is his first book that he based on a short story he had previously written.
This book sparked a long career for him, filled with awards and movies.
This school serves as a prototype for Devon School for Boys, the main setting of the novel.

3. Historical Context At age18 boys were eligible for the draft.
From the standpoint of anti-war thrust – there was WWI, The Cold War and WWII
A Separate Peace was published in 1960, a time when The Cold War was in full swing.
The novel’s setting is during World War II.
There is an indirect connection to World War I.
At age18 boys were eligible for the draft.
All men from ages were REQUIRED to register for the draft.

4. Historical Context Cont.
Men were required to serve for 21 months.
What were the odds of you getting drafted? 1 in 5
What did women do during WWII? Some took the jobs that were left when men were drafted. Some women DID participate in the war by working as:
Nurses
Repairing airplanes
Clerical Work

5. Historical Context Cont.
Knowles takes the title from Ernest Hemmingway’s short story collection, In Our Time.
Writing literature based on other literature!
In the beginning of Chapter 6, one of the characters has been wounded and is propped against the wall of a church. He then turns to a wounded soldier and says “…you and me, we’ve made a separate peace.”
By taking the title from literature that reflects WWI, Knowles suggests that regardless of the time period, war always has the same effect on its participants.
Everyone’s life revolves around the war!

6. Plot & Setting A Separate Peace is not a “plot” novel.
Most of the action is internal and mental.
Devon School is a private school for boys.
Students are used to
Isolation
Conformity
Tradition
World War II was a major influence on the students. There was a very high chance they would be drafted to war after graduation.

7. Themes
Inside/Outside - How a character appears to his or her society – the “outside” self – is often quite different from what he or she thinks, feels, and senses in the inner self.
Opposites - good vs. evil, joy vs. fear, feeling vs. thought, love vs. hate
Memory - the effect of memory on the truth
Confession - the effects of confession, and how it enables us to draw memory and truth together.
The Dark Side of Human Nature - through impulsive acts, this can destroy the civilizing bonds by which a person chooses to restrain.

8. Themes & Relationships
Relationships - often founded on destructive and impulsive acts as a good deeds and love.
Relationships - questions to consider
What makes two people become friends?
What are the different levels of friendship?
What does ‘brotherhood’ mean?
While watching the clip, write down FIVE things you notice (clothes, attitude, setting, etc.)