A Separate PeaceBy John Knowles

Imagery, diction, detail, point of view, syntax, style, tone, and theme

Author’s Page

John Knowles Born in Fairmont, West Virginia in 1926. Attended Phillips Exeter Academy Boarding

School. Spent eight months as an Air Force cadet Attended Yale University Earned living as a journalist and freelance writer. Knowles has published nine novels including A

Separate Peace.

A Separate Peace Exposition

Genre: Coming of age/ tragedy Tense: The story begins in 1958 but quickly

flashes back to the years 1942–1943 Setting: The Devon School, an exclusive New

England academy Point of view: First person

Characters Gene Forrester -  The narrator and protagonist of the novel.

When A Separate Peace begins, Gene is in his early thirties, visiting the Devon School for the first time in years. He is thoughtful and intelligent, with a competitive nature and a tendency to brood. He develops a love-hate relationship with his best friend, Finny, whom he alternately adores and envies.

Finny -  Gene’s classmate and best friend. Finny is honest, handsome, self-confident, disarming, extremely likable, and the best athlete in the school; in short, he seems perfect in almost every way. He has a talent for engaging others with his spontaneity and sheer joy of living, and, while he frequently gets into trouble, he has the ability to talk his way out of almost any predicament.

Characters Leper Lepellier -  A classmate of Gene and Finny. Leper

is a mild, gentle boy from Vermont who adores nature and engages in peaceful, outdoor-oriented hobbies, like cross-country skiing. He is not popular at Devon but seems to pay no attention to such things.

Brinker Hadley -  A charismatic class politician with an inclination for orderliness and organization. Manifesting a mindset opposite to that of Finny, who delights in innocent anarchy, Brinker believes in justice and order and goes to great lengths to discover the truth when he feels that it is being hidden from him.

Characters Cliff Quackenbush -  The manager of the crew team.

Quackenbush briefly assumes a position of power over Gene when Gene volunteers to be assistant crew manager. The boys at Devon have never liked Quackenbush; thus, he frequently takes out his frustrations on anyone whom he considers his inferior.

Chet Douglass -  Gene’s main rival for the position of class valedictorian. Chet is an excellent tennis and trumpet player and possesses a sincere love of learning.

Major Conflict major conflict · Gene feels both love and

hate for his best friend, Finny, worshipping and resenting Finny’s athletic and moral superiorities.

Themes The Creation of Inner Enemies Transformations Athletics

Syntax, Style, and Tone Syntax: The way an author puts words together

to form sentences and phrases. Very formal, educated

Style: The characteristic or manner in which the author writes. Internal dialogue, Images, and life themes

Tone: To give a particular feeling or mood in writing. Melancholy, reminiscent, wise

Literary Elements Allusion: When authors refer to other great

works, people, and events. World War II- was a global military conflict lasting

from 1939 to 1945 which involved most of the world's nations, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilized. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources.

Literary Elements Alliteration: two or more words of a word

group with the same letter at the beginning of the words.

“Super suicide society of the summer session”

Literary Elements foreshadowing  · Prior to his flashback, the

older Gene makes reference to a “death by violence” and to fears that he had at school, which are associated with a flight of marble steps and a tree.

Literary Elements Symbols: objects, characters, figures, and

colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

the tree, marble steps, school, the Summer and Winter Sessions at Devon

Vocabulary

Chapter 1 Tacit :unvoiced or unspoken; understood without being openly expressed Irate: enraged Inveigle: to entice or lure by artful talk Consternation: a sudden, alarming amazement or dread Rhetorically: spoken in a manner not intended to elicit a reply

Chapter 2 Eloquence: fluent, forceful speech Indulgent: yielding to the wishes or desires of (oneself or another) Inane: lacking sense or ideas; empty or void Resonant: deep and full of sound Conniver: one who gives aid to wrongdoing by pretending not to know or notice Infer: to conclude by reasoning from premises or evidence

Vocabulary Chapter 3 Venerable: respected due to great age or associated dignity Inured: toughened or accustomed Anarchy: a state of society with out government or law Fey: strange or foreign Blitzkrieg: (German) an all out attack Insidious: treacherous; marked by hidden dangers Chapter 4 Enmity: active and typically mutual hatred or ill will Candid: free from bias, prejudice, or deception Chapter 5 Decalogue: a basic set of rules carrying binding authority Cordovan: soft fine-grained colored leather Erratic: irregular

vocabulary Chapter 6 Idiosyncratic: peculiarly individualistic; eccentric manner Vindicated: freed Sinecure: a position requiring little or no work and usually providing income Bantam: tiny or diminutive Stupefaction: overwhelmed amazement Chapter 7 Insinuating: tending to cause doubt, distrust, or change of outlook Impinge: come into close contact; infringe Fratricide: the act of murdering one’s own sibling Virtuoso: one who excels in technique of an art especially for military Encumbrance: a burden or weight Chapter 8 Ambiguously: doubtfully; uncertainly; obscurely Clodhoppers: large, heavy shoes Discernible: detectible Opulent: luxurious or rich Aphorisms: statements of principle; adages; Pungent: sharp or biting taste or smell Preeminently: outstanding; supremely Poignancy: painfully affects the feelings Gulls: people who are easily deceived Sententiousness: state of excessive moralizing

vocabularyChapter 9 Bolsheviks: the extremist wing of the Russian social party in

Russia Cacophony :harsh sound Accolade: an award Multifariously: varyingly: diversely Proviso: a stipulationChapter 10 Holocaust :Thorough destruction or devastation, especially by fire Furlough: a leave of absence from duty granted to a soldier Austerity: state of being stern and forbidding Aesthete: having or affecting sensitivity to the beautiful,

especially in art

Vocabulary Chapter 11 Latent: dormant Bane: person or thing that harms, spoils, or ruins Incredulously: skeptically Ruefully: mournfully; regretfully Torpid: dormant; numb Urbane: notably polite or polished in manner Obstinate: not easily subdued or remedied Chapter 12 Pontiff: bishop; pope Impervious: incapable of being influenced or affected Parody: a feeble or ridiculous imitation Languid: drooping from exhaustion; weak Precariously: doubtfully: insecurely Bellicose: inclined to start quarrels Disconcerting: disturbing; unsettling Parry: to ward off a weapon or blow