Title: A Separate Peace
1(No Transcript)
2John Knowles
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3A Separate Peace
- A Separate Peace is a classic story of a young
mans emergence from adolescence. The novel is
somewhat autobiographical, as it is based on
Knowless own experiences as a student at
Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire during
World War II. -
John Knowles
4Author John Knowles
- Born in 1926 in West Virginia
- Best known works are set in New England
5Knowles Childhood
- Parents were originally from Massachusetts.
- Knowles spent many summer vacations there.
- At the age of fifteen, Knowles applied to an
elite New Hampshire boarding school, Phillips
Exeter Academy.
6John Knowles continued
- Knowles expresses his affections and fond
memories for his boarding school memories in A
Separate Peace. - Soon after Knowles entered Exeter, the U.S.
declared war on Japan and entered World War II. - Knowles went into the military after he graduated
from high school and trained to be a pilot in the
U.S. Army Air Force Aviation Program. - When the war ended, he attended Yale University
in New Haven, Connecticut.
7A Separate Peace
- The novel was first published in England in 1959
and in the U.S. in 1960. - It proved to be such a success that Knowles was
able to resign from his job and devote his time
to writing and travel. - He wrote many other novels, none as successful as
A Separate Peace. - He lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL, before passing
away in 2001.
8Character List
- Gene Forrester is the novel's narrator, and he
tells the story as a flashback, reflecting on his
days at the Devon School from the vantage point
of adulthood. - Finny energetic and vibrant, Finny is a
tremendous athlete friendly and verbally adroit,
he is able to talk his way out of any situation.
- Brinker Hadley is, in many ways, a foil to Finny.
Also charismatic and a leader of the Devon boys,
Brinker wields a power comparable but opposite to
Finny's.
- Elwin Leper Lepellier is a quiet, peaceful,
nature-loving boy.
9Internal ConflictsAccording to Knowles, the
major concern of the novel is to expose and
explore the 2 conflicting psychological forces
within the American Character
- One is a creative and expressive force, a germ
of wildness - The other, is a more conservative force that
identifies with established institutions such as
governments, academic settings, and accepted
values.
- In ASP this conflict is symbolically represented
in the personalities of the 2 main characters.
Gene Forrester, the narrator, is the cautious
Protestant who is both attracted to and
frightened by the germ of wildness he sees in
the powerful personality of his roommate,
Phineas. Over time, each boy acquires traits from
the other. Although the focus of the novel is on
Genes resolution of his conflicts with Phineas,
it is apparent that Phineas also achieves a
separate peace.
10Setting
- Devon School in New Hampshire
- The central story begins less than a year after
December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, in Hawaii.
11WWII
- World War II September 1939 to September 1945.
- Called the World war because a majority of the
worlds nations split into one of two opposing
sides - Allies- included Russia, U.S.A, United Kingdom,
and China. - Axis- included Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and
Imperial Japan
12World War II
- The most devastating war in history.
- Loss of human life estimated at 72 million.
- Two-thirds of victims were civilians.
- Holocaust victims numbered in the millions.
13U.S. Involvement
- The U.S. entered the World
- War after Pearl Harbor.
- Fear of war caused many Americans to turn a blind
eye to the conflicts overseas. - Pearl Harbor changed everything.
- 1940 brought the first peacetime draft in the
nations history. - Men 21-35 years of age were required to register
for military service. - Age then lowered to eighteen.
14Patriotism
- Many young men couldnt wait to be drafted
patriotism was at an all-time high. - Teenagers often felt it was their duty to enlist.
15Patriotism and Change
- The war brought changes to the American economy
and lifestyle. - Need for weapons created jobs.
- Americans attended rallies, bought war bonds,
conserved fuel and rubber by car pooling, and
planted victory gardens. - Society also began changing and adjusting due to
the man shortage. - In short, American life, as it had been, changed
for the duration- a phrase that meant until
the end of the war.
16External Conflicts
- The most important aspect of the novels
background is WWII and its impact on the lives of
young Americans. World War II began in 1939 and
ended in 1945. ASP is set during the years 1942
and 1943, when it seemed that the fighting might
continue indefinitely. -
17- The virtual certainty of young men being drafted
into a bloody war upon graduation from school
informs the background of A Separate Peace. The
United States drafted more than ten million men
for service in World War II of these, more than
five hundred thousand were killed or wounded.
Students nearing graduation-like Gene, Finny, and
Brinker-knew they would face the draft very soon.
Some students sought to avoid dangerous service
in the infantry by volunteering for special
programs before being called-for example, Leper
Lepelliers enlistment in the ski troops and the
plans Gene and Brinker discuss in Chapter 13.
18- World War II resulted from the threat of
aggressive expansion in Europe by Germany and in
the Pacific by Japan. Upon the bombing of Pearl
Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941,
America finally declared war in both Europe and
the Pacific. By 1942, the year in which ASP is
set, Germany had overrun Norway, France, Belgium,
and the Netherlands in the west, and had thrust
deep into Russia in the east.
19- During the period covered by the novel, the US
was just beginning to make its presence felt by
joining British bombers in air attacks over
Germany. The final phase of the European war
began on June 6, 1994, when the allies announced
a massive invasion of Normandy. After intense
fighting across the European continent, the war
ended Europe on May 8, 1945 the Japanese
surrendered some four months later.
20External Conflicts
- Another important item in the storys cultural
background is its setting - a private preparatory school modeled on Phillips
Exeter and similar institutions in New England
traditionally prepared an elite group of young
men for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and other Ivy
League colleges. Privileged by wealth and family
connections, their students joined exclusive
clubs in college and then took places reserved
for them in the business world and in the highest
social circles. Such New England boarding schools
have been the traditional training ground for
Americas aristocracy. Today most preparatory
schools are coeducational, but they still provide
a rigorous education for a selected few.
21Major Themes
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221. Understanding conflict within yourself is a
necessary part of growing up
- What kind of inner conflicts can a person feel
about other people/events? - How can an inner conflict be painful or
frightening to recognize? -
- Have you ever followed an impulse to do something
that you later regretted? - Have you ever decided not to do something that
you later felt you should have done?
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23 2. Friendship grows through conflict,
resolving differences, forgiveness, and accepting
strengths and weaknesses of each other.
- Do you think a good friendship can exist without
conflict? - How can conflicts between friends be resolved?
- Do you agree that a person has to accept a
friends weaknesses as well as strengths?
24 3. A persons own insecurities may cause him or
her to misinterpret a friends actions or words.
- What kind of insecurities do young people feel?
- How is it possible to misinterpret someone elses
actions or words in terms of your own
insecurities?
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254. Personal joys and pains are felt more strongly
than even great public events such as war.
- Do important public events such as local,
national, or international political struggles
seem to affect your personal life?
- Do you think the threat of war would influence
the way you feel about your friends or classmates?
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26Theme and Motif
- Theme a broad idea in a story, or a message or
lesson conveyed by a work - A work can have more than one theme.
- Motif a reoccurring subject, theme, or idea in a
literary, artistic, or musical work. - Difference between theme and motif
- Theme are ideas explored by the text.
- Motifs are reoccurring elements that represent
ideas.
27Themes Motifs in A Separate Peace
- Themes
- Identity- The development of self in the face of
peer pressure. - Man vs. Self- Even in times of war, the most
difficult battle is within the human heart. - Motifs-
- Transformation- the characters and the school
undergo immense changes throughout the story. - Competition- the competitive nature of athletics
and of friendship.
28What does it mean to identify with someone else?
- Have you ever experienced feeling so close to a
friend that you shared the same thoughts?
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29How does who you are affect what you do?
- And how do you know who you are?
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