A Separate Peace Test Review

Gene

Gene

accused of intentionally jousting the limb

Finny

His fatal flaw is that he assumes that everyone is like him—that everyone shares his enthusiastic and good-natured spirit.

Leper

a naturalist who does not want to jump out of tree; first to enlist in the army but suffers from hallucinations and a breakdown

Brinker

student leader; one to accuse Gene of harming Finny

Chet Douglas

head of the class

Cliff Quackenbush

crew manager, fights with Gene, calls him maimed

Dr. Stanpole

the one to tell Gene that Finny died

Mr. Patch-withers

summer headmaster; hosts the tea

Mr. Prud'homme

A Devon master, or teacher. Charmed by Finny and lulled by the casual atmosphere of the Summer Session, he does not enforce the usual school discipline.

Mr. Ludsbury

fall headmaster; scolds Gene for summer behavior

Mr. Hadley

Brinker's dad who thinks the boys should fight in the front lines; not very pleased about his son joining Coast Guard

Phil Latham

wrestling coach

Mrs. Lepellier

thinks Gene visits only to abuse Leper

A. Hopkins Parker

swim record holder

Devon Academy

setting; school; separate from the war

marble staircase

spot adult Gene visits before the flashback; where Finny falls and breaks his leg for a second time

tree

symbol of war/fear; boys training for the war by jumping off; Finny's fall

Assembly Room

The room upstairs in the First Academy Building where Gene and Finny are interrogated by Brinker. Its walls are filled with old portraits of forgotten people who were once known at Devon School. The boys' voices echo loudly since the great space is designed to handle large audiences

Butt Room

A dingy room in the dormitory basement where the boys go to smoke cigarettes. Brinker's crowd first questioned Gene here about Finny's accident.

Winter Carnival

a symbol for Finny's ability to create peace and freedom in an environment filled with conflicts

Blitzball

Finny invented this playful sport to mimic what he thinks it is like in the war. Short for 'blitzkrieg ball,' he excels at the game due to his athletic talents. It is very popular among the schoolboys.

Yellow Peril

they call Brinker this referring to Madame Chiang Kai-shek; a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China; racist term during WWII created by fear of communism

Devon tie

Finny wears it as a belt

Section 8 Discharge

-dishonorable discharge from the war -Leper was threatened with his→ seen as mentally unfit -reason he “escaped” the war

Christmas Location

-mentioned in Leper’s telegram to Gene -Leper’s home in Vermont

Pink shirt

Gives Gene a sense of self when Finny is gone

SSS

Super Suicide Society-- secret society the boys make up. You must jump from the tree to join. Demonstrates bravery

Naguamsett River

ugly, saline, fringed with marsh, mud, and seaweed. Flowed by unknowing forces. Represents life outside of Devon/the war

“It had loomed in my memory as a huge lone spike dominating the riverbank, forbidding as an artillery piece, high as a beanstalk.”

Gene as an adult at the tree

“Here’s your prisoner, gentleman.”

Brinker in the Butt Room-first interrogation of Gene

“We’ll sacrifice one of the prizes”

Finny at the Winter Carnival

“It was just some ignorance inside me, some crazy thing inside me, something blind, that’s all it was.”

Gene at the hospital visiting Finny/Confession of jouncing the limb

“Because the war ended before I even put on a uniform...I killed my enemy there.”

Gene at the end of the novel

“You always were a savage underneath. I always knew that only I never admitted it.”

Leper to Gene at his house talking about the fall

“But I do believe. It’s important after all for me to believe you.”

Finny to Gene about the fall

“That’s why I called up. I knew that if you’d let them put anybody else in the room in my place, then you really were crazy.”

Finny to Gene when he is home and checking in on Gene

“...for your own good, too, by the way, Gene, that we should get all this out into the open. We don’t want any mysteries or any stray rumors and suspicions left in the air at the end of the year, do we?”

Brinker in the Assembly room accusing Gene

amiably

having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qualities; affable; friendly; sociable

collaborator

to work, one with another; cooperate

enmity

a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism

implicate

to imply as a necessary circumstance, or as something to be inferred or understood.

obstinate

firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty.

opulent

wealthy, rich, affluent

prodigious

extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree, force, etc.:

querulous

full of complaints; complaining.

specters

a visible incorporeal spirit, especially one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.

vitality

exuberant physical strength or mental vigor