A separate peace

What is the point of view in the novel?

First person

Who is the narrator?

Gene Forrester, Protagionist

What is Devon? Where is it located?

Devon is a town in New Hampshire

How long has it been since the narrator left Devon?

15 years

What had been going on when the narrator was last at Devon?

World War II

What two "fearful sites" does the narrator visit?

The tree by the river and the marble staircase

How does the second place appear to him now?

Week and feeble "nothing endures"

What is the time of year for this return visit?

November

Does the narrator feel Devon has changed? Have his perceptions of Devon changed?

Yes, after he left it ceased to exist.

In what season of the year does the action of the narrator's remembrance begin?

Summer session

Who jumps from the tree?

Phineas and Gene

Describe Phineas (Finny). What is he like? Why does he refuse to lie about his height?

Phineas is a proud and stubborn boy. He lies about his height to be equal with Gene.

In his own words, tell how the narrator feels as he jumps from the tree.

"The sensation of throwing his life away"

Why does Finny say the narrator jumped?

He made him

How does Finny feel about authority?

Meant to be ignored

What three rules do the narrator and Finny break that afternoon?

Had a radio, out past curfew, and skipping dinner.

Why does Prud'homme stop at the boys' room?

They have skipped dinner last night and it is the ninth time missing a meal in two weeks.

To what other crime does Finny confess while he is there?

Jumping out of the tree into the river.

Why does Finny press hard to be forgiven by Mr. Prud'homme for being late for dinner and jumping from the tree?

He believes it will create a sort of friendship between the two and when he gets caught breaking the rules in the future he consequences will be less severe.

Why does Finny say they jumped from the tree?

It is how they are preparing for war and how they will be ready to be drafted.

The narrator believes the summer session boys remind the faculty of ___?

Peace

What is the "emblem" symbolize for Finny?

His way of showing his pride for his country since he does not have a flag.

Where do Finny and the narrator go for tea, and at whose invitation?

The headmaster's abandoned house and Mr. and Mrs. Patch-Withers'

What does finny use for a belt?

The Devon School's tie

What society does Finny suggest they form?

The super suicide society of the summer session.

What is the membership requirement of this society?

To jump out of the tree over the river.

How does Finny save the narrator's life at the end of the chapter?

When Gene almost falls off of the limb Phineas saves him from falling.

Why does Gene decide that he doesn't really owe Finny a great amount of gratitude for saving his life?

Because if Phineas hadn't told in to go in the tree the first place then he would have never lost his balance and almost fallen.

How often does the Super Suicide Society meet?

Every night

How do each of the meetings begin? How does Gene feel about these meetings?

Gene & Phineas jumping out of tree; Gene hates the meetings.

What are the first three of Finny's "commandments"?

1. "Never say you are five feet nine when you are five feet eight and a half. 2. "Always say some prayers at night in case there really is a God." 3. "You always win at sports."

What is Finny's attitude toward sports? Why isn't it possible for this to be true of all participants?

He believes that why a play a sport unless you plan on winning it. Not everyone can win.

What is a "blitzkrieg"?

Roughly from German "Lightening warfare"

What game does Finny invent?

Blitzball

What impression does Gene have of the U.S. during that period?

Of having no basic materials, being able to make money easily but not having anything to spend it on

Does Gene want to go to the beach with Finny? Why or why not?

No, because he wanted to study for a test and it risked expulsion.

What confession does Finny make to Gene while they are at the beach? Why does this surprise Gene? How does he respond?

Phineas says that Gene is his best friend. Gene thinks to himself how this is not usual at Devon and is caught off guard by the comment.

Where did the narrator return to? How long had passed since he had been there last?

Returned to the Devon School, its been 15 years

What two places did Gene visit?

The tree and the marble stairs (places where finny fell)

How did Gene find the tree?

by its scars and the protruding branch over the river

How did Gene's memory of the tree 15 years compare to the tree now?

The tree is now weary, enfeebled, and dry but he remembered it as a tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple tree

What summer does most of the action take place?

summer of 1942- sarcastic summer

What did Phineas want to do? Why?

jump off the tree into the water; to contribute to the war effort

What was Finny's opinion on sports?

if you are a participant you are a winner; no one loses (unless you don't participate)

Who broke A.Hopkins Parker's swimming record? What was his reaction?

Phineas broke it; Gene wanted everybody to know but Phineas wanted it to be kept as a secret

Why was Gene angry when they got back to the school from the beach? What did Gene start to believe about Finny?

He failed his trigonometry test; Led Gene to think that Finny was sabotaging him

What was Gene's goal for the school year?

To be the head of the class; valedictorian

What does Gene do on his way back to school?

Visited Finny's house and told him that he pushed Finny from the night of the accident

What happens with Phineas and Mr. Prud'homme?

One of the school masters, Mr. Prud'homme, noticed the boys' absence from dinner the previous evening, and pays them a visit to discuss the offense but Mr. Prud'homme is won over by Finny's charm

Why is the faculty more indulgent with these boys?

They distract the staff from the war

What is Phineas' emblem?

his pink shirt; He wore it because he read on the paper that they bombed Central Europe for the first time. He wanted to celebrate but they don't have a flag. Phineas wore his shirt to replace it.

What happens at the traditional tea?Why was Gene disappointed by these events in the traditional tea?

At the traditional tea, Phineas unexpectedly used a tie for a belt. But this morning the first tie at hand had been the Devon School tie. Gene was becoming excited at the thought of Phineas getting in trouble. But Finny was able to get away with it

What society do they form?How often does the society meet? How do all meetings begin?

Phineas and Gene formed a suicide society, and the membership requirement is one jump out of the tree. They called it "The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session."The society began to meet every night to initiate them. The Charter Members, Phineas and Gene, had to open every meeting by jumping into the water.

What is blitz ball? Who creates this and makes up the rules?

Phineas made up a new game called, "blitzball." Bobby Zane suggested making the game something to do with the war like a blitzkrieg. It is a mix of rugby and football. He added new rules as they go. Phineas was the best adapted to this game because he was the one who made it.

How do the boys get to the beach? How long does it take?

the boys rode their bikes there and it took a whole day.

What does Finny tell the narrator while on the beach?

that they are best friends

How do Finny and the narrator compare academically and athletically?

...Academically- Gene outshines Finny
Athletically- Finny is the best athlete

What does Finny say will happen the night before the French final exam?

That Gene will pass anyway

How does the narrator react to the meeting? What does Finny tell him to do and why?

The narrator really wants to go .Finny tells him to study because he needs to pass this test.

What does the narrator realize about himself and Finny?

they are exactly the same

What does Finny want to do that night at the tree? What happens at that night

he wants to jump off the branch but Gene jounced the limb and Finny fell and hurt his leg

What is the climax of the story

Finny falling off the tree branch

What does the narrator do one evening when dressing for dinner?

Wears Finny's clothes

What does the doctor tell him about Finny's condition?

Due to Finny's leg he can never play sports again

Who is Quackenbush? What happens between him and the narrator? Whatcauses this to happen?

Gene goes to crew practice, which is run by Quackenbush, the uniformly disliked crew captain. Gene is assistant captain, and not on the team; Quackenbush immediately challenges him, not trusting Gene because of his non-participation in school sports other than to manage and help out. They have a fight

Why did the narrator decide to be assistant crew manager?

Gene really wants nothing to do with sport. The guilt of Finny's injury haunts him that much. Finny also inquires but Gene merely says sport no longer interests him. When Finny persists, Gene realises that perhaps sport can provide a way to make things up to Finny and become more a part of his life.

What does Brinker say that upsets the narrator (Gene)? Is he serious?

Brinker visited Gene. He immediately starts to accuse Gene of arranging Finny's accident in order to get the room all to him. Brinker was playing around.

What happens when the boys go to the Butt room?

Gene and Brinker go to the Butt Room in the basement to smoke. Brinker told the other boys about Gene's wrongdoing in the room. They set up a mocktrial for Gene. Everybody started to play along with it including Gene.

What is one of the things the boys do to help out due to the war effort? What is another thing that they did?

One of the things that the boys do to help out due to the war effect was that they worked on the railroads and shoveled them. They also harvested apples since all the workers had been drafted.

Who does Gene meet on his way to the train? What is this person doing?

They passed by Leper who spent his day cross-country skiing. He wanted to find the beaver dam

After working at the railroad, what does Brinker announce? What does Gene decide? What happens to change those plans?

Brinker says he is fed up with Devon life; he says he wants to enlist as soon as possible, which makes Gene think about doing the same thing. Gene wants a sense of purpose to his life, and feels that enlisting will give this to him. But, then he goes back to his room, and finds Finny there; suddenly, what he resolved to do no longer matters, as he has a purpose to stay at Devon again.

What does Finny want to do on his first day back on campus? Where do they go?

On Finny's first day back to school, he decided that he and Gene had to skip class. He wanted to walk around and see the place. They went to the gym.

What does Finny tell Gene about the war?

It was all a conspiracy made by old fat men

What does Finny make Gene do? What does he tell Gene his aim was?

says he wants to coach Gene for the 1944 Olympics; Gene knows there won't be any because of the war, but of course Finny wouldn't listen

Who is the first boy to enlist? What branch of the service does he want to join?

The first boy to enlist was Leper Lepellier. He was convinced by a video of American ski troops that he must enlist and become one of them.

What is the winter carnival? Whose idea is it?.

Finny decides to organize the first winter carnival at Devon, so that there's something fun to do outside. Gene is persuaded, then manages to get the newly-rebellious Brinker in on their plans.

Who does Gene get a telegram from? What does it say?

He received a telegram from Leper. It said that he had escaped and needed them to meet him and bail him out of the trouble he was in.

Why did Leper "escape" the army?

He "escaped" the army because they were going to give Leper a Section Eight discharge. It was a discharge for the nuts in the service, the psychos, and the Funny Farm candidates. It was a dishonorable discharge to Leper. No one is able to get a job after receiving a Section Eight discharge.

What does Leper say that sets Gene off? What does Gene do?

Leper said that Gene was "like a savage underneath." He then accused Gene of knocking Finny out of the tree. Gene was furious and shoved his foot against the rung of his chair and kicked. Leper went over in his chair and collapsed against the floor. Leper's mom scolded Gene for hurting a boy who is ill.

What does Brinker think is the reason for Gene not enlisting?

Gene pities Finny

What is the one thing that Finny believes in?

Finny doesn't believe in books and teachers. But it is important for him to believe in Gene because he knows him better than anybody.

Who does Finny see hiding in the bushes? What does seeing him prove to Finny?

Finny saw Leper hiding in the shrubbery next to the chapel. It proved that Gene was telling the truth about Leper. Leper became mentally unstable.

Where does Brinker take Gene and Finny at night? What is their purpose?

Brinker took Finny and Gene to the Assembly room at night. The purpose was to investigate Finny's accident.

Who is the surprise witness for the trial? What does he say?

Leper was there and said that he was a witness to gene pushing finny

How does Finny react to this testimony? What happens to Finny

Finny freaked out and ran out of the room. He falls down the marble steps and re-breaks his leg

What does Finny say about denying the war? What does Gene say about Finny being a solider?

Finny wished to God there wasn't any war. He had been writing to the Army and the Navy and the Marines and the Canadians and everybody else all winter. He declined to be apart of the army because of his medical report. Finny will always hate it everywhere if he is not in this war. However, Gene said that he wouldn't be good in war, even if nothing had happened to his leg. Gene said that Finny would make a terrible mess out of the war.

What does the doctor tell Gene? How does Gene react? Why? (after finny's second fall)

Dr. Stanpole told Gene that Finny had died. In the middle of the surgery, Finny's heart had stopped beating. The only explanation was that his marrow of the bone flowed into the blood stream to the heart. But Gene did not cry about Finny. He never cried because he could not escape the feeling that Finny's funeral was also his own funeral.

What moves into the Far Common in June?

The school donated the quadrangle to the military for a parachute riggers' school. Gene stood by his window and watched the war moving in the Far Common in early June.

What branch of the service does Gene join? Brinker?

Gene was going to wait and be drafted but if he did then they might have put him straight in the infantry. The infantry was the dirtiest and most dangerous branch of all. Gene joined the Navy and they were sending him to Pensacola. Brinker was all set for the Coast Guard.

What does Gene say his war was?

Gene never killed anybody and never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. His war ended before he ever put on a uniform. He was on active duty at school. He killed his enemy there.

What was Phineas the only one not to do during his time on earth?

Phineas was never afraid and never hated anyone. He didn't possess the enmity that everyone else had. Other people experienced this fearful shock somewhere, this sighting of the enemy, and so began an obsessive labor of defense. All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against an enemy. They didn't even know if their enemy was an enemy.

What does Finny represent in contrast to Gene

Innocence and everything good vs. guilty persona, lets his emotions rule, paranoia

Season vs. Season

Summer in the past vs. winter in the present ; summer- free, happy,youth, winter-dull and dead

What do the two rivers, Devon River and the Naguamsett River symbolize?

The Devon River is Finny; god-like while the Naguamsett River is the lower river, is ugly and messy unlike Devon, it is like Gene

What is the boys' relationship with war after Leper left

Leper is their connection to war

What is weird about Leper's telegram to Gene?

"signed your best friend" -he was desperate

Why is it called A Separate Peace?

in chapter 9, when Finny and the boys were dancing around, it wasn't because of their cider, it was because they were happy and free and at peace no thoughts about war

Why was Gene stay for lunch after Leper and his conversation?

he was guilty and he had to show that he was civilized

Whose relationship in LOTF is parallel to Leper and Gene's relationship?

Piggy and Ralph; piggy looked up to Ralph just like leper looked up to gene, leper is very logical but is an outcast

Why did Finny love winter?

Because if you loved something it will love you back. it should have been true. He's enticed by Finny because he's enticed by the world Finny has created - a world of youth and peaceHe said it on their way to class but he wanted to ditch