A Separate Peace John Knowles

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A Separate PeaceJohn Knowles
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Introduction Background Discussion Starters
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A Separate Peace Introduction
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A Separate Peace Introduction
Gene doesnt know whether he hates his best
friend or if he loves him.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
Gene and Phineas are roommates at a boarding
school for boys somewhere in New England.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
While Gene excels at both sports and academics,
everyone agrees that Phineas is the most gifted
athlete in the school.
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A Separate Peace Introduction

• To Gene, Phineas moves through school and life
  effortlessly and according to his own set of
  mysterious rules.

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A Separate Peace Introduction
Phineas seems not to care what other people want
or expect.
And he can charm other people into saying and
doing things they wouldnt normally say or
dopeople like classmates, teachers, and Gene
himself.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
Gene does not know what to think of Phineas.
Sometimes he believes that Phineas likes him and
truly wants the best for him.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
But sometimes he is convinced that Phineas wants
to sabotage his academic success.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
When Phineas persuades Gene to climb a large
tree, Genes confusion leads to a terrible
accident.
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A Separate Peace Introduction
Will Gene ever tell Phineas the truth about what
happened?
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A Separate Peace Background
A Separate Peace centers on the friendship
between Gene and Phineas, but the plot also is
shaped by the setting.
The book begins in the summer of 1942, in the
early years of World War II.
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A Separate Peace Background
Gene, Phineas, and their friends are attending a
special summer session at the school.
The summer session is designed to help some of
the older boys graduate sooner and free them for
military service.
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A Separate Peace Background

• As the months pass, Gene and his friends become
  more and more aware of their impending
  enlistment.

• The knowledge that they will soon go to war
  changes the way they think and the way other
  people think about them.

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A Separate Peace Background

• World War II changed many aspects of American
  society as well.

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A Separate Peace Background

• Unemployment fell, since many people went to work
  in factories producing goods for the war.

• But sugar, coffee, tires, and other items were
  rationed, and Americans were encouraged to grow
  their own vegetables in victory gardens.

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A Separate Peace Background

• After German submarines were sighted off the
  coast of the United States, the country
  instituted a dimout, which extended fifteen
  miles inland from the Atlantic Coast.

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A Separate Peace Discussion Starters
Discuss (1) Think about your friends. How well
do you get along with them? How well do you think
you know them? How well do you think they know
you? Have you ever had a secret from someone you
cared about? Did you decide to tell him or her
the secret in the end? Why or why not?
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A Separate Peace Discussion Starters
Discuss (2) How would you respond if you knew
that you would soon have to participate in a
war? How do you think it would change your
outlook on life?