A boy and a girl searching for peace
and a place to fit in and answers to the
unanswered questions part of life.
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Gene Forrester returns to visit
the campus of Devon School, an
all-boys preparatory school in
rural New Hampshire, which he
attended fifteen years prior.
Two locations bear a mysterious
significance to him, the first
being a marble staircase inside a
classroom building. The second
is beneath a tree growing near
Devon River.
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As Gene remembers the past, reader’s learn of
his relationship with his best friend, Finny,
how the relationship failed and what Gene
learned during that tough year at Devon.
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Lily Owens does not have the
best home life.
The only person she really loves
is her black housekeeper,
Rosaleen.
To protect herself and Rosaleen
Lily makes the decision that she
must run away and takes
Rosaleen with her.
As Lily tries to find a place for
herself in society, she learns the
importance of equality and truth.
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Both stories are about a young person trying to
find his/her place in the world and struggling
with the stereotypes created by society.
Both stories take place during a war
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A Separate Peace- WWII
The Secret Life of Bees- Vietnam War/Civil Rights
Movement
What issues come about when a country goes to
war?
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In both stories the main character must dig
him/herself out of the situation they have put
themselves in.
This means coming to terms with their faults.
Both main character’s lack the self-esteem to
believe in themselves.
Envy often overcomes each character to the
point where rationale though no longer exists.
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Plot
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
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Conflict
Voice
Theme
Character
development
Antagonist
Protagonist
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Many women were torn between desire to start a family and the fact that they had
liked working during WWII, although women were encouraged by many to return
to the kitchen
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Women were encouraged to be “busy housewives”—perfect at everything
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Many women went to college to find husbands and dropped out when they did
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Women expected to marry young, have children early, and support their
husbands’ careers
Working women considered to be a menace
Also reinforced by Benjamin Spock in Baby and Child Care, in which he argued
that women working outside the home would jeopardize their children’s mental
and emotional health
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Men expected to go to school and then find jobs to
support their families
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They viewed themselves as the “primary
breadwinners” and wanted to have their jobs waiting
for them when they returned from the war
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Men wanted things to go back to the way they were
before the war
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Labor Force male/female: 5/2
In 1956, 35 percent of all adult women were members
of the labor force, and nearly a quarter of all married
women were working.
Women’s pay in the 1960’s was 60 percent of the male
rate. Though equal pay legislation passed in 1963, that
did not solve the problem of low pay in jobs that were
classed as female.
"Women who failed to conform to the June
Cleaver/Margaret Anderson role of housewife
and mother were severely criticized. A 1947
bestselling book, The Modern Woman, called
feminism a "deep illness," labeled the idea of
an independent woman a "contradiction in
terms," and explained that women who
wanted equal pay and equal educational
opportunities were engaged in a "ritualistic
castration" of men."
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The era’s in which these novels were written
reflect the social stigma put on men and
women during that time period.
As you read, think about…
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Whether Gene’s struggles would have been different
had the social setting allowed him more freedom of
expression.
Whether Lily would have found a place in society
had she not had the social stigma to deal with.
What social stigma’s exist in American society today.