Non-fiction versus Fiction
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While Frederick Douglass' autobiography is nonfiction (not fake) John Knowles' novel A Separate
Peace is a work of fiction (fake).
However, most fiction works at their heart are a
representation of true aspects of life. Knowles' novel
is no exception.
In addition to many timeless, universal themes the
novel also contains many parallels to Knowles' life. It
is important to note these parallels as they help
reveal the issues of greatest significance to the
author and his purpose in writing.
JOHN KNOWLES
Born in 1926 in Fairmont, West
Virginia
At 15 he enrolled in Phillips Exeter
Academy, a well-known boarding
school in New Hampshire that shares
many similarities with the fiction school
Devon he creates in A Separate Peace
 He graduated from Exeter in 1945 and
joined the war effort as part of the U.S.
Army Air Force's Aviation Cadet
Program
After eight months in the program, he
became a student at Yale University.
He graduated from Yale in 1949.
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John Knowles con...
After graduation, he travelled to Europe
and worked as a journalist. He also sold
short-stories.
In 1957 he returned to the US and took a
job as an associate editor with Holiday
magazine.
Thornton Wilder, author of the play Our
Town, encouraged Knowles to write a novel.
The result was Knowles first and most
successful work, A Separate Peace.
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Success as a novelist enabled him to quit the magazine and
pursue writing full-time. He published eight other books, a
travel book, and a collection of short stories.
As in his first work, his main themes are greed,
competitiveness, and corruption in the lives of wealthy
American characters.
He died on November 29th, 2001 at the age of 75.
Knowles at Exeter Academy
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Member of a secret society
Sustaining a foot injury while jumping from a tree during
society exercises
In his essay, "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles
wrote: “The only elements in A Separate Peace which were
not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There
was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty.”
A student named Phineas Sprague lived in the same dorm
and Phineas (Finny) the character was based on David
Hackett, a friend Knowles met during a summer session at
Exeter. Brinker was also based on a Exeter student, Gore
Vidal.
Exeter Academy
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Founded in 1781, Exeter
continues to hold a prestigious
reputation
Tuition is $46,900/yr but
families who make less than
$75,000/yr can apply for
financial aid
Average class size is 12 and is
conducted according to the
Harkness educational method
Today there is a diverse
student body of just over 1,000
students, but in Knowles time it
would have been about 500
and consisted solely of boys
Non Sibi
(Not for Oneself)
Finis Origine Pendet
(The End Depends Upon the
Beginning)
Χάριτι Θεοῦ
(By the Grace of God)
Exeter Academy
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The Economist has
described the school as
belonging to "an elite tier
of private schools" in
Britain and America that
counts Eton and Harrow
in its ranks.
The school's facilities had been described "as luxurious
as the nation's top universities" by The New York Times.
Phillips Exeter Academy had an acceptance rate of 19%
for the 2013 school year.
A movie based on the novel was filmed on campus in
1972
World War II
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WW II was a “total war” meaning that the war effort
extended beyond soldiers fighting abroad and deeply
affected the lives of civilians. Indeed, WWII is the
deadliest conflict to have ever occurred and cost the
most civilian lives. While this was primarily the result of
the genocide of European Jews, it was also the result
of the Luftwaffe's bombings on London, the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the famine
that broke out in many areas across Europe and
Russia.
Civilians in the US became involved in WWII through
recycling, or “salvages,” of rubber, tin, metal, paper;
rationing of gas, rubber, sugar, etc...; food drives and
“victory gardens”
World War II con...
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WW II also changed the home-front and the American
workplace/economy forever as it introduced women to the
workforce in record numbers and atypical positions
It also taught Americans the value of saving ~ especially
through war bonds and saving bonds
**Connection to F. Douglass** WWII also proved to be a
dramatic impetus to the civil rights movement as soldiers
confronted the injustice of limiting the rights of the men
risking death beside them and civilians reacted to the
discrimination of the Nazis against the Jews by striving to
overcome their own prejudices. For many black Americans
WWII became a “Double V Campaign” against fascism
abroad and discrimination at home.
Universal Themes
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There is a reason why certain novels become classics.
Literature is an encapsulation of life. Indeed, Former
President John F. Kennedy stated, "I see little of more
importance to the future of our country and of civilization than
full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the
roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow
his/her vision wherever it takes him/her." Beverly Sills
extended his observation insisting, "Art is the signature of
civilization.“ The truly great works that frequently become
classics embody both the period in which they were written
and all times.
Consider the blurbs on the front and back of the novel, as well
as your knowledge of the text itself, to compose a list of
universal themes.
UNIVERSAL THEMES
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Bildungsroman (coming of age – psychological and
moral growth; therefore character change is important)
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Jealousy
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Loss of innocence
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Coping with loss/ death
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Guilt
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Fear
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Competitiveness
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Loyalty
Bildungsroman
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In literary criticism, the German term Bildungsroman
refers to a novel of formation, novel of education, or
coming-of-age story. Such works focus on the
psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from
youth to adulthood (coming of age), and thus character
change is extremely important.
A Bildungsroman relates the growing up or "coming of
age" of a sensitive person who goes in search of
answers to life's questions with the expectation that
these will result from gaining experience of the world.
Bildungsroman con...
The genre evolved from folklore tales of a dunce or
youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune.
Usually, in the beginning of the story there is an emotional
loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey.
In a Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the
protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty.
The genre often features a main conflict between the main
character and society. Typically, the values of society
are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he/she is
ultimately accepted into society — the protagonist's
mistakes and disappointments are over. In some works,
the protagonist is able to reach out and help others
after having achieved maturity.
What examples can you think of?
Bildungsroman examples
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Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë (1847); Great Expectations, by
Charles Dickens (1861); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by
Mark Twain (1884)
Black Boy, by Richard Wright (1945); The Catcher in the Rye, by
J.D. Salinger (1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (for plot character Eustace
Scrubb) by C. S. Lewis (1952)
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (1960)
Dune, by Frank Herbert (1965); A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula
K. Le Guin (1968); Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card (1985)
The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton (1967); The Perks of Being a
Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (2000); The Secret Life of Bees,
by Sue Monk Kidd (2002); The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
(2003)
Paragraph response
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Explain which characters in A Separate
Peace fit the definition of a Bildungsroman
and how they do so.
Literary Devices
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Simile: “I felt fear's echo, and along with that I felt
unhinged, uncontrollable joy which had been its
accompaniment and opposite face, joy which had
broken sometimes in those days like Northern
Lights across black sky.
This quote is significant for more than its use of a simile. The imagery
involved also connects to the theme of fear and makes the larger
point that sometime in the fifteen years since Gene has been a
student at Devon he has somehow managed to escape the fear
that has haunted him. This fact implies that he has gained a new
perspective on the instances of his youth and has grown up
(Bildungsroman). Furthermore, it re-emphasizes just how much
of his previous life has been dominated by fear if joy “had broken
sometimes” rather than frequently across a black sky. The simile
itself reinforces the majestic and unusual nature of joy in those
days and how fleeting its appearance.
Lit Devices con...
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Oxymoron: a pair of words that are opposites, used
together.
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According to Gene, “Devon is sometimes considered the
most beautiful school in New England...” (12). However, its
beauty is complicated both by the events that occur at the
school and by its very architecture. Gene notes that the
school's beauty exists “in small areas of order—a large
yard, a group of trees, three similar dormitories, a circle of
old houses—living together in contentious harmony” (12).
Attending to the author's use of such devices is important not only
because it adds to the richness of the story but because the
author's word choice reinforces key themes and contains implicit
messages for the canny reader. Here, Knowles alludes to the
fact that despite the sometimes idyllic portrait of student life he
depicts that there is a struggle beneath the surface that is
reflected in Devon itself. Indeed, Devon is a symbol of Gene's
childhood and particularly of his loss of innocence.
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What else does Devon seem to symbolize? Discuss.
Lit Devices con...
Symbols are images, ideas, sounds or words that represent
something else and help to understand an idea or a thing. Motifs,
on the other hand, are images, ideas, sounds or words that help to
explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme. Moreover, a
symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work, whereas a
motif is a recurring element.
For example: the tree in the story is a symbol of crisis which connects
to the motifs of change and violence which connect to the themes
of bildungsroman and loss of innocence.
“Unbelievable that there were other trees which looked like it here. It
had loomed in my memory as a huge lone spike dominating the
riverbank, forbidding as an artillery piece, high as the beanstalk.
Yet here was a scatter grove of trees, none of them of any
particular grandeur” (13).
Notice the similes used in the line above. What do they add?
How would you classify the war? Explain.
Lit. Devices con...
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Foreshadowing
“So the more things remain the same, the more they
change after all — plus c'est la même chose, plus ça
change. Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not
even death by violence” (14).
This quote foreshadows the fact that the coming tale will contain
not only change but loss, specifically of love and life. It also
alludes to the fact that violence will be a prevalent part of the
tale. Catching these subtle hints early help make the
references to war even more prominent. The line is also a
paradox: a phrase that contradicts itself if elaborated to its
logical conclusion or that contains a contradict that is
nonetheless true in some manner.
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Flashback
Chapter One
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Establishes first-person narrative voice (Gene),
main characters, and the setting. Due to the use of
flashback there are two times (1957, 1942) to the
tale though the action in both times is primarily
confined to Devon School in New Hampshire.
Phineas' role as a leader is established, as well as
his close friendship with Gene.
Jumping from the tree as a writ of passage and
superiority is described.
The liminal nature of the boys' lives that Summer
Session is delineated.
Key Lines
As you read the works in our curriculum this year, you will need to
keep a constant eye out for lines that connect to key themes and
philosophical ideas that could be used in a paper. The best lines
will be those that you can discuss on many levels by connecting
to themes, character development, author's purpose, stylistic
effects, etc.... We've already looked at a few key lines already but
here are a few more.
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Pg 15, btm paragraph: The existence of the Summer Session is
due entirely to the war. Thus, while the school insulates the
boys in some ways in others the changes at the school
reinforce how deeply the war is effecting the country.
Furthermore, here the importance of the tree is established as a
coming of age ritual and as an introduction to the danger and
violence of the war. The descriptions on the following page of
Gene's first jump reinforce this connection. Finally, the boys'
current innocence is established by the fact they “were still
calmly, numbly reading Virgil and playing tag in the river farther
downstream” (15).