A Separate Peace by John Knowles

1
A Separate Peaceby John Knowles

• A novel of growing up during war times.

2
Author John Knowles

• Born in 1926 in West Virginia
• Best known works are set in New England

3
Knowles Childhood

• Parents were originally from Massachusetts.
• Knowles spent many summer vacations there.
• At the age of fifteen, Knowles applied to an
  elite New Hampshire boarding school, Phillips
  Exeter Academy.

4
John Knowles continued

• Knowles expresses his affections and fond
  memories for his boarding school memories in A
  Separate Peace.
• Soon after Knowles entered Exeter, the U.S.
  declared war on Japan and entered World War II.
• Knowles went into the military after he graduated
  from high school and trained to be a pilot in the
  U.S. Army Air Force Aviation Program.
• When the war ended, he attended Yale University
  in New Haven, Connecticut.

5
A Separate Peace

• The novel was first published in England in 1959
  and in the U.S. in 1960.
• It proved to be such a success that Knowles was
  able to resign from his job and devote his time
  to writing and travel.
• He wrote many other novels, none as successful as
  A Separate Peace.
• Today, he lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

6
Setting

• Devon School in New Hampshire
• The central story begins less than a year after
  December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl
  Harbor, in Hawaii.

7
WWII

• World War II September 1939 to September 1945.
• Called the World war because a majority of the
  worlds nations split into one of two opposing
  sides
• Allies- included Russia, U.S.A, United Kingdom,
  and China.
• Axis- included Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and
  Imperial Japan

8
World War II

• The most devastating war in history.
• Loss of human life estimated at 72 million.
• Two-thirds of victims were civilians.
• Holocaust victims numbered in the millions.

9
U.S. Involvement

• The U.S. entered the World
• War after Pearl Harbor.
• Fear of war caused many Americans to turn a blind
  eye to the conflicts overseas.
• Pearl Harbor changed everything.
• 1940 brought the first peacetime draft in the
  nations history.
• Men 21-35 years of age were required to register
  for military service.
• Age then lowered to eighteen.

10
Patriotism

• Many young men couldnt wait to be drafted
  patriotism was at an all-time high.
• Teenagers often felt it was their duty to enlist.

11
Patriotism and Change

• The war brought changes to the American economy
  and lifestyle.
• Need for weapons created jobs.
• Americans attended rallies, bought war bonds,
  conserved fuel and rubber by car pooling, and
  planted victory gardens.
• Society also began changing and adjusting due to
  the man shortage.
• In short, American life, as it had been, changed
  for the duration- a phrase that meant until
  the end of the war.

12
Imagine

• Imagine going to high school while the deadliest
  and most devastating war in history was
  happening.
• How would it affect you? Would your life be any
  different?

13
The War in Iraq

• How does the war in Iraq affect you?
• Do the news stories and pictures affect your life
  or view of the world?

14
A Separate Peace Plot

• War does not concern the majority of the plot.
• Main characters are juniors.
• They attend an elite private boarding school.

15
Theme and Motif

• Theme a broad idea in a story, or a message or
  lesson conveyed by a work
• A work can have more than one theme.
• Motif a reoccurring subject, theme, or idea in a
  literary, artistic, or musical work.
• Difference between theme and motif
• Theme are ideas explored by the text.
• Motifs are reoccurring elements that represent
  ideas.

16
Themes Motifs in A Separate Peace

• Themes
• Identity- The development of self in the face of
  peer pressure.
• Man vs. Self- Even in times of war, the most
  difficult battle is within the human heart.
• Motifs-
• Transformation- the characters and the school
  undergo immense changes throughout the story.
• Competition- the competitive nature of athletics
  and of friendship.