A Separate Peace
Boarding school novel
A Separate Peace is a 1959 novel by John Knowles set at an elite New England boarding school during World War II.
The story explores the intense friendship between two boys, Gene and Phineas, and themes of jealousy, innocence, and guilt.
It became a staple of American high school English curricula: We had to read A Separate Peace junior year.
- DevonSouthwestern English county
- prep schoolPrivate pre-college institution
- boys schoolInstitution educating only males
- New EnglandNortheast U.S. region
- New HampshireNortheastern state, smallest land
tree · fall · jealousy · friendship · betrayal · innocence · lost innocence · war · envy · athletic rivalry · guilt · limb · marble stairs · river · jump · summer · winter carnival · 1942
- School ClassicsTo Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter
- coming-of-agecoming-of-age, bildungsroman, growing up, maturation, youth
- Friendship StoriesCharlotte's Web, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh, Bridge to Terabithia, Because of Winn-Dixie
A Separate PeaceCatch-22
Self-defeating logical trap
Slaughterhouse-Five · Matterhorn · Apocalypse Now · Full Metal Jacket · Platoon
A Separate PeaceLord of the Flies
Dystopian island survival allegory
separate, separately, separation, separateness, separator, separable, inseparable, peace, peaceful