A Separate Peace

1. A Separate Peace By John Knowles Student Name Period 1 10/03

2. Exposition The story begins at Devon where Gene is retelling the events that happened while at boarding school. This is a time where WWII is still going on.Geneflashbacks to a time where he was best friends and roommates with Finny, an extreme athlete who dominates every sport he tries. Finny has no interest in competition though; he plays sportsas innocentgames and has the mentality that everyone wins. Leper is another one of Gene’s friends who gets closer to Gene later in the book. Leper is quiet, awkward, and innocent. Finny events a club called the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session where all they do is jump of a tall tree by the river. It is forbidden to jump of that tree but Finny and Gene start off every meeting by jumping off of it.

3. Optional Info: Flashback This technique of starting the story with the events having already occurred and flashing back helps us realize that the story seriously affected Gene in life and is a story that explains a lot about him. It’s like a sneak peak at someone’s life, like just seeing one part of the scenery on a moving train. High School What does the picture mean? This picture shows us, the reader, looking into part of Gene’s life.

4. Narrative Hook Gene starts having envious feelings towards Finny. Gene feels like they are in a competition for who is the best and Gene becomes obsessive over his school work to compete with Finny’s superior athleticism. In reality there is no competition between them. One day at a meeting of the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session Finny and Gene decide to jump out of the tree at the same time. Leper, Gene and Finny are the only ones at this meeting. Finny gets on the branch first and when Gene gets on the branch he purposely wiggles it. Then Finny falls out of the tree.

5. Rising Action #1 Crippled Leg Crippled Dreams Later in the book we find out that Finny has shattered his leg to the point where it’s a miracle that he’ll be walking again. This has a huge impact on Finny’s life because most of his focus in life was sports. Meanwhile he doesn't know that Gene purposely had Finny fall. Finny then moves backto his house where he will rest until he can walk on crutches. =

6. Rising Action #2 Gene decides that Finny has to know the truth so he travels to Finny’s home. When Gene sees Finny and they start out with a casual conversation. Gene then tells Finny that he purposely shook the tree limb to have Finny fall but Finny won’t listen. Finny can not comprehend at this moment that his best friend would ever do something to hurt him. Finny then asks Gene to leave in frustration. Justice Truth What does the picture mean? The picture shows what Genes motives are when he is traveling to Finny’s house. He wants a clear conscience and for his friend to know the truth and deal with Gene however he wants when he finds out the truth.

7. Rising Action #3 While Finny is still away Brinker, another friend of Gene’s, begins asking questions about Finny’s incident. Brinker believes that Gene tried to knock Finny out of the tree so that Gene could have his room all to himself. When Finny returns with crutches, Brinker immediately confronts him with this thought and Finny shakes it off. Finny seems to have almost no recollection of the incident at his house with Gene and still is fully confident that Gene is his best friend. But what really happened? Brinker

8. Rising Action #4 Gene and Finny do not believe in the war. They believe that the war is just something concocted by old men to make young kids stay in their places and not rise up. But then Leper, a close friend, enlists in the war. Leper wants to be part of the ski troops. This brings a bit of realization back into Gene’s mind that the war is real but he does not fully let himself be aware. Man Dodging Bullets What does the picture mean? Finny and Gene’s belief that there isn’t a war is like dodging a mental bullet. It’s painful to realize that pain and war are real so they ignore these facts. Gene is not able to dodge this bullet because he begins to realize that the war is real.

9. Rising Action #5 After a few months of Leper being gone Gene receives a telegram from Leper. Leper says he is in danger and he depends on Gene coming as quickly as possible. Leper writes to meet him at his house. Gene leaves as quickly as possible and is off to Leper's house. Gore Blood What does the picture mean? These are the things that I imagined Leper might have encountered in some way when I read about the telegram. This made me very scared for Leper.

10. Rising Action #6 Gene walks up to Leper’s house and Leper motions him in. Gene walks into the house and quickly realizes that Leper is different than he used to be. He is acting insane but Gene doesn't fully realize this until Leper accuses Gene of thinking that he is psycho. The conversation continually and sporadically changes between Leper and Gene. It turns out that Leper left the army and we do not know why yet. The topic then changes to Gene and we find that Leper knows that Gene tried to hurt Finny, because he is very observant. Gene tells Leper to stop talking about the incident and soon Gene and Leper get in a fist fight. What does the picture mean? This shows how Leper looks normal but his disturbed thoughts are taking over him. Bad Crazy

11. Rising Action #7 Leper's Mom separates the two before anything can really happen. Gene tries to politely leave the house but Leper's mom invites Gene to stay for lunch because she wants him to have some good come of his presence. After lunch Gene and Leper decide to go on a walk. Leper begins the story of why he quit the army. He started loosing his mind due to the gore of the war. Brooms started turning into amputated legs, people’s faces kept changing shape and gender, Leper explains. Gene can not take what Leper is telling him so he leaves Leper standing there telling his story to the wind. What does the picture mean? When Leper tells his story to Gene, Gene leaves Leper instead of comforting him. If Gene lived today it would be like saying “Talk to the hand” while someone is telling you their deepest darkest secrets.

12. Optional Info: Man vs. Self Love Good Hurt Leper is wrestling with his fears and what he has seen. This is what is sending him into this psychotic mindset. His fears are overcoming him and he can not think clearly any more. Fear Disturbed Fear Fear Pain Turmoil Good Courage Bad

13. Rising Action #8 Gene comes back to Devon and before long people started asking him how Leper was. Brinker predicts that Leper went crazy because he couldn't take the war any more. Gene says that this sadly, was true and told them part of his experience at Leper’s house.  Finny does not believe that Leper is as crazy as Gene says or that there is a war at first but then he sees Leper at school.

14. Rising Action #9 Leper Finny saw Leper hiding by a bush looking at him as if he was a wild monkey. The fact that his friend had been affected by the war shocked Finny into the realization that the war was real. He told Gene about this and they both decidedthat they wouldn't tell anyone about Leper on the campus. What does the picture mean? When I saw this picture I became afraid. Even though I do not know what this person is looking at that made them afraid the fear in their eyes affected me. This is what happened between Leper and Finny. Seeing the fear and pain in Leper’s eyes makes Finny feel the same things for a split moment. This feeling helps him realize that the war is real.

15. Rising Action #10 Disappointed Brinker pulled Gene, Finny, and a couple of the senior class aside to talk about what really happened that day at the tree and how and why Finny broke his leg. Finny still doesn't understand or remember Gene’s confession. Finny tells the people there that Leper is on campus. He told them because everyone there knows that Leper was at the tree and that Leper remembers every single detail of things. They bring Leper in to see what he knowsbut he doesn't accuse anyone in particular and is very broad with his information because he knows how dangerous the information is. But still all the evidence so far is pointing to Gene jouncing the limb and knocking Finny off.  Finny can't take it anymore, he storms out of the room. But as he storms out everyone hears him falling down the stairs, broken leg and all. Fear Anger Hurt What does the picture mean? This is what I imagine Finny to be thinking towards Gene as he leaves the room.

16. Rising Action #11 Finny has broken his leg again. It's on the same leg that was broken last time and is thankfully a cleaner break. The whole group rushes him to the nurses. Gene cautiously follows behind. When Finny is strapped down and everyone leaves he and Gene make eye contact. In his fury Finny wiggles around trying to get closer to Gene to hurt him. Finny yells at Gene and Gene leaves him.

17. Climax One of Gene's teachers tells him to pick up some clothes for Finny and deliver them to the hospital room. Gene knows that the next time that he sees Finny he will have to personally tell him what happened in the tree and now is the time he will have to do it. He packs up some of Finny's clothes and heads over to the hospital.

18. Falling Action Gene explains to Finny what happened in the tree. "Finny I tried to tell you before, I tried to tell you when I came to Boston that time--" explained Gene. Finny apparently had not let himself hear or comprehend all of what Gene had been saying that time but now he remembers Gene trying to tell him. Finny quickly forgives Gene, Finny is able to understand that it was blind impulse that drove Gene to do it and that Gene was truly sorry. Gene has finally told Finny of his huge mistake. The doctor then tells Gene to leave and come back when the surgery for Finny's leg is done. What does the picture mean? This backpack represents the secret that Gene has been carrying of purposely shaking Finny out of the tree. He is finally able to take this huge load off his shoulders and tell Finny.

19. Resolution Gene comes back when the doctor said the surgery would be done. Gene is surprised to see a stern look on the doctor’s face. He listens as the doctor explained how a marrow clot had gone to Finny's heart when they were doing the surgery. Finny was dead. Even though it was the death of his best friend Gene is now able to move on from his big mistake of hurting Finny. Gene is able to forgive himself now and live his own life instead of feeling required to live Finny's life. What does the picture mean? In this situation Finny and Gene’s relationship is like the training wheel for Gene’s life. When I rode my bike with training wheels I, for some odd reason, became attached to them, especially when my parents said that they were going to take them off. I feel that when Finny dies it is like taking off the training wheels to Gene’s life. Though it is a significant loss, Gene is able to move through life with more experience .

20. Theme There is a lot of pain in this world but the hardest thing is learning how to move on through the pain, and forgiving yourself if you caused the pain. Dialectical Response “Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence.” (pg. 6) This quote is put at the beginning of the book when Gene is looking back on his high school experiences. After reading the book I think what the author was trying to tell us was that Gene had moved on past some of the bad things he had done. The person who he had wronged, Finny, had forgiven him and Gene had finally forgiven himself.

21. Character Corner: Gene Gene is a character who changes throughout the book, a dynamic character. At the beginning he is selfish and jealous. This self-centeredness and jealousy brings him to do something out of blind greed, knocking Finny out of a tree. This sends Gene on a journey to find how to be a truthful, loyal friend. During this time, guilt hangs over him for knocking his best friend out of the tree and breaking his friend’s leg. This journey takes him through a lot of pain but eventually Gene tells Finny that he knocked him out of the tree. This is where we see how Gene has become a better friend. Finny forgives Gene, but then dies due to an error in a surgery to fix his leg. His forgiveness and death helps Gene move on from the mistakes that he made.

22. Character Corner: Finny Finny is a character that does not change throughout the story, a static character. He never wants to hurt any one. He has a deep desire to do good even though he has a nasty habit of getting into trouble. He prays every night just in case there really is a God. He makes the best of every circumstance. But most of all he is an amazing dreamer, he has a love that can forgive terrible things that people have done to him, and he has faith in his friends. These qualities show the most when Gene tests him by disappointing him in sports and purposely breaking Finny’’s leg. He is the character whom I look up to the most because of this amazing love and friendship that he offers to everyone.

23. Character Corner: Leper & Brinker Leper is a dynamic character who shows the reader how the war was affecting the people of this time. We do not know to much about him but when he went to the war he was carefree, a little awkward, and shy. When he came back he was angry, afraid, and confused. Through Leper’s scenario we see how much pain there is in the world. Brinker is a static character in the story. From the little that we know about Brinker we can not say that he changes. Brinker is the inquisitor in the story. He is constantly asking questions about what really happened at the tree and how Finny broke his leg. Throughout most of the story he takes on the role of a bullish detective.