Name _____________________
Honors English 10: A Separate Peace
Answer in complete sentences.
Chapters 1-5
1. At what time of the year does Gene return to Devon to visit? What atmosphere or mood
is created by setting the story during this season? What do Gene’s descriptions of the
season suggest about his state of mind?
2. Describe Finny’s relationship with his teachers. What does the teachers’ attitude toward
Finny suggest about his personality?
3. Gene believes blitzball is a perfect game for Finny. Explain how the game is played. How
do the rules of the game and the skills needed to play it reflect Finny’s character?
4. Describe the awards Finny has won. What record does he break? What does his refusal
to make his accomplishment public suggest about him? How is Finny different from
Gene in that regard?
5. After the overnight trip to the beach, what does Gene decide Finny is trying to do to
him? What leads Gene to this conclusion? How does Gene feel when he realizes he is
wrong?
6. Evaluate Finny’s response to his injury and Gene’s revelation. Is this response
believable? Is it consistent with Finny’s previous attitudes and behavior? Support your
opinions with evidence from the novel.
Chapters 6-10
7. What does Gene do when Quackenbush accuses him of being maimed? What motivates
Gene to respond in this way? In what sense might Gene be maimed?
8. Contrast the mood at Devon during the summer session and fall session. Identify at least
three factors that might account for this change in mood.
9. What is Finny’s theory about the war? How might his injury influence his feelings toward
the war?
10. Why is it surprising that Elwin (Leper) Lepellier is the first Devon boy to enlist? In what
ways is he different from the other boys who talk of enlisting?
11. In this section, what details does the author use to show the ways in which war is
changing the atmosphere at Devon?
Chapters 11-13
12. How does Brinker get Gene and Finny to attend a mock trail? In your opinion, why is
Brinker so determined to investigate the incident? Is the mock trial a good idea? Why or
why not?
13. What is Leper’s description of the accident? Why is his testimony so upsetting to Finny?
14. What does Gene mean when he says “Phineas, you wouldn’t be any good in the war,
even if nothing had happened to your leg.” What qualities make Finny a poor candidate
for military service?
15. What is the Maginot line? Against what has Gene constructed his own Maginot line?
How successful is it?
On a separate sheet of paper, give your thoughts to the following questions. Be prepared to
discuss these in the first weeks of the course.
16. In your opinion, why might Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front be a difficult
novel to read, teach or discuss at this time in our nation’s history?
17. What lessons are to be learned from reading A Separate Peace? What do you remember
most about the novel?
18. Describe the endings of both A Separate Peace and All Quiet on the Western Front. Are
they satisfying? What is the mood at the end of each book?
19. In what ways could both All Quiet and A Separate Peace be considered “coming of age”
novels, in which the title characters experience a loss of innocence?
20. Both Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Knowles’ A Separate Peace are told
in first-person narration. How effective is this choice for each novel? Does it distance the
reader or add to the reader’s involvement? Would a third-person narration have been a
better choice for either novel? Why or why not?
21. Both Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Knowles’ A Separate Peace deal
with conflict and war. What starts war, according to Remarque? Does Knowles agree? If
not, what does he say starts conflict and war?