In times of war, people and societies change to adapt to the lifestyle war brings with it. In John Knowles" A Separate Peace the characters must adapt to the lifestyle brought forth by World War II. Some make it through these times better than others and some just don't make it at all. ... reasoning for the theme of this novel; "survival of the fittest". From the beginning of this novel it is made abundantly clear that Phineas and Gene are the fittest. In chapter one Phineas is described as "...the best athlete in the school" with "a strong neck in and uninterrupted, unemphatic unity of stre...

• Word Count: 466
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... literature, a significant event in that story can lead to a further understanding of the characters involved with the incident, and/or the novel itself. In the book A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, one character makes a horrible mistake that not only advanced the reader's understanding of the novel, but also leads to that characters fall. Jean Forrester, the narrator of ... him out of trouble for missing dinner, and getting away with wearing a pink shirt to a celebration, foreshadowed the anger that was building up inside of Gene. Towards the end of chapter four, Gene committed the m...

• Word Count: 516
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School