Summary Of John Knowles 'A Separate Peace'

World War II was a devastating war. The war affected so many people. People daily lives were affected by it like the teenagers in the the book A Separate Peace , where the teenage boys struggle with the concept of the war. In A Separate Peace John Knowles demostrats how the boys achieve a separate peace yet the setting and their behavior are tinged with war-like imagery.

Knowles demostrats how the boys achieve separate peace through the setting with war like imagery in the winter carnival. As the boys get ready for the winter carnival that, “ saturday was battleship gray.” Knowles uses the war imagery of a gray battleship to describe how the sky looks on the day of the winter carnival. Knowles
In the evening of the winter carnival the boys wait for Chet to “ released from his trumpet … barbaric call of a bullfight” to rush over to the cider. Knowles use of war-like behavior show how their actions resembles soldiers waiting on both sides of the fielding waiting to recieve a signal to fight. Even though their actions are tinged with war-like imagery the boys are just having fun. The boys are enjoying their time at the winter carnival and they are not caring about anything else or worrying about anything in the time of the winter carnival. After the boys get the cider Brinker bellowed ,” i formally declare” the games has started. Brinker saying this resembles a leader declaring war on an enemy . Brinker saying this illustrate the effects of war on the boys even though Brinker is saying this out of fun to declare the games for the winter carnival.

Knowles demostarts how the boys achieve a separate peace in the winter carnival yet behavior and the setting are war-like. The boys achieve a separate peace but the war still has an effect on them. No one can escape the idea of war, War is always going to be in the back of their