A Separate Peace Literary Analysis

The Devon school plays an important role as the setting of A Separate Peace by relating to the major themes throughout the novel in elusive ways and reminding the reader of the impending cloud of war. Unlike most war novels, A Separate Peace takes place in a school, where war does not directly affect the students’ lives but is constantly looming overhead. The Devon school is a high school for boys in New Hampshire; hence, the book gives a different perspective into the lives of people being affected by war. The novel is more about boys who are too young to be in an actual battle, but too old to not be concerned with the war at all. While subtly reminding the reader of the evidence the both war and peace that are present throughout the book

An example of this can be found in the foremost scene of the plot during which the boys are directly exposed to the brutality of war occurred when Gene left the school. Visiting Leper in Vermont makes Gene realize how severely war can harm a person, and as a result intensifying the school’s sense of safety. Another larger theme that is completed by the setting is the idea of “finding individuality.” The war was a time when previously innocent citizens were sorting their priorities and deciding how far their morals would go; similarly, at the Devon, Gene was deciding on whether or not to continue to be an underling to Phineas while maliciously plotting ways to outdo him. The characters are also trying to find out where they are suitable in the world; similarly, in response to Phineas’ shock upon discovering that Gene has caused the destruction of his leg, Gene says: “Then I added, with great difficulty, ‘I thought I belonged here’” (Knowles 189). This relatable statement shows that the boys are Devon are struggling to find their own unique personality in the midst of the

One reason is that the location of the school correlates with the boys’ age; New Hampshire is in America, a nation involved in the war but not in which war is extremely evident (like a European country). Likewise, the boys at Devon are constantly being affected by war but while not actually in a battlefield. The setting also shows the impact war has on everyone, and not just soldiers. A school is affected by many different types of people (such as teachers and maids), which results in the plot including details about the effect of strife on innocent people and hence, intensifies the negative feeling a reader has towards the war. Moreover, unlike most war novels, in which the plot revolves around a soldier, A Separate Peace is told by a teenage boy who does not yet play a significant role in the war, so the ideas that turn the reader against the war are more