Notes for A Separate Peace

SETTING The novel A Separate Peace is set against the background of the Second World War. The book depicts a peaceful New England's boy's school by the name of Devon. There is a pastoral quality about the school, for it is surrounded by enormous playing fields, is filled with sunshine, and has a peaceful river flowing through campus. During World War II, the novelist John Knowles attended Phillips Exeter Academy on which Devon was based. …

…of maturing and accepting what has happened to him at school. As an adult, Gene comes back to Devon to come to grips with the power that the tree has held over him during his life. When he finally locates the tree by the river, it is not so fearful as he imagined. He notices that it has changed a great deal; like the narrator himself, the tree has aged and matured, seeming almost weary.