A Separate Peace - EZ_Website.docVIP

A Separate Peace By: John Knowles Read all information on this sheet and complete each of the activities. Each activity asks you to produce some kind of assignment. You may complete these activities in a Microsoft Word document rather than using pencil and paper—the choice is yours. After completing an assignment, turn it in to Mrs. Smeltzer at the end of the class period that day. About the author: John Knowles was born in 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia. He left home at fifteen to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, an exclusive boarding school located in New Hampshire. About the novel: Drawing on his experiences attending Exeter Academy, Knowles sets his novel in an all-boys boarding school in New England during World War II. Activity 1: Visit the link below and complete the “Introduction” and “Background Information” sections of the website. **Note: The websites mentions you working on a team. Ignore this; you will be completing these activities individually. /members/shursey/separatepeace/webquest.htm Activity 2: Now that you have some knowledge about what life was like during WWII, you may begin reading the novel. Remember this information as you read; it will help you understand what life would have been like for these characters. Read Chapter 1 and answer the following questions. A Separate Peace Chapter Questions Chapter 1 1. Looking at the stairs in the First Academy Building, what surprising fact does the narrator (identified in Chapter 5 as Gene Forrester) realize he had overlooked about them? Why is this important? 2. When Gene visits the tree, what does it resemble? Evaluate his observation. 3. How does Gene feel about having seen the tree? Why? 4. Describe the relationship between the narrator (Gene) and Phineas (Finny). 5. Gene states that the two places he wants to see at Devon School were “fearful sights.” Why does he use this term? What is fearful about marble stairs? About a tree? If they are “fearful,” why