A Separate Peace

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. A tree (Chapter 1)

2. Summer school session of Devon School, 1942 (Chapter 1)

3. As an emblem to celebrate the Allied bombing in Central Europe (Chapter 2)

4. That “Finny had practically saved [his] life” (Chapter 2)

5. Blitzball (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. The Devon School is located in a New England town, comprised of brick buildings, Colonial architecture, and “small areas of order…living together in contentious harmony.” He notes that some aspects of school seem different from what he remembers—for example, some buildings look newer, and some things seem smaller upon his return. (Chapter 1)

2. Finny jumps from a large tree and into a river in front of Gene and their group of friends. Initially hesitant, Gene is inspired to jump as well, while the other friends excuse themselves from the task. The two become the first underclassmen to jump from this tree. (Chapter 1)

3. The first reason is Finny’s personality, which projects a combination of “a calm ignorance of the rules with a winning urge to be good.” Gene believes the second reason was that the underclassmen boys reminded the staff of “what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction.