A Separate Peace

Vocabulary

Chapter 1-
1. tacit
2. cupola
3. foyer
4. ramshackle
5. salient
6. loomed
7. irate
8. protruding
9. substantial
10. inveigle

Chapter 2-
1. truant
2. chronic
3. clamoring
4. emblem
5. resonant
6. compliance

Chapter 3-
1. entrenched
2. catacombs
3. calisthenics
4. shuttlecock
5. adversaries
6. inebriate
7. mediocre
8. fixedly

Chapter 4-
1. spectral
2. trigonometry
3. valedictorian
4. solace
5. enmity
6. vulnerable
7. gaunt
8. candid
9. ventured
10. jounced

Chapter 5-
1. grandee
2.recessional
3. denounce
4. amiably
5. decalogue
6. irresolute

Chapter 6-
1. stopgag
2. sultriness
3. goaded
4. seersucker
5. emissaries
6.infinitesimal
7.turbid
8. sinecure
9. contempt
10. dispensation
11. reprimand
12. preempted

Chapter 7-
1. idiosyncratic
2. impinge
3. extrovert
4. insinuate
5. fratricide
6. contretemps
7. obscene
8. implausible
9. discern
10. futility
11. dexterity
12. virtuoso

Chapter 8-
1. ambiguous
2. rhetorical
3. veer
4. enlist
5. senatorial
6. congealed
7. reticent
8. aphorism
9. poignant
10. refute
11. Prohibition
12. grotesque
13. sustenance
14. exhort
15. accession
16. sententious

Chapter 9-
1. vagaries
2. herringbone
3. dowager
4. liaison
5. multifariously
6. cacophony
7. accolade
8. proviso
9. Bolsheviks

Chapter 10-
1. holocaust
2. austerity
3. aesthete
4. foreboding
5. furlough
6. telegram
7. superficial
8. querulous
9. speculative

Chapter 11-
1. primeval
2. eunuch
3. latent
4. bane
5. incredulously
6. ruefully
7. flourish
8. torpid
9. urbane
10. incarnate
11. obstinate

Chapter 12-
1. pontiff
2. parry
3. disconcerting
4. languid
5. impervious
6. precarious
7. incongruity
8. irreconcilably
9. parody
10. qualms

Chapter 13-
1. benefactress
2. bellicose
3. cordial
4. emphatically
5. regimentation
6. forlorn



Questions-

-Chapter 1-
1. Where is the Devon School located?

2. What are your impressions of the Devon School after reading chapter 1? Does it sound like a place you'd like to attend?

3. Why do you think Gene has returned to the Devon School after so many years?

4. What do you think of Gene after reading chapter 1?

5. What do you think of Finny after reading chapter 1?


-Chapter 2-
1. Who is Mr. Prud'homme? What do you think of him?

2. How old are Finny & Gene?

3. Why are they at school in the summer?

4. What is the "emblem" that Finny decides to wear? Why does he wear it?

5. What does wearing the emblem show us about Finny's personality?

6. What role does WWII play at the Devon School?

7. What is the name of Finny and Gene's secret club and how do you gain admission to the club?

8. How does Finny save Gene from injury or death?


-Chapter 3-
1. Find a quote from this chapter that shows how Gene is a follower rather than a leader. Include the page number.

2. What is blitzball? What are the major rules?

3. Where did the name blitzball come from?

4. Why is 16 the ideal age according to Gene?

5. What school record does Finny break that summer and how does he react?

6. What makes Finny suggest going to the beach?


-Chapter 4-
1. Who do you think is responsible for Gene failing his Trigonometry test, Gene or Finny? Why?

2. Where are the instances of possible jealousy between Gene and Finny in this chapter?

3. Why does Gene want to be valedictorian so badly?

4. Did Gene receive all A's in the previous term? Why or why not?

5. Explain who would come out on top when comparing the athletic abilities of Gene and Finny.

6. Do you think Finny is trying to sabotage Gene's grades? Explain briefly.

7. What does Gene do to Finny at the end of this chapter? Why do you think he does this?


-Chapter 5-
1. Why do the teachers seem especially upset that Finny suffered an injury?

2. What devastating news does Gene hear about Finny's injury? Why does it bother him so much?

3. What is Finny's reaction to seeing Gene in the infirmary? How does he explain the fall?

4. What is upsetting to Gene about seeing Finny at his home?

5. Why does Gene go to visit Finny?

6. What is Finny's reaction when Gene tells him he jounced the limb?


-Chapter 6-
1. Consider the title, “A Separate Peace”. Explain what you think the title means. Do you think there is really a separate peace at Devon? Note the opening line of chapter six: “Peace had deserted Devon”.

2. How was the summer session different from the normal school year?

3. How does Brinker Hadley differ from Leper Lepellier?

4. Who is Cliff Quackenbush? List 2 reasons Gene does not like him?

5. What job does Gene try for the school year? Why is this an odd job for him to have?

6. How is Gene going to become a part of Finny?


-Chapter 7-
1. What do the boys of Devon do to help the war effort in the fall?

2. What do the boys do to help the war effort in the winter?

3. Why does Leper dislike downhill skiing?

4. How would you describe Leper Lepellier?

5. Which two characters decide to enlist in the army?

6. What surprises Gene at the end of the chapter?


-Chapter 8-
1. On what topic do Finny and Gene show they have grown apart?

2. “…I had welcomed each new day as though it were a new life, where all past failures and problems were erased, and all future possibilities and joys open and available, to be achieved probably before night fell again." Who says this quote (see pg. 105) and what does he mean by it?

3. How does Finny react when he finds out that Gene wants to enlist in the army?

4. Draw this simile. Try to capture both sides of the comparison: “…the war swept over like a wave at the seashore” (see pg 109). “The leg in its cast was like a sea anchor dragged behind” (see pg 112).

5. What are Finny’s feelings on World War II? Why do you think he feels this way?

6. What goal does Finny have for Gene? Why is this so important to Finny?


-Chapter 9-
1. Why do you think Finny is convinced there is no war?

2. What were the benefits of joining the armed forces before you turned eighteen?

3. Which day of the week does Gene complain about during the winter? Why does he dislike this day so much?

4. How does the author describe winter? Provide a quote and page number.

5. How has Brinker changed in chapter nine?

6. What interrupts the Winter Carnival?


-Chapter 10-
1. What do we learn about Gene’s future in the first paragraph of chapter ten?

2. What saved Gene and other members of his class from almost definite death in the war?

3. Where is Leper when Gene goes to visit him? Why is this called “Christmas location”?

4. How has Leper changed in this chapter?

5. What is a Section Eight discharge?

6. Why does Gene become furious with Leper?

7. Do you think Leper is crazy? Provide one quote from the chapter that supports your point. Include a page number.


-Chapter 11-
1. Where does Gene live when he is not boarding at Devon? How do you know this?

2. Where does Gene feel most at home and most comfortable?

3. According to Brinker, why hasn’t Gene enlisted yet?

4. What made Finny finally believe that there was a real war? Why does this make him believe it is real?

5. Just like the war, what else has Finny been denying?

6. Who tells Brinker what really happened in the tree the day Finny was injured? How does he describe what happened in the tree?

7. What happens to Finny at the end of the chapter?


-Chapter 12-
1. How does Finny react when Gene goes to visit him in the infirmary?

2. Why is Finny so frustrated with his injury?

3. What has Finny been trying to do all winter?

4. According to Gene, why wouldn’t Finny be any good in the war?

5. How would you describe Finny after reading this chapter?

6. How does Dr. Stanpole compare the operating room to the war?

7. What do you think Gene means when he says, “I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case” (see pg 194).


-Chapter 13-
1. What is Mr. Hadley’s opinion of the war? He seems to have a lot of war memories. What war did he serve in?

2. Why does Gene decide to enlist in the Navy?

3. Why is Mr. Hadley unimpressed with Gene and Brinker’s decisions to join the Navy and Coast Guard?

4. What was Gene’s war that he had to fight?

5. Do you think Finny was really Gene’s enemy? Was he really out to get him?