A Separate Peace, John Knowles

This celebrated novel is about the relationship between two boys at a boarding school during World War II. Gene is a brilliant student; Finney is a great athlete. Jealousy between them builds until Gene's internal battle for identity and security leads to a tragedy that changes both of their lives forever.

Related Readings

"Envy: Is It Hurting or (Surprise) Helping You?"—magazine article by Julie Taylor

from Sprints and Distances: Sports in Poetry and Poetry in Sports—poems by various authors

from In Search of Light: The Broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow, 1938–1961—radio broadcasts edited by Edward Bliss Jr.

"The Home Front in Upstate New York"—personal narrative by Josephine E. Case

"D-Day: June 6, 1944"—diary entries by Robert Mason

"There Really Was a Super Suicide Society"—interview by Bernard Carragher

Study Guide (PDF)