Discussion Questions

1. How does the book ‘A Separate Peace’ portray the differences between the older and younger generation?

The book shows the differences between the two generations by means of positing the factors of childhood against the atmosphere of war. This is done from the eyes of Mr. Prud’homme, who sees the innocence of childhood within Finny and knows that it shall wither against the grindstone of war. The difference in generations is also seen in terms of responsibility. The older generation believes that going to war is a duty of the younger generation. The younger generation is sometimes cheated into enlisting. The younger generation, on the other hand, realizes that the war started by the older generation should not be the burden of the younger generation.

2. Before his accident, Finny was physically superior to other boys at Devon. Finny also operates from a position of high morality that is superior to the others. How?

Finny’s moral superiority is seen when he does not allow his doubts about Gene’s betrayal to control him. He realizes that feelings cannot be trusted, and hence his feelings about Gene’s betrayal should not be allowed to define their friendship. Finny’s moral superiority is also seen when he realizes that the facts brought out during the trial will benefit no one. Finny realizes that facts used only to hurt Gene and not remedy a situation are useless and counterproductive, hence he yells and Brinker and storms off. While the rest of the boys were deeply interested in the trial, only Finny understood what Gene was going through.

3. Devon functioned as an insulated bubble from the war outside. How so? How did this bubble slowly shatter?

While war happened in the outside world, Devon functioned like any other school. The summer session was one filled with play, joy and warmth. The boys are able to joke about contributing to the war efforts by jumping off a tree, and are able to find the humor and play in war. This bubble is soon broken by the onset of the winter session, the beginning of the enlisting and Leper’s return from the war. Leper’s return was the biggest nail that shattered the bubble, forcing Finny to accept the reality of war, taking away Gene solace and refuge from reality and destroying the sanity of Leper, a naturalist boy who loved birds and scenic beauty. Devon then stopped being a bubble isolated from war; with the military using the school for the summer and boys being prospective recruits, it was already part of the war.

4. Toward the end of the novel, Gene asserts that Finny was the one to face war without fear. Why does he say that?

Gene recognizes that among all the boys at Devon, Finny was the fastest to accept reality as is. He accepted war for what it was, and on his deathbed, only wished for the war to not be true. He also acknowledges that Finny was the one to best confront the war within, for he allowed his rational mind to guide him through troubling times. When he was finally ready to listen to Gene’s confession, and by forgiving Gene and accepting the burden that Gene had been carrying all this while, Finny showed that he was ready to face the war of betrayal and guilt. While the others struggled to find peace when their oasis of safety were broken, Finny was the first to let go and find peace away from his world of play and fantasy.