The flashback that begins midway through this first chapter and lasts throughout the entire novel creates an odd effect: once the narrative drops us back into the s, the story seems to be told from the perspective of the younger Gene; yet the narrator frequently inserts commentary and philosophical musings that seem to come from the older Gene. This shifting perspective is part of a larger complexity in A Separate Peace: namely, the problem of the unreliable narrator.
While we can assume that Gene recounts external events relatively accurately, he seems less forthcoming about his own emotions and desires. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs Symbols. Summary Chapter 1. Page 1 Page 2. Summary Gene Forrester, the narrator of the story, returns to the Devon School in New Hampshire, fifteen years after being a student there.
Next page Chapter 1 page 2. Test your knowledge Take the Chapter 1 Quick Quiz. Popular pages: A Separate Peace.
The tree, he thinks, is smaller than he remembers. The chapter section ends with Gene heading back to shelter through the rain. The second section opens during the summer of when Gene is He is attending a special Summer Session at Devon, designed to speed up education to prepare the boys for the military draft in their senior year.
The tree seems enormous to Gene, but Finny suddenly decides to climb it and jump into the river, just like the Devon 17 year olds, who are training for military service. Finny jumps and dares Gene to follow. Against his better judgment, Gene climbs the tree and also jumps, but the three others refuse. The shared danger of jumping brings Finny and Gene closer.
While the rest of the boys hurry ahead at the sound of the bell for dinner, the roommates playfully wrestle until they are late for the meal. They slip into the dormitory, where they read their English assignments and play their radio against school rules , until it is time for bed. The novel opens with the narrator, Gene, returning to his old prep school Devon.
Significantly, he makes his visit alone, not as part of an official homecoming or alumni reunion. The visit is private, his goal personal — to revisit two "fearful sites" from his youth. In encountering the past, Gene hopes to understand the crucial events that shaped his adulthood, in order to face them and finally move beyond them. Gene's recognition of the changes in Devon shows the ways he himself has changed.
The beauty of the campus still impresses him, even in a cold rain, but the school itself seems like "a museum," a place to observe rather than to inhabit. Gene has grown beyond his school and is no longer a part of it; yet the school and his memories of what happened here continue to shape him in ways he feels compelled to explore and finally to understand. The two "fearful sites" Gene visits — a marble staircase inside the First Academic Building and a tree by the river — sharply contrast with each other.
The tree, gnarled and old, represents an integral part of nature, simplicity itself, while the marble staircase, beautifully formed and decorated, expresses a highly polished culture. Chapter 1 Quotes. Related Characters: Gene Forrester speaker. Related Themes: Identity. Page Number and Citation : 14 Cite this Quote. Explanation and Analysis:. Related Themes: War and Rivalry. Chapter 6 Quotes. Page Number and Citation : 74 Cite this Quote.
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Chapter 1. As he walks through campus, he feels Turning, he goes back outside and makes his way through muddy terrain toward the Devon River, thinking as he goes that Devon is both different and the same as it The narrative jumps back to , when Gene is attending the summer session at the Devon School.
Chapter 2. Gene believes that the faculty members at Devon —especially in the summer term—look fondly upon Finny and the rest of the students in their Finally, Gene thinks, Finny has gotten himself into too much Chapter 3. For him, this period took place during World War II, when he was at the Devon School with Finny and hearing about the war while living out the easy existence of And this, he knows, is significant because most of the relationships between boys at Devon are founded upon a sense of rivalry.
Gene wishes he could tell Chapter 4. Chapter 5. His trains are delayed on his return trip, and he suddenly is filled with the Chapter 6. When Gene returns to Devon , he feels as if the calm ease of the summer session has fled campus. Chapter 7.
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