"Setting" into A Separate Peace

Introduction

The purpose of this WebQuest is to allow you to research the time and place of A Separate Peace by John Knowles. The central story of A Separate Peace begins less than a year after the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Shortly after the surprise bombing, which claimed the lives of more than 2,000 U.S. soldiers, the United States entered WWII.

The war brought changes to the American economy and lifestyle. The military needed weapons, and this need created jobs. The American people did all they could to aid the country. John Knowles, in an article about his school days, describes how the "man shortage" at home, in the States, changed the makeup of the Exeter faculty. In short, American life, as it had been, changed "for the duration" - a phrase meant "until the end of the war." To the characters in A Separate Peace, "for the duration" seemed very long indeed.