A Separate Peace

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In his description of the Devon School, Gene notes, “I felt fear’s echo, and along with that I felt the unhinged, uncontrollable joy which had been its accompaniment and opposite face, joy which had broken out sometimes in those days like Northern Lights across black sky.” Which of the following literary terms does the narrator use in this quote?

A) Personification

B) Paradox

C) Palindrome

D) Pathos

2. Which of the following best describes how Finny feels about authority?

A) It is nonsensical.

B) It is unimpressive.

C) It is a nuisance.

D) It is useless.

3. Which of the following does Gene believe influences the temperament of the instructors at the Devon School?

A) The time of day

B) The season of the year

C) The sound of the nearby church

D) The progress of the war effort

4. Which of the following best describes Finny’s personality?

A) Timid and meek

B) Arrogant and pejorative

C) Flexible and charming

D) Self-centered and self-righteous

5. Which of the following aphorisms best describes Finny’s philosophy of sports?

A) Everyone is a winner.

B) Second place is the first loser.

C) Hard work makes the team work.

D) There’s no “I” in “team.”

6. Which looming event serves to differentiate the school’s treatment of underclassmen from its treatment of the seniors?

A) The war

B) The graduation

C) The Depression

D) The revolution

7. After his journey to the beach with Finny, Gene takes a moment to observe his surroundings: “The beach shed its deadness and became a spectral gray-white, then more white than gray, and finally it was totally white and stainless, as pure as the shores of Eden. Phineas, still asleep on his dune, made me think of Lazarus, brought back to life by the touch of God.” Which of the following literary terms is used in this quote?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Allusion

D) Anaphora

8. Which of the following best summarizes how Gene feels after Finny’s injury?

A) Overjoyed because he is finally reaping the consequences of what he sowed

B) Guilty because he feels he is responsible for Finny’s misery

C) Distraught because he cannot accept that Finny will never walk again

D) Undeterred because he believes that Finny will recuperate to normal

9. To what does Gene compare the arrival of the war in Devon?

A) Finals

B) Snow

C) Crew

D) Fog

10. Which of the following words best describes the Devon boys’ reaction to Leper’s enlistment?

A) Humor

B) Disgust

C) Shame

D) Rage

11. Which of the following phrases best describes how Leper is treated by the Devon boys throughout the novel?

A) As a myth

B) As a pauper

C) As a leper

D) As a genius

12. Which of the following best describes the function of the images on Gene’s wall?

A) A much-needed reminder of home

B) A now-defunct prop for his falsified identity

C) An artistic visualization of his goals and aspirations

D) An exact replica of military-related paraphernalia

13. In Chapter 12, Gene recalls the saying that Phil Latham uses as a linguistical crutch: “Give it the old college try.” Which of the following literary terms best describes this saying?

A) Irony

B) Imagery

C) Idiom

D) Innuendo

14. Which of the following indirect comparisons does Gene use to describe Finny at the end of the novel?

A) A bird of prey

B) A casualty of war

C) A child of God

D) A man of sorrow

15. Which of the following reasons best summarizes Gene’s choice to join the Navy?

A) He was concerned about being drafted to an undesirable section of the war effort.

B) He is enamored with naval machinery and knows he can make a difference.

C) He feels pressure to follow in the footsteps of his father and chooses accordingly.

D) He is a loyal friend who is fulfilling a promise he made to Finny last summer.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How does Gene use figurative language in the novel? Provide 2-3 examples of this language and explain his usage of it.

2. How is the narration structured? Is the novel linear or nonlinear? Support your response with examples from the text.