John Knowles A Separate Peace

Life in a Book Authors have different things that influence and drive them to write a book. Some authors use historical events and others use their own experiences. These authors show you what their lives were like and how they lived, but they put it in the form of a story. John Knowles is one of these authors. He shows us what his life was like and the special experiences he had and lessons he learned. John Knowles's writing of A Separate Peace is greatly influenced by his background, his schooling at Exeter Academy, his experiences during World War II, and his life after leaving Exeter. The background for A Separate Peace is mostly based on the background and youth experiences of John Knowles. On September 16, 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia, John Knowles was born the third child of James and Mary Knowles. At the age of 15, John Knowles left his childhood home in West …show more content…
None of his later works became near as well known as A Separate Peace did, and it would always be his crowning achievement. He was grateful for the success of A Separate Peace, and he was not bothered by the fact that his other works remained unknown (Bloom,“Knowles, John” 2). He thinks it is a great school novel because it is not an exposé, it does not include harsh teachers or immoral students, and it does not use any school novel clichés. Knowles did not experience things like that at Exeter. He found the place as a gift that was given to him to help him mature, and he tried to present and dramatize that (Knowles "A Special Place, A Special Time”). A Separate Peace continues to be a book that is widely taught to young high schoolers. The novel gives an ultimately positive and nostalgic view on adolescence despite the sometimes dark tone and negative perspective on human condition (Bloom,“Knowles, John” 2). A Separate Peace is his best work and is still read today by high school age students to learn important