A Separate Peace is set in the time period of 1958 but flashes back to the years 1942-1943. During that time, the two main characters, Gene and Finny, attend The Devon School, an exclusive New England academy. World War II is going on at this time helping set the coming-of-age attitude expressed throughout the novel, and also the hidden tone of angst. This causes the boys to be more serious about what they’re doing at times, and value the days they have before the war. The war acts as a cloudy overcast that everyone’s either waiting for a storm to come out of or for the whole to pass by and let the sun shine through. Either way, the clouds are heavy and dark and rain war.

However, the boys don’t precisely let the war control what they do at all times, the boys continue to be mischievous, adventurous, and keep growing mentally and physically while the war goes on. They are allowed to do this because everyone there treats them as royalty. Well, not completely to that level, but they are pretty carefree when it comes to them because they pity the fact that they will soon be going off to war and ending their childhood. Being at Devon all the time gives the boys a sense of maturity and keeps them on track. Especially during the transitioning period between summer and fall which shows how suddenly everything can change. Just like a coin, one second your head is looking up and everyone’s on your side, and then the next thing you know, your head is facing down towards the ground alone and in a pit of pessimism. All in all, the setting and atmosphere of this novel continues to portray the solid adult-hood these boys are expected to blend into in their mere adolescent stage.

Obviously, this is a fictional book because the characters are all made up and leave no trace of history behind. Although this could very easily be a nonfictional story considering its time period, the very realistic personalities, and the state of mind Gene enters that has a psychological background. In some cases though, its fictional value does come through when Finny is characterized as being someone who gets away with everything considering the administrators of a school like Devon would presume to be very strict and diligent. Plus, the fact that Finny was only good at sports and later on had his legs broken by his friend causing the scene to be a tragedy is a tad fictional for my taste. If it had been more realistic, Finny could have broken other parts of his body or could have been better at more things than just sports. Altogether though, I can most likely see this novel as a realistic book mainly because of the common found psychological motivations underneath all of their actions.