John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace is based considerably on the time he spent himself at Philips Exeter Academy. John Knowles was admitted to the academy in September 1943. The summer session of 1943, Knowles met David Hackett, whom he would later use as the archetype for Phineas. Knowles and Hackett stayed in Peabody Hall that summer and launched a club, whose member's initiation came from jumping from a tall tree into a river near the campus. The students at Phillips Exeter Academy were updated on the war through films watched in the gym. To help with the war effort the students engaged in apple harvesting and clearing railroads. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, Knowles was admitted to the United States Armed forces, but the war was over before he met the front lines. Unlike the A Separate Peace, John Knowles only experienced friendship, athleticism, and loyalty during that...