American Library Association (2021, April 23). Banned & challenged classics.

Retrieved May
10, 2021, from
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics#:~:text=A
%20Separate%20Peace%2C%20by%20John,filthy%2C%20trashy%20sex%20novel.
%22&text=Challenged%20as%20appropriate%20for%20high,novel%20contains
%20%22offensive%20language.%22

I would like to use this for background information of the times that this book has been
challenged and the reasoning behind the challenge. A few of them i might reference are,
“Challenged in Vernon-Verona-Sherill, NY School District (1980) as a "filthy, trashy sex novel."”
“Challenged as appropriate for high school reading lists in the Shelby County, TN school system
(1989) because the novel contains "offensive language."
“Challenged by the parent of a high school student in Troy, IL (1991) citing profanity and negative
attitudes. Students were offered alternative assignments while the school board took the matter
under advisement, but no further action was taken on the complaint.”

Domingo, A. (n.d.). Free teaching guide: A separate peace. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from
https://www.prestwickhouse.com/blog/post/2019/12/how-to-teach-a-separate-peace

I will use this website to back up ideas on how this book is good to teach to teenagers. It also gave
me a few ideas i didnt think of like learning objectives that you can learn from A Separate Peace. It
also talks about some themes that show up in the book. This gives me an opportunity to also take
that and expand on why these themes are to be taught to teenagers. “Identity — Gene and Finny
spend the duration of A Separate Peace trying to come to terms with who they're growing up to be.
This is one of the defining characteristics of a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story.” This can
especially be used as a pushing point because identity is something teenagers struggle with and its
good to talk and discuss this.

Knowles, J. (n.d.). About. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from

https://aseparatepeacesoloproject.weebly.com/about.html

This website gives off a little bit of information about why this book was challenged. I mainly chose to
include this because they included the amount of words in the book that are considered ‘offensive’
and talks about how there isn't direct sexual content in the book itself. “There are about 15 words
total that are considered "offensive." There is also no direct sexual content in this novel. Many
people thought there was a sexual attraction between Gene and Finny from such quotes such as,
"His skin radiated a reddish-copper glow of tan, his brown hair had been a little bleached by the sun,
and I noticed that the tan made his eyes shine with a cool blue-green fire" (3.71). “ I want to use the
first part and then mention things like the second part of the quote but directly quote the book

homeschoolbookreviewblog (2017, May 29). A separate peace. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from
https://homeschoolbookreviewblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/a-separate-peace/

This link is where someone talks badly about the book and how it curses and why it shouldn't be
read. I want to use this source and turn that around as they provide information on the book and how
those themes are good to read and how the words that are used are words that aren't often
considered curse words or words that aren't as bad. “Quite a few instances of cursing, with the “d”
and “h” words appearing frequently, and profanity, with various forms of taking the Lord’s name in
vain,”

Madhira, N. (n.d.). 'A separate PEACE' removed from 10th grade English class. Retrieved May 10,
2021, from https://slpecho.com/uncategorized/2018/05/26/a-separate-peace-removed-
from-10th-grade-english-class/

This is written by a student from St Louis park high School where the book was removed from the
curriculum halfway through the semester. This student talks about how they removed it for the
underlying sexual content between the two main characters. This is an actual student that was in the
school so its a good backup on my points as it came straight from a student. I want to include in my
essay how important it is to include a student in the discussion of the book. Especially at the
highschool level it's important to include their voice.

Sansom, J. (2018). The tree of panic in a separate peace. Retrieved May 10, 2021, from
https://core.ac.uk/reader/276620190

Opposing side on why this book should be banned. I want to use it as a source where I pick apart the
specific details they mention and talk about how they arent meant in a sexual manner. Mentioning
opposing sides and me debunking them will make my argument stronger. “Pink! It makes you look
like a fairy!” (Knowles 24). Finny dismisses the comment for a moment then simply responds, “I
wonder what would happen if I looked like a fairy to everyone” (Knowles 25). This appears to be a
clear indication that Finny has considered what other people would think if they realized he was
homosexual;

Knowles, John. A Separate Peace. New York: Scribner, 1987. Print.

I'll use the book to reference themes and important parts of the book that are important to teach.