The Influence Of Education In John Knowles 'Separate Peace'

Along with the ramifications society was feeling from the rations, schools were heavily affected by World War II as well. As mentioned before, women were bound to take on more responsibility due to a lack of men in the workforce. However, women could not handle all and this prompted a need for children, especially adolescent boys to increase their responsibilities (“The American Family in World War II”). Many high school aged children were forced to drop out of school and begin working. The number of teenagers employed across America increased from one million to three million in a very short period of time (“The American Family in World War II”). In the novel, other effects the war had on education was portrayed. The Emergency Usefulness
In the novel Separate Peace, Knowles describes in detail how the economy changes and how it affects the young boys in the story. Clearly, school entails going to class. In addition, many students choose to be involved in sports. Gene was discussing his responsibilities in the novel when he stated, “In addition to classes and sports and clubs, there was the war” (Knowles 91-92; ch. 7). This statement from Gene proves that people of all ages in America were feeling the effects of war. As mentioned earlier, the boarding school the boys were attending created the Emergency Usefulness Policy. This forced the boys complete tasks that were needed by the community due to a shortage of workers. These jobs needed to be completed in order for the economy to stay steady during this tough time. One job specifically is detailed by Gene, “First there was the local apple crop, threatening to rot because the harvesters had all gone into the army or war factories. We spent several shining days picking them and were paid in cash for it” (Knowles 92; ch. 7). Working all day in the hot sun to harvest apples does not sounds amusing. At the start of the war, the country was still recovering from the Great Depression and unemployment rates were extremely high (“Impact of World War II”). More goods were needed than ever before. Soldiers needed an immense amount of supplies and the citizens living the American still needed food and other necessities. With the production rates so high, the unemployment rate dropped 15%. This drop in unemployment was mostly due to the women and African Americans taking the jobs of the men who were at war (“Impact of World War II”). The experience of war provided a map for future administrative organization of the economy (Winkler). This would serve to be extremely helpful in the future of America. The economy in America was heavily