The Chocolate War

Husband is enjoying his book. He received for his birthday.

Jerry Renault is a fourteen year old freshman at Trinity high school. His life gets turned upside down when he encounters the Vigils, a bully group that controls the school and the behavior of the students. The leader of the Vigils, Archie Costello, gives Jerry an assignment not to participate in the school's chocolate fundraiser for ten days. After the ten days were complete, he was to start selling the chocolates as normal. When Jerry refuses to sell the chocolates period, he starts a silent riot among the student body for defying the Vigils. He then pays dearly for his actions by being publicly humiliated in front of the school with the Vigils coming out victorious. The main message of this book is the quote that Jerry tapes on the inside of his locker, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" The setting of Jerry's situation is that no one has ever defied the Vigils, and everyone is under their secret but apparent control. When Jerry finally stands up to their rule, he is brought down and considered the villain among his peers. Robert Cormier uses this to describe the unfortunate reality of today's society. Individuality is put down, and anyone who dares to stand out runs the risk of being an outcast. There is a rulebook that we all follow; a secret code of conduct. If someone differs from this "law" that person suffers the consequences. Being that this is the main theme of the story, the book is not meant to be uplifting which is one thing I admire about the book. There is no "beating around the bush" or "sugarcoating" the story's message. I think the world needs more stories like this one to give people a look at the kind of reality we live in. I however, disliked the amount of cursing and unnecessary language in the book, which is the reason I gave this book four stars instead of five. The story could've portrayed the message just as well without the inappropriate language. This is one of the reasons I would not recommend this book to people younger than 12 years of age. The story may be too harsh for younger people and may have a bad influence on their confidence and self esteem. However, I would highly recommend this book for mature teenagers and adults because of the powerful reality check it gives. It is very rich in depth and description; definitely a moving story. Another work that I would recommend is Robert Cormier's sequel Beyond the Chocolate War to see what awaits Archie and the Vigils before graduation at Trinity High School.

I absolutely worshipped this book as a kid, perhaps because kids take the broad point of view and are willing to see, much more than adults, that life is basically a horrible rat race and most everyone falls into its trap at the end. What some have seen as the cynicism of the book kids see as a virtue, and what made this book special in 1974 (the era of Watergate) was that Cormier stood pretty much alone in his absolute negativity, while everyone else, from your school counselors on up, were encouraging you to look on the bright side always. Today, perhaps, the bright side isn't strictly enforced the way it once was. A general aura of gloom and doom prevails, in everything from TV to the news to comic books and social media. The increase in school shootings have given kids another reason to be afraid of their peers, but in 1974 we went to school, saw the evil, and couldn't see it reflected anywhere else but in The Chocolate War. It was enough to put me off chocolate, and anyone who knows me knows I love the stuff! We raised money at our high school (another Catholic boys school) to help the legal defenses of one of our own who was unjustly imprisoned for smuggling drugs across international borders. In this book, Jerry Renault stands alone against a tide of evil greater than any ever amassed in history, and several have read the book as an allegory for the conquering wave of Hitler and the Nazi party across Europe in the 1930s, while Brother Leon and Archie Costello stand in for Hitler and Mussolini. The book's title has these echoes, and also those of the Vietnam War, still raging while Cormier labored on his novel. Others have contrasted the world of Archie (the "Assigner" of Trinity's secret society, the "Vigils," with the world of Archie and Jughead at Riverdale High, and suggesting that maybe private school, for all its cachet, isn't as good an education as the one meted out by Principal Weatherbee and Miss Grundy. The Chocolate War is also thick with sexuality and violence. Some of its action was taken by Cormier from the existing school classics To Sir with Love and The Blackboard Jungle (for example, the famous "destruction of room 19"" in The Chocolate War has its beginnings back in To Sir with Love, when the teacher on his first day of school leans on his desk and finds it collapsing sunder his touch) and those books had dark elements, but in none of them was a student photographed whacking off in the boys room and blackmailed about it, the linchpin of the action in the Cormier book. Jerry starts throwing up in his mouth when assailed as a "fairy" by Emile, ironically enough one who finds himself getting aroused when wrestling or tackling an opponent. Everyone's sort of dissociated from his feelings. Adolescence is a time to flex one's mental and physical muscles and there's a lot of flexing going on, and it never stops being grim. Maybe the book might have improved had there been one little ray of light, if only for contrast's sake, so if someone asked me for a good book to read about a private boys' school I might suggest instead the superlative A GOOD SCHOOL by Richard Yates, but this one isn't to be sneered at, even its silly parts.

I first read this in high school and some of what was cool about the book then didn't hold water now (I'm 38). The story did pull me in although I found myself skipping several sentences at a time throughout the book. The biggest reason for only 3 stars is the lack of resolution in any of the main characters; we don't get to see them grow, learn or change. Keep in mind as you read this, the story takes place over a short period of time and should be viewed as a snippet of the boys lives.

Bien

Great, thought provoking story. Ending? I would read the sequel! I want revenge!

"My name is Jimmy and I won't sell the chocolates." The story is beautifully told. Robert Cormier is, just like J.D. Salinger, gifted with understanding the diction of schoolboys. And now this is one of my favorite books. The book shows with great empathy without being melodramatic, how "Trinity School" which stands for the general society, reacts when Jimmy defies a custom of the school. Brother Leon is that judgemental man or a woman we all know, the person who sneers at even a hint of originality or independence in anyone. I completely recommend everyone to read the book. Especially Indian children. 4 stars.

A great story for any teenager male or female.

Satisfait

Good book at competitive price.