In The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier the combatant Jerry Renault, must endure many challenges against the enemy, he is challenged by a physiological bully and the leader which reign supreme at the high school he attends. Jerry is going to have a lot of tough challenges ahead of him and a group is always after him. Jerry is going to have another problem when a sale has started at his school. Jerry Renault is a fourteen year old freshman who goes to a all boys catholic school called trinity. He play football as a quarterback and likes to run track he always tries to be the good kid in school and get good grades. He has been through alot in his life like his mother died of cancer which has him isolated. He is always engaged in a battle with himself and with the outside world. He looks up to his father who is a pharmacist thinks his father has a dull and boring life but admires him. A strength jerry has is he does not complain about the crap he has gone through in his life and at school and it pays off at the end, his biggest weakness is he can’t win the battle with himself and the outside world. The thing that motivates him is a poster in his locker that reads “ Do I dare disturb the universe?” …show more content…
This all started when Archie choose Jerry for an assignment because Archie thinks he needs therapy. Archie manipulates Jerry by getting him to fight Emile Janza another bully in Jerry’s life in a boxing match because Archie got Jerry thinking that he can actually win. Another person that was involved with the vigils and a bully in Jerrys life the headmaster of the school Brother Leon. He is a abusive teacher and has no control over the school he has affected Jerry's life by accusingbailey of cheating who always gets straight A’s and always pokes him and other students with a
The first thing The Chocolate War highlights is the effects individuality has on the protagonist Jerry Renault throughout the story. After Jerry decides to not sell chocolates there seems to be a ripple effect of other students viewing him as a hero with kids slapping him on the butt and in the school that was a sign of respect. Then the chocolates become popular the whole thing backfires with the whole student body railing against him in hatred and disgust. “You think you’re better than we are?”(205pg Cormier) was used by a fellow student calling Jerry out in front of the class started a kind of fire with as spark and lit the kindling of disdain they had for him. By making his decision to be an individual the result is that it makes it hard to make any allies within the school with everyone falling to conformity.
The Chocolate War is a story which takes place in New England in the 1970's. Most of the events happen in a Catholic school. Since this school was exclusively for boys, they were constantly trying to prove their power over each other. The story is told in third person omniscient. The story's mood is suspenseful. With each page turn one wonders if Jerry will take or refuse his chocolates. The protagonist of this story is Jerry Renault and the antagonist in Archie Costello. Jerry is a very quiet fifteen year old boy. He is also the quarterback for the Trinity High junior varsity football team. He is a very troubled individual due to his mother's
This story is a about a boy named Roger who was intelligent and got A’s on everything unlike his other friends who didn’t, was struggling to make the cut in a tough Atlanta grammar school. He was teased by his friends that he’d never be one of the guys in junior high if he didn't dirty up his act. To prove that he wasn’t just a goody-goody, he accepted the dare by his friends to dive under a moving train. This essay is well structured and provides a clear setting and introduction to the main event. This was the day that changed Roger’s viewpoint on life. Hoffman uses metaphors as stylistic devices when he describes himself accepting the dare. Hoffman was afraid to do the dare but he accepted it anyways, just to prove a point. To soothe his anxiety, he created an image about a “friendly train” and runs next to it. He also uses imagery to describe the small details on what's exactly going on while he’s doing the dare. “Even under pure sky, though, I had to fight to keep my eyes open and my shoulders between the rails.”, meaning that he was very afraid that
Jerry Wood - The teacher who accompanies Ponyboy to the hospital after Ponyboy saves the children from the fire. Though an adult and a member of mainstream society, Jerry judges the greasers on their merits instead of automatically branding them juvenile delinquents.
Initially, our first thoughts of Jerry at the beginning of the story, is that he acts immature and is burdened within a circle of maternal protection. During the opening of the story, the author conveys Jerry’s relative childishness by labeling him as “the boy”. The author also uses the mother to demonstrate his youth and how he is trapped in a circle of maternal protection which leads us to think that he is lonely due to that reason. In this part, “His mother walks in front of him, carrying a bright white strap in one hand” tells us that because the mother was walking in front of him, it gives us the impression that the mother still thinks of him as a boy that needs to be protected from any potential harm. We see more of Jerry’s immaturity and how the burden of protection leads his actions as we go through the story. During the part where Jerry sees the group of boys acting free-spirited, we see that he is overcome with desire to be with them, probably because he feels that because he is always in the circle of protection making him feel lonely and isolated from everyone. At first, he is added into the group and begins to have fun jumping from the cliff into the water with the other boys. Later on however, he starts to act immature when he realizes he could not do the same thing the other boys were doing. That was, underwater for a long time and going through the dark tunnel and he becomes scared. In this passage,“... In a panic of failure, he yelled up, in English, “Look at me! Look!” and he began splashing and kicking the water like a
Jerry Renault in The Chocolate War appears to be “going with the flow”—trying out for football, checking out girls—but his inner character drives him to differ. He fights to grasp his feelings and lacks self-confidence when he needs it most. As Jerry begins to unearth his inner-self, other obstacles and ideas dealing with certain emotions arise. As he progresses and reaches a level of comprehension, he grows closer to his goal—a sense of self-rule.
In the story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing the main character Jerry is young and sees a group boys do something that he finds interesting, Going through the tunnel. The problem is he is too young and too weak to do it. The boys were Judging and excluding him and it made him sad. Jerry used the negative actions of the french boys as motivation to set a goal of swimming through the tunnel before he leaves. Although Jerry is not physically strong or mature he has a large amount of mental strength and uses what should be his weakness be his strength.
Joey R. Poole presents an intriguing story in “The Hand-Me-Downs.” Simon is a straight shooting kid that follows rules and does not ask many questions. But later in the story, the reader can tell that the violence surrounding Simon erodes his attitude. He begins to stand up to his brother and he begins to understand that he has free will. At the beginning of the story, the reader can tell that Simon is a typical innocent young kid but by the end of the story, the reader is convinced otherwise. Simon changes as the story progresses representing a dynamic character rather than a static character.
The characterization of Jerry illustrates the stages of maturing and becoming independent. In the beginning of the story, Jerry is depicted as young and immature. The immaturity of Jerry is shown when he is trying to capture the older boys’ attention. In order to capture their attention, “he began splashing and kicking in the water like a foolish dog.” This action conveys that Jerry is still immature, and wants to join the older kids. After seeing the boys pass through the tunnel, Jerry also wants to pass through in order to be a part of their group. In order
Even though the ride to Yosemite was grueling, the main character learned a valuable life lesson that he will carry for the rest of his life. The main character ventured on a long, tiring ride, learned an important lesson, and discovered how they play together. After his bike ride to Yosemite he learns his lessons on the difficulties of life. He will carry the lessons he learned with him onto future adventures. He will also never venture onto such a grueling task based on other people's views.
Throughout literature there are many characters who exemplify the THS core values such as engagement, perseverance, and collaboration. Andre Dubus in his memoir Townie demonstrate all of these when he runs with his father, overcomes the troubles of his childhood, and rebuilds the broken relationship with his father. At the opening of the book, Andre is looking for sneakers to wear running with his father. When he can’t find his own shoes he wears his sister’s that are two sizes too small for him.
The short story “Powder” by Tobias Wolff displays an inspiring change of heart in the narrator caused by his father’s unintentional teachings throughout the course of the story. The narrator is a young boy whose character is apparent to his conservative and controlling thought of mind. The boy almost fears not planning ahead, but on the adventure with his father he is taught that it is okay and you should take in the moment for what it is. He needed to be responsible because of his parents split, this resulted in him being very strict and regulated, however that was not the case with his father. The father is a polar opposite from his son; he is fearless, careless and a risk-taker. Although the father is not a responsible figure the boy idolizes in the beginning of the story, the boy states “I actually trusted him” when he finally regains faith in his father at the end.
Frank, a young adolescent struggling to find his place in the world, searches to find an environment in which he can thrive. His eventual involvement with the yo-yo allows for a successful attempt of exploring and understanding his character. Through his experience, Frank expands his level of self-confidence and his level of maturity, acquiring valuable insight about overcoming injustices. Frank Conroy’s autobiography, Stop Time, exhibits his revelation after he participates in and loses a yo-yo competition. Through his loss, he discovers the truth about the subjectivity of life. He gains an understanding that despite what other individuals view and believe about him, the most important perspective about his life is his own.
Many people often meet different characters in literature and in life that they admire or despise. They conclude if those characters are good or evil and at the same time they reflect on the choices and responsibilities that those characters have. From The Chocolate War I admire Roland Goubert or The Goober based on his actions. I despise Archie Costello (The Assigner of The Vigils) because of the choices that he made and also because of his actions.
Like his school teacher who was a physically disgusting people. He symbolized the ugliness, mediocrity, and evil in the world. He inspired the character Pa Ubu. As Jerry got