Essay On The Chocolate War

Jerry refused to give into the Vigils hazing. This was another upset in power due to the superiors in the universe being unable to control an inferior. He refused to give up and kept on fighting them at football, never giving into their tough hits, along with him not selling the chocolates. “Would you ask Renault why he isn’t selling the chocolates like everybody else’, Jerry paused, face flushed. ‘It’s a free country…’” (Cormier 148).This quote shows how strong and resilient Jerry was to keep from selling the chocolates.

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

Robert Cormier wanted the characters be different, he did not make them how others wanted, being socially acceptable, he wrote the book how he thought it should have went in his mind, and doing so he gave the readers some new to read not just the everyday novel. Cormier gives the reader many examples of figurative language to express the real meaning of the story for example, “Caroni watched the chalk in Brother Leon’s hands, the way the teacher pressed it, rolled it, his fingers like the legs of spiders with a victim in their clutch.” (90) In this quote Cormier gives a similar to exaggerate about how Brother Leon was holding the chalk in his hands. It sends a powerful message to the reader that Brother Leon is a horrible man, who had no mercy and he is seen by others as a powerful administrator in the school using quid-pro-quo in his own evil type of way. Cormier also uses more figurative language to give a specific emotion that Cormier was trying to express throughout his novel, that not every time someone disturbs the universe something good comes out of it. “What happened with Renault was bad enough, but there was violence in the air.”(209) This quote is the the example that even though Renault did disturb the universe and did try to stop the chocolate sale, he failed and something bad happened to him for trying. In the end Jerry's attempts to stop the chocolate sales failed, and still there was still violence in the air meaning the enemy he tried to defeat was angry, but still undefeated. And many readers dislike Cormiers way to end the book in a way that the hero does not defeat the villain(s). Like Richard Peck said ”The young will understand the outcome. They won’t like it but they’ll understand.” (10) And this is exactly what Cormier had in mind when he was writing the book, that the readers wouldn’t like the ending, but

This ideal has been a staple of American life since the Revolutionary War. In fact, American authors often write novels about Katnisses or Trises fighting and even superseding corrupt governments and tyrants (Collins; Roth). However, these stories are often exaggerated and romanticized, yielding an inspirational, yet overdone plotline. Realistic writer Robert Cormier challenges this common theme by writing The Chocolate War, a story in which the protagonist isn’t necessarily a “good guy” and likewise does not “win”. In his novel The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier uses the cruelty of some characters and the indifference of others to show that it takes many

On the eleventh day, when Jerry still does not accept the chocolates, when he says, “I’m not accepting the chocolates,” Jerry declares the chocolate war. He finds something in which to believe that will allow him to reach a sense of self-rule.

During the days of the Civil War, there was always a struggle for getting fresh food and provisions to the Union soldiers fighting upon southern battlefronts. ‘Hardtack’ was a bread baked in Northern bakeries, stored in warehouses, and then finally shipped to the Union soldiers on the battlefields. By the time it arrived, it was hard enough to break teeth! It earned nick-names such as ‘sheet-iron crackers’, ‘flour tile’, and were even called ‘worm castles’ because of the worms and weevils often found in them! Incredibly, taste and smell are two of the most powerful senses influencing memory recall. So you can imagine how deeply a soldier, far from his northern home, would long for a taste of home…and the disappointment he had trying to eat ‘Hardtack’ instead.

The novel, Tomorrow When the War Began, by John Marsden, tells the story of a brave group of unlikely heroes who journey out to camp in ‘Hell’. Throughout this novel, the characters are able to change the way they act, feel and treat others. This opens up new, stronger relationships in the group, and creates an unbreakable bond between certain characters.

Ian Mosby’s Food Will Win the War is a comprehensive survey of the policy and social culture around food in Canada during the Second World War. Divided into five distinct chapters Mosby’s central argument is that food served as a catalyst for cultural unity, evolution of political policy and definition of gender roles during the period of the war. The five chapters of Food Will Win the War are divided largely thematically rather than chronologically. Chapter’s One and Five each stretch back a little farther into the prewar and postwar period respectively to provide a proper narrative on the resolution of the malnutrition crisis in Canada during this time.

John Abbott a lawyer, statesman, and prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892 once said “Every man's ability may be strengthened or increased by culture.” (http://en.proverbia.net). This shows that every person’s personality is different because of their culture with examples like ‘My Favorite Chaperone’ by Jean Okimoto , and ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier. Stories also explore what happens to culture when it attempts perfection and fails such as ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry. ‘My Favorite Chaperone’ explains how cultural differences create conflict in families. ‘The Chocolate War’ is a story about how school settings also have a culture that influences how students and faculty treat each other. The novel ‘The Giver’ gives an example of a dystopian society that tries equality and fails. In a compare and contrast of these texts, all the cultures determined what are the acceptable norms, the social and the degree of of punishment for breaking the standard which mirrors our cultures.

The two characters symbolize the differing attitudes to the war, to personal ambition and even the way they run and how, the way they run, reflect how they live. Archie’s sacrifice is the apotheosis of ‘greater love’ when he takes Franks place in the line symbolizing an act of a hero. But like all heroes Frank and Archie must undergo shared trials, such as crossing the desert before they can attempt to enlist, as well as both, having to suffer the individual humiliation of being rejected into the army. ”A special kind of man went. Sure, they were adventurers, but a very simple kind. They weren’t swashbucklers, but they were a kind of warrior class” Isolating the characters from their positions in a way of dramatic irony and representing them ignorant of the causes and horrors of war, strengthens the sense of the lost generation’s innocence and the growth of a national understanding since the end of the imperial compliance.

Brother Leon is manipulative person that makes people bend to his will. It is thought that all of the kids(excluding Jerry) go with the chocolate sale because they are forced to, because if they do not, they think something bad will happen to them. It is also said that leon can keep the class in order. “Leon could hold a class in the palm of his hand” (Archie 22). Brother Leon uses fear, similar to a demagogue(like Hitler) to induce fear into his students.

The climax stage comes fairly late in the story. It is associated with the assembly The Vigils create in which Jerry fights Emile Janza for the chance to get back to everyone who has been bothering him and creating problems for backing out of the annual sale. Both Brother Leon and The Vigils by the end are frustrated due to the fact that Jerry will not accept his share in the chocolate sale. This is a threat to both their abilities to control the student body. Jerry's refusal to participate is seen by others as being bold. Jerry therefore gets attacked both physically and mentally. His locker and possessions are vandalized, he gets prank called, and even beat down after practice. Archie tells Emile Janza to punish Jerry, but Jerry maintains

Harris said, “Children, even our very young children, do not live in bubbles. They live in the real world.” Once again this novel was written for Teens, and for them to get to know the world isn’t nice like they think it is when they were young. The Chocolate War shows the reader what happens in life and explains nothing is sweet. Robert Cormier even went on to say before he died that he did something right because “there wouldn’t be all these concerns about an ineffective book.”

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.

Trees not only have the capability of bringing majestic beauty to a landscape, they also have the ability to sustain the livelihood of individuals from the small seeds they provide. Traditionally trees have been felled to make timber, but the Shea tree through the development of seeds has the potential to develop into a major export item. Shea Butter comes from the seeds of the Shea tree which can be used in the manufacture of food items, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The moisturizing and healing properties of Shea butter have been discovered by western cosmetic industries in recent years, but Shea butter has been in use in African society for centuries. The Shea butter is gathered by women and young children and involves tedious labor