Examples Of Individuality In The Chocolate War

Joan D. Vinge once said, “We are all born with a unique genetic blueprint, which lays out the basic characteristics of our personality as well as our physical health and appearance... And yet, we all know that life experiences do change us.” In the short story, “Initiation,” by Sylvia Plath, Millicent, a teenage girl whom is being initiated into a high school sorority must go five days doing what their sorority big sister commands them to do. While being initiated, Millicent starts to realize that while being part of a group that she’s been longing to be apart of is great, being an individual and creating yourself makes you more unique than those who are part of a group. Having individuality allows you to be more free, and makes you more memorable to those around you.

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

The poem “Invictus” by William E. Henley, and the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, both have common themes that discuss the importance of individuality. Each of the themes that these works have to offer will be discussed throughout the paragraphs of this essay.

Do you stand alone as a unique and special individual? Since the beginning of American history there have been struggles for individualism. The American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the separation from family life are all examples of individualism in American history. Individualism is an American paradigm designed by the modern societal structure that is an altered idea of the foundation by immigrants. In today’s society the struggle for individualism is more personal and represents how American values have shifted since the beginning of American history.

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

Anurag Prakash Ray once said, “People only have power over you if you give them power, no one can have power over you unless you submit to their will.” In one way or another each piece listed below portrayed one person having power over someone else. In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Finny has power over Gene. In the book The Chocolate War students use violence or “power” to convince others to do things that are unreasonable. In the short story “A Scarlet Ibis” Brother has power over Doodle. The books A Separate Peace, The Chocolate War, and the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” all share a theme about power, and show throughout the story how people are able to use their strong personalities to have power over others.

Individualism refers to the pursuit of individual rather than common interests, otherwise, egoism. In the novella, “Anthem”, Equality 7-2521 is constantly persecuted by the society that he has lived and grown up in for twenty years. Likewise, Neil from Dead Poet’s Society has grown up under the oppression of his father, whom never allowed Neil to make his own decisions. Both characters faced many obstacles to reach what they considered to be a happy life, but they both eventually escape their lives of oppression and persecution by different means. Equality 7-2521 (or Prometheus) and Neil were both unfairly held back and persecuted by their leaders.

Think about if the boys were the ones who had the tea parties, and the ladies were the ones who had the boxing matches- it doesn't make sense, right? In today’s society we see women as the gentle sex, the women are seen to be the ones who wear dresses, cook, and do “girly things”. On the other hand we see men as strong, hardworking, in control, and ready to fight. This comes into play in the book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. In the book there are boys like Archie and Carter the leaders of the Vigils, who follow the male gender stereotypes, and are manipulative and use violence to show they have power and control. The author, Cormier shows he believes this is wrong, because he gives evidence of the pain and negative outcomes of the fighting.

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.

The setting of this novel, The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, is set in trinity. Trinity is a school for the top tier students. Trinity is also known for doing what other schools can’t. This story has a very rebellious mood to it. The reasoning behind this is the rebellious behavior Jerry uses.

Individuality is a common thing throughout everyday life, but some people don't agree with it. Why is that? Author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” I truly agree with what Emerson said. Everyone has independence to be themselves, standing out in competition and innovation.

During a lecture in 1907, William James said "the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos" (Bartlett 546) Individuality has been a prevalent theme in every type of literature for quite some time. Whether it is a character discovering his/her individuality or the author expressing his, literature is full of distinctness. The term individuality changes meaning with each person it meets. That is what makes the dynamic word so great. Throughout particular works read this

During my study of The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, I have found an interesting idea within the text and I will be describing why this idea is interesting as a whole. The general idea of The Chocolate War is to show that there is one main theme in the book which is the study of the effects of good versus evil. Jerry represents the good in people whereas Archie shows the evil side of them. The book is set at a catholic school where sport plays a huge part in their curriculum and the result of his refusal to do this is a tragedy that could have been avoided. It is based on an incident which involves selling chocolates to raise funds for the school. These chocolates are supposed to be sold by all the boys but Jerry refuses to sell them and

Individuality allows someone to become distinguished from others, as it makes them unique. In a sense, one’s individuality is formed through their peers and the surroundings that they are part of. Through this idea, people come to an understanding that their individuality helps with their identity. However, those who lack an understanding of their identity, have a difficult time standing out from everyone else. This is demonstrated in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”

You can put a band-aid on a cut but nothing can heal your mind. Within The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Archie Costello’s psychological tactics of violence are more useful than Emile Janza’s physical tactics. Archie manipulates the student body of Trinity with mind games such as the assignments. Meanwhile, Emile is not very manipulative, he uses brutal and physically hurtful ways to get to people. Archie is more effective of getting what he wants with using his tactics of mind games, rather than Emile’s brutal ways.