The Chocolate War
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The Chocolate War is a young adult novel written by American author Robert Cormier and first published in 1974 and adapted to film in 1988. Its gritty writing style and gravity-lending mix of fantasy and reality have made it a popular book among young adults, especially boys, for reading both inside and outside school curricula. Set at the fictional Trinity High School, the story follows protagonist Jerry Renault as he challenges the school's cruel and brutal ugly mob rule. Because of the novel's content, the concept of a high school's secret society using intimidation to enforce the cultural norms of the school, along with the protagonist's sexual ponderings and the use of Anti-Catholicism, it has been the frequent target of censors and appears at number four on the American Library Association's list of the "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000". [1]
Jerry's mother has recently died, and the novel describes his loneliness and sexual frustration, which leads him to ponder the quotation, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from T. S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Author Robert Cormier does not, however, believe Jerry is the agent of his own undoing. When Jerry provokes his school's secret society, "the Vigils," by bucking the school's traditional chocolate sale, the ensuing torment, coupled with the apathy of teachers, reveals for the reader an unflattering side of humanity. Jerry is neither made out to be a heroic or a moral person. His character is above all realistic: a normal boy who becomes a tragic hero under certain circumstances. In the end, the Vigils require him to participate in a 'boxing match' in which he is completely beaten. Unlike Lord of the Flies, it is not human nature, but human culture which the author explains very well. This book inspired a sequel, Beyond The Chocolate War.
- Cormier, Robert (1974). The Chocolate War. Random House. ISBN 0-440-94459-7.
