The Chocolate War
Robert Cormier Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Chocolate War
"Jerry Renault is a freshman at the New England private school of Trinity High. Student life is quietly but firmly dominated by a secret club that calls itself the Vigils -- particularly by Archie Costello, the sadistic Assigner who comes up with tasks and pranks for boys both inside and outside the club to perform. When Brother Leon, the cruel Assistant Headmaster, gets a good deal on 20,000 boxes of chocolates for the annual fundraiser and insists the students have to sell double the number they have in the past, at double the price, he enlists Archie and the Vigils to help push the mammoth task. But Jerry refuses to participate, which brings the wrath of both Brother Leon and Archie down upon him, with violent results. Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. " David Loftus, Resident Scholar
"A student named Jerry has problems with Archie Costello, the "Assigner of The Vigils". He is Jerry's main adversary and makes assignments for students to follow. Jerry is ordered not to sell chocolate for two weeks. Much of this book centers on the selling of the chocolates. However, the chocolates fade into the backround as Archie decides that Jerry has defied the The Vigils as well as him. More and more people decide not to sell chocolates and it is not a matter of whether Jerry will listen to Archie but whether Archie still has control over the school. He decides to show Jerry that he cannot hope to win against Archie. Archie makes the selling of chocolates popular, kind of like a fad. As more and more students become engrossed in the selling of the chocolates, Jerry is pushed more and more out of society. People avoid him and he gets calls in the middle of the night that just laugh at him. Sadly the only ally that he could have had, the Goober, had been defeated by The Vigils long ago when they pushed him psychologically to the edge by making him take apart a classroom and watch the teachers face as the classroom fell apart. When all the chocolates are sold, Jerry must decide for himself whether he should go on defying The Vigils or not. " Ron Di, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Chocolate War

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Age group of kid(s) in story: - high school
Wild kid(s)? - acting savage/like animals

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male - an organization
Age: - a teen
Profession/status: - student
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount - a lot
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 1 (None)
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Small town? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - touching of anatomy - male homosexuals doing their thing
Lot of foul language? Yes
Unusual Style: - No single main character?
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Robert Cormier Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:

David Loftus

SCHOLARS: Ron Di Leah Cassandra Meaghan Jeff Brandmeyer

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The Chocolate War
Robert Cormier Book Review