The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.83 You Save: $4.16 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.55 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Chocolate War
Book Review: To devour one's spirit and feed on their grief......"I am Archie"
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine a tale of fiction that portrays real life. Could such nonsense really exist? Well you don't have to search too far. Robert Cormier has converted such nonsense into a creation of genius. Cormier's famous title, The Chocolate War, filled the shelves of bookstores in 1974. As its popularity skyrocketed, so did the controversies. As usual, language, sexual content, and a mature theme push this novel to the edge of the banishment plank. However, the uproar is only as loud as the book is true. Life is not a fairy tale; there isn't always a happy ending. Cormier wanted to express the darker side of life and depict its reality. In an interview, Cormier states, "'I'm very much interested in intimidation...the way people manipulate other people. And the obvious abuse of authority.'" ([...]). His interests in what may seem immoral to some have painted this novel's true colors.
Cunning, nefarious, browbeating, and savage, Archie Costello is the spawn of violence at Trinity High School. As a prime member of the notorious Vigils, Archie gets his kicks from shattering the spirits of students and dwarfing the authority of the school staff. And with this clandestine plethora of power which Archie possesses, he manages to control the entire school body. Teachers become his puppets and students become his army. If his victims are not eating out of the palm of Archie's hand, he is crushing them with it. His sly tongue and apace thinking only compliment his genius. In the act, Archie will adeptly configure not just one atrocious scheme, but a fiasco of chain reactions. He seeks out the weak points and fears of a victim and strikes hard in their moment of vulnerability--destroying them emotionally and physically. And because Archie could easily be the most feared yet respected character in this novel, he is alone. It is likely that Archie will never have allies, friends, or love--only minions. Archie Costello would be titled as no less than a vicious bully at its worst--despite nothing.
An author whom can collide the art of fantasy with the truth of reality and give birth to a masterful story is nothing short of a genius. Robert Cormier has done exactly this. I can think of no better term to describe this book than pure originality. It is a triumph that completely denies the laws of fiction. After every chapter I read, I would repeat to myself, "I cannot believe what just happened". And though you always seem to know the story's final destination, you never know exactly where Cormier will lead you next. It is a labyrinth of epic events and characters that will stop you at a dead end. There is no telling what type of twist Cormier will follow up with. I can only hope that this new breed of literature will be a successful archetype for future generations.
Book Review: Fighting the good fight
Summary: 5 Stars
Hyperboles, symbolism, style, point of view, etc.
Many young people do not care...but after 8 years teaching 8th grade, as well as reading the book myself for the first time in 1989, the same age as my current students, the book changed me. Not back then, I merely worshipped the words, that gorgeous writing style characteristic of Cormier, blending splendid imagery, realistic, simple language, and vibrant sensory detail with a dark tone of corrupt despairity that leaves the reader to question whether or not good exists anywhere in this world, an all too real world, in which we expect our young people to be as "conscientious" and "respectful" and "vanilla" as kids were when people trusted community with little reservation: religious figures,policemen, doctors, firemen, teachers, etc. Should our children harbor a similar sense of complacency? What shall they do in regard to "respecting authority" when they witness countless acts of violence and cruelty in the media? All they CAN DO is supress fear and act as if they don't care. How does a young person find her/his place in the universe without disturbing it? A personal revolution is essential for one to discover, process, and begin to develop sense of self and a reason to just be...
I wrote to an earlier poseter that...
Cormier didn't get it backward; however, your questions and comments are so literal, you may have missed the point. "Fighting the good fight" IS important for students to discuss; I have yet to meet a person, young or old, who can't relate to this theme in some way. Additionally, I haven't found a novel that demonstrates with such raw vulnerability the possible repurcussions when one does not choose her/his battles wisely? Jerry wasn't fighting for chocolate, but rather relied on the experience OF FEELING SOMETHING, other than dullness and pain. Otherwise, we teach students to later view satires like "The Lottery" with a literal lense, and before we know it, they develop "blind faith" and unswerving obedience to authority even when it defies Western, Eastern, and personal morality. Such scapegoating and cowardice lead to the Holocaust...
As a teacher, I exist to witness one more student recognize what it's worth to sense the difference, that brief moment when one must decide whether to persist in the fight or humbly seek advice from an adult who is WORTH emulating, and then walk away...bones intact. My students don't want Jerry's fate. And they appreciate a good tragic hero.
Book Review: The Refused Chocolate
Summary: 5 Stars
The Chocolate War: The Refused Chocolate
Do you love to read unpredictable books that always want you to turn to the next page? If you do, then The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is book you would love to read. This story is good overall, but the plot or the storyline could have been better.
The Chocolate War is a story about this new high school student at Trinity high school. He wants to be apart of the football team but that is it. Jerry Renault is in a situation here. The school is having a chocolate sale, in which he wants no part in. The other students start to make fun of him and beat him up in order to make him sell the chocolates, because it is said to be a Trinity tradition. He wants to play football but everyone, even his teammates, try to murder him so he will start selling the chocolates. They keep beating him up, because to sell the chocolates is part of school spirit and Trinity tradition. So, because he is the only different one, they want to pretty much beat him up. The Vigils is a school group That the teachers find it better to deal with if ignored. The gave an assignment to Jerry saying to sell the most chocolates in the whole school. He said no. No one has ever said no to the Vigils. On top of that the whole school hates him for it too
All else I can tell you about the book is that Robert Cormier maybe much of a curser, but he can make a decent book. Not saying I did not like it, but the ending left you hanging and it was missing a few things in the book. Cormier puts the storyline in a way that you just want to keep reading even though it is not that good of a book. I like Robert Cormier, because it looks look that he loves to make unexpected twists. For example, he writes down that they just beat him up in every way possible. Then the next day the teacher, Brother Leon, asked him if he wanted the chocolates to sell them. I do not know how he still said no.
Will Jerry still stand up? Or will he finally give in to the chocolates? Will he get sent to the hospital? Or will he get transferred to another school? If you do not mind any curse words or inappropriate statements every once in a while then I recommend you read The Chocolate War and see what happens. I honestly do not recommend it for the curse words and inappropriate statements.
Book Review: This Chocolate Isn't Sweet, but It's Very, Very Strong
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Cormier introduced this book in later editions by saying that he didn't write it as a young adult novel--he just wrote it, and that's how it got picked up. A lot of parents, teachers, and defenders of organized religion HATED this book because of its supposed corrosive influence on young people. Well, I'm a teacher and a supporter of organized religion, and though I don't necessarily think this book's audience is limited to young adults, I do think it is an absolutely incredible (if cynical) work of literature. I came to this book as an adult, and I was blown away.
Jerry Renault is a normal Catholic school kid, struggling to get over the death of his mother, make the football team, and survive the normal, terrible pangs of adolsence. He's accosted by the Vigils, a secret society of students inside Trinity School that serves only to torment and upset the balance of the school universe. They assign jobs to younger students, tasks that require them to do things that are immoral, uncomfortable, and counter-authority. In Jerry's case, this means a simple (?) refusal to participate in the annual school fundraiser: selling chocolates.
The only problem is, EVERYONE sells the chocolates, and this year, the overly ambitious Brother Leon has staked his job and the school's finances on this sale. What follows is a colossal battle of wills that is waged on three fronts: Jerry, the school, and the Vigils. The eventual outcome is brutal, heartrending, and fundamentally counter to any established expectation one may have while reading from the young adult market. Even the movie--which got an R-rating--didn't have the stomach to represent the ending in all of its unapologetic nastiness.
Some may forget that William Shakespeare built a career on this kind of total story collapse. It's called tragedy. And in THE CHOCOLATE WAR, the genre is rendered beautifully for a modern audience.
(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire book "Teeth: A Horror Fantasy.")
Book Review: The Chocolate War Review
Summary: 5 Stars
The book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a chilling story about a school wide chocolate sale and how a secret school gang takes advantage of it. The school gang is like a secret society that controls the school. Throughout the book, the gang called the Vigils takes advantage and destroys the boy named Renault. This book displays how secret societies have a big hand in some things. The author created the most sinister and unfeeling character named Archie Costello who is the ring leader of the Vigils and the school. He has the quality of some of the more sinister politicians today, because he can manipulate thoughts, control people and lie blatantly in your face no matter who you are. The author gives this a surprisingly sad ending where Renault is nearly killed and Archie the Ring leader of the event got away unscathed. The author is conveying that the one who speaks up from the crowd is the one who can get hurt the most. This is a dark and powerful idea/thought that is very true and I understand his meaning if he intended it or not. I would recommend this book because it is not your average book because it is thought provoking and keeps you reading to see what the Vigils will do next.