The Chocolate War

The Chocolate War

Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Jerry Renault is a freshman in high school who, after his mother’s death, lives with his emotionally detached father and is struggling with loss, emotional bonds, and self-identity.  When the “cool kids” known as The Vigils issue a challenge to Jerry in order to prove himself worthy of being one of them, he initially accepts it and refuses to sell chocolates, a choice that paints a large target on his back for Leon, the corrupt private school interim headmaster in charge of the fundraiser.  After his initial refusal, Jerry decides to take a stand on his own in an effort to forge his own path and even takes a stand against Archie when he tells Jerry to back down, making that target even bigger and creating an open-season order for The Vigils.  As Jerry continues to defy those around him, we see him becoming the victim of the ruthless struggle for power that exists at school, as well as the struggle of others against their own cruel human behavior and eventually, Jerry suffers physically when he’s brutally beaten by Emile.  The Chocolate War is appropriate for high school students and, even though it was written 40 years ago, the themes of belonging, moral code, courage, connections with others and even psychological defeat are still common in the lives of teens today and reinforce three of Havighurst’s Theory of Developmental Tasks as outlined in Dr. Lesesne’s textbook, Making the Match.