1. Presentation
• Time 20min
1) What is the book about –5-8min
• show You tube video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihXcPZ09_l4
•
• give a brief summary
• Facts
• Symbolism
• Theme
2) Who is the Author-3min
• Robert Cormier
• Bibliography
• Inspiration for book
3) Controversy on book-3min
• Almost banned and why
4) Why is it a young Adult book-3min
• Bildung roman
5) Did I like it and why -3min
• What kind of audience would like the book
• Would I use this book in my class
• What does it teach
Questions

2. 1) Brief summary
• Facts -
• FULL TITLE · The Chocolate War
• AUTHOR · Robert Cormier
• TYPE OF WORK · Novel
• GENRE · Young adult, Fiction
• LANGUAGE · English
• TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · Written in 1974 in Leominster, Massachusetts
• DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · 1974
• PUBLISHER · Dell Laurel-Leaf
• NARRATOR · There is a third person narrator.
• POINT OF VIEW · The point of view is from a third person omniscient narrator who skips from character
to character, revealing a number of characters' thoughts and actions.
• SETTING ( TIME ) · It is unclear, only to say that it is a relatively modern time period
• SETTING ( PLACE ) · Trinity school (an all-boys school), with a few scenes at Jerry's home.
• PROTAGONIST · Jerry Renault
• MAJOR CONFLICT · Jerry's refusal to sell chocolates at the school chocolate sale.
• RISING ACTION · Jerry's refusal after the first ten days and The Vigils' subsequent punishment of that
choice.

3. • CLIMAX · The assembly at which Jerry fights Emile Janza for the chance to get back at everyone who
has punished him for his decision not to sell the chocolates.
• FALLING ACTION · The ending of the boxing match and Jerry's subsequent realization that it is not worth
it to disturb the universe.
A) THEMES · Disturbing the universe; psychological warfare; the power of fear; manipulation;
nonconformity; perversion; corruptness., http://www.gradesaver.com/the-chocolate-war/study-
guide/major-themes/
• Courage and Cowardice
- "I've got guts," Jerry murmurs to himself in the opening chapter, after hitting the ground
following a heavy tackle on the sports field. Tackled three times in succession, Jerry is
insulted by the coach, but he leaves the field determined to make the team. This opening
scene establishes Jerry as a character who has the courage to withstand physical pain. He
can get up again after being knocked down and come back for more. But there is another
pain afflicting him. In the same opening chapter we discover that his mother is dead. It is the
painful memory...
B) SYMBOLISM ·
• Jerry's poster
• the chocolates
• Room nineteen
2) Author –
• http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/Archives/WAuthors/cormier/bio.html
• http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Shen%20FuYuan.pdf?osu1135277215
3) Why was the book banned -
• http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentid=12693
• http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1667149_1667150_1667158,00.html

4. 4) WHY IS IT A YOUNG ADULT BOOK/BILDUNGROMAN?
• BildungsRoman- the protagonist of the story is growing and changing throughout the
novel in
many ways. Many of these changes are results of conflicts, which most teens
face throughout their lives
• The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, the male protagonist encounter many
conflicts, in which most teens can relate to in everyday life. These two
books are examples of bildungsromans because both, Cory and Jerry change
throughout the novel because of their mental tests and physical abuses.
The male protagonist, Cory and Jerry, encounter many mental tests, which
affect the boy’s views on life. The most obvious test which shows this is the
dealing with a close one’s death
A) COMPARED TO THE BOOKS WE READ IN CLASS
Compared to the other 3 books
Absolute true diary of a part time Indian –social acceptance, death in family, language in book, both
banned, both male characters
Alanna –Bullying,
Graceling- same stubbornness, authority
All, trying to go against the grain
5) DID I LIKE THE BOOK
A) YES-REALISTIC, REAL ISSUES ,ADULT ARE NOT THR HERO, RELATABLE .LEFT ME QUESTION
B) NO- THE ENDING , WANTED ARCHIE TO GET BLACK MARBLE
AUDIECE- OLDER AUDIENCE BECAUSE OF THE SEXUAL CONTENT AND THE LANGUAGE
Questions-
A)Why does jerry refuse to sell the chocolates?

6. Experts
"My name is Jerry Renault and I'm not going to sell the chocolates," he said to the empty apartment. The word
and his voice sounded strong and noble.
Explanation for Quotation 3 >>
This statement in Chapter 26 reflects Jerry's strongest moment in the entire book. He has just gotten off the
phone with a girl he had seen at the bus stop. Even though the phone call did not go particularly well, he is
proud of the fact that he was able to summon the nerve to call her. He becomes proud of the fact that he is
resisting the chocolates, and understands and appreciates the fact that the refusal has begun to define who he
is. Unlike at the end of the book, here Jerry is cognizant and proud of disturbing the universe.
They tell you to do your thing but they don't mean it. They don't want you to do your thing, not unless it
happens to be their thing, too. It's a laugh, Goober, a fake. Don't disturb the universe, Goober, no matter what
the posters say.
Explanation for Quotation 5 >>
This quote from Chapter 38 demonstrates Jerry's real downfall. The physical beating he has suffered in the
previous chapter is brutal and horrible, but he is not truly beaten until he takes back everything he has done.
The times when he was proud of himself for being an individual and for resisting the rotten tide at the school
are now forgotten. That pride and distinction was not worth it, Jerry tells The Goober. Nothing is worth it
because people like Archie beat you down and eventually make it impossible to go against the grain. It is
believable that eventually, Jerry could have been killed simply for deciding not to sell the chocolates. The

7. difficulties he encounters after he decides to do his own thing are so extreme that it is understandable that
Jerry comes to this conclusion. This ending is dismal—the reader hopes for Jerry's strength and autonomy to
result in the "right" ending, or a "good" ending, but it does not. We know that the novel ends and the wrong
people win and the right people suffer, and there is no real resolution for that. The reader, along with Jerry, is
left in limbo and not in control of his or her own destiny. Jerry tries to determine his own fate but The Vigils are
so powerful that not only can they get people to perform assignments, but they can infiltrate someone's life so
much as to determine its path. Jerry, rocked and beaten out of his own universe is exhausted and beaten, and
as a demonstration of his loss accepts that he is not the master of his own universe.
Fact-
The Chocolate War
Robert Cormier
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Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Key Facts
FULL TITLE · The Chocolate War
AUTHOR · Robert Cormier
TYPE OF WORK · Novel
GENRE · Young adult, Fiction
LANGUAGE · English
TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · Written in 1974 in Leominster, Massachusetts
DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · 1974
PUBLISHER · Dell Laurel-Leaf
NARRATOR · There is a third person narrator.
POINT OF VIEW · The point of view is from a third person omniscient narrator who skips from character to
character, revealing a number of characters' thoughts and actions.

8. TONE · The tone in the book is largely serious and very perceptive. While Jerry is the protagonist, we get into
the minds of other characters as well. The tone during passages about Brother Leon and Archie becomes
sarcastic and pessimistic. The tone at the ending is dismal and hopeless.
TENSE · Past tense
SETTING ( TIME ) · It is unclear, only to say that it is a relatively modern time period
SETTING ( PLACE ) · Trinity school (an all-boys school), with a few scenes at Jerry's home.
PROTAGONIST · Jerry Renault
MAJOR CONFLICT · Jerry's refusal to sell chocolates at the school chocolate sale.
RISING ACTION · Jerry's refusal after the first ten days and The Vigils' subsequent punishment of that choice.
CLIMAX · The assembly at which Jerry fights Emile Janza for the chance to get back at everyone who has
punished him for his decision not to sell the chocolates.
FALLING ACTION · The ending of the boxing match and Jerry's subsequent realization that it is not worth it to
disturb the universe.
THEMES · Disturbing the universe; psychological warfare; the power of fear; manipulation; nonconformity;
perversion; corruptness., http://www.gradesaver.com/the-chocolate-war/study-guide/major-themes/
MOTIFS · Assignments; football; roll call
SYMBOLS · Jerry's poster; the chocolates; Room nineteen
FORESHADOWING · The Goober's disintegration after carrying out his assignment, the beatings Jerry takes during
and after football practice, Jerry looking at his poster and pondering the meaning of it.
Questions-
Why does jerry refuse to sell the chocolates?
Jerry looks at the poster in his locker and it clicks—this is Jerry's chance to disturb the universe. Jerry wants to
make his own decision and to register his own protest. He does not want to obey Brother Leon, The Vigils or
the school, but rather for the first time wants to obey himself.
Website –