Tolstoy’s other great masterpiece is Anna Karenina, his 1877 novel about an aristocratic woman’s illicit affair with a count.

Crime and Punishment is considered to be the masterpiece of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s literary career. It was published in 1866, the same year as the first installment of War and Peace.

Russian writer Ivan Turgenev was a friend of Tolstoy. Contemporary critics consider his 1862 novel Fathers and Sons to be his greatest work.

Patient readers who can work their way through this novel’s mass may be ready for Moby Dick, Herman Melville’s 1851 opus about a whaling ship captain and the object of his obsession, the great white whale of the title.

Henri Troyat’s biography, Tolstoy, was published in 1967 by Doubleday and Co. It chronicles the life and times of this intriguing author.

Cormier spent a year at Fitchburg State College near his home and began writing short stories. He was fortunate in gaining the encouragement of one of his professors, and several of his stories were accepted for publication in magazines. Upon leaving college, Cormier obtained a position as a reporter and commercial writer for WTAG, a Worcester radio station. Writing concise copy for broadcast, he was able to practice and perfect economy of language while working creatively.

Cormier decided at this time that his calling was to be a writer. He became a police reporter and human interest columnist for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and in the 1950s moved on to the Fitchburg Sentinel as wire editor, editorial writer, and feature columnist. His Sentinel work was duly noticed, and Cormier’s stories were selected by the Associated Press as the best in New England newspapers.

In 1960 Cormier began his career as a novelist with an adult novel, Now and at the Hour. This was followed by two more adult novels, A Little Raw on Monday Morning (1963) and Take Me Where the Good Times Are (1965).

All the while, Cormier was reading the works of notable writers. Above all, he was impressed by the spiritual Themes and metaphorical skills of British writer Graham Greene. By 1974 Cormier was prepared to apply his new perceptions of fiction to his own writing. Thus, when an incident took place involving his son’s refusal to sell chocolates to raise funds for his private school, Cormier saw in this a substantial metaphor by which to examine social issues and matters of conscience that concerned him.
The result was The Chocolate War, the young adult novel that catapulted him into public recognition and instant controversy. The New York Times and the American Library Association selected the novel as one of the best books of the year, and it won the MAXI Award for best paperback of 1975. Cormier continued to pursue the theme of the individual versus society in his subsequent works for young adults, which have also won numerous awards. I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, and The Bumblebee Flies Anyway have all appeared on the American Library Association’s Best Books of the Year for Young Adults list. Horn Book magazine presented the Fanfare Award to I Am the Cheese. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, a British award. According to Cormier, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents Award of the National Council of Teachers presented to him in 1982 is his crowning achievement because it recognizes the significance of his entire contribution to fiction for young adults. Besides earning such accolades, Cormier’s novels for young adults are very popular.

Cormier’s Characters do not struggle with the typical dating dilemmas and parental pressures that often plague adolescents in young adult fiction. To the contrary, Cormier offers a unique treatment of the dark side of humanity and social institutions. Cormier’s work portrays adolescents who confront evil, corruption, the misuse of power, and the effects of conformity, issues that teenagers too often dismiss as part of the adult world. Cormier’s Characters invariably demonstrate the need to come to terms with these sinister forces and to make important, irreversible decisions as to where they stand.

Even more appropriate to the Themes of The Chocolate War is the notorious Watergate affair that shook society and toppled President Richard Nixon shortly before the novel’s publication. Watergate quickly became a symbol of the abuse of power, the ability of small groups to influence policy, and the use of “dirty tricks” to silence opposition, an environment much like the Trinity School in The Chocolate War.

Cormier’s courageous protagonist Jerry Renault stands in opposition to extremely powerful forces of society. He is not a typical rebel, agitator, or heroic figure, but a complex character whose reasons for defying peer pressure are difficult to pinpoint. In spite of his eventual defeat by the Vigils, a secret society, Jerry reflects what Cormier sees as the only way to defeat the continuing evils of the system.
Cormier examines the inner workings and the effects of the closed society of a private school. His conclusions reflect on the nature of all institutions-governments, social clubs, fraternities, and churches-and the potential for destruction that such agencies have when their power derives from a conspiracy of self-interested individuals. The members of the Vigils vary widely in their natures and motivations, yet they remain almost indivisible in their misuse of power, their attempts to silence dissent, and their indifference to the evil produced by the group. Carter, the president and “jock,” seeks status but turns over real authority to the “assigner,” Archie Costello. Archie is the cynic, so convinced of the weakness and self-centered nature of others that he relishes manipulating people every chance he gets. Obie serves as the “administrator,” a henchman who carries out orders and enjoys the power delegated to him in spite of his pangs of conscience. Lastly, there is Emile, recognizable at once as the “goon” with no apparent conscience and a willful energy for terrorizing outsiders.

Corruption, Cormier suggests, is the by-product of this banding together of the cynical, the intolerant, and the ambitious. More ominous, however, is that such groups function only to promote their own self-interest and survival, their power and prestige. Thus, groups like the Vigils or the Watergate conspirators invest their energy in silencing dissent, exerting group pressure on the individual, and making everything secondary to the group’s domination. To this end, the Vigils provide almost everything in the way of “school spirit,” and Archie Costello devises assignments intended simply to demonstrate the power of the group to control Trinity’s student population.

Trinity represents any institution where “spirit” becomes the only standard, and those who disagree are silenced or exiled. This attitude implemented to its furthest degree would produce the social dictatorships portrayed so vividly in such novels as George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that The Chocolate War simply focuses on adolescents. The same sort of conspiracy and self-interest exists among the adults of Trinity. In fact, the Vigils gain their power through the cooperation of Brother Leon and his staff. Like Archie, Leon’s smooth exterior masks an unscrupulous and often vicious allegiance with evil. Although the two Characters share a great contempt for each other, each tolerates the other’s excesses so that Trinity will survive, thus enhancing each other’s authority.

In The Chocolate War, evil and tyranny wear many faces. Young people betray and manipulate each other and the adult world provides negative examples for them to follow. To make matters worse, the betrayers often hide themselves behind the facades of loyalty, brotherhood, and patriotism. Perhaps the most important aspect of Cormier’s view of human failure, however, is the tendency of “good” people to go along with these abuses. The unnamed Vigils who attend the meetings and carry out their orders contribute to the domination of Archie and Leon, just as the well-meaning Brother Jacques permits the system to continue.

But one character says “no” to the Vigils, and Cormier suggests that the individual conscience will survive only if people like Jerry are willing to defy peer pressure. The fact that Jerry acts at all is essential. The other boys such as Obie and Goober, though horrified by Archie’s actions, continue to carry out his orders. Cormier makes no bones about the tremendous odds against which the individual must contend. But the failure to act means joining in the conspiracy and sharing in the guilt.

The narrative’s point of view regularly shifts from one character to another. Combined with frequent interior monologue, this technique illuminates complex character relationships and motivations. Like Hemingway, Cormier charges his dialogue and interior monologue with meaning. Simple and graphic metaphors-related in brief, crisp sentences-invariably suggest thematic elements. Even the seemingly ordinary description of Jerry Renault’s tryout for the football team in the first chapter foreshadows the challenges he will face. His choice between lying down or getting up and showing his determination soon becomes the novel’s focal point.

On a more sophisticated level, Cormier frequently alludes to Shakespeare, the Bible, and in one important instance, the work of the poet T. S. Eliot. In fact, some critics have compared Jerry Renault to Hamlet, a young man also indecisive but committed to taking action against the wrongs he sees in his society. The poster Jerry hangs in his locker contains a passage from T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” concerning man’s inability to act on his ideals.

While most readers accept Cormier’s denial of an anti-Christian attitude, it is not easy to deny his symbolic treatment of Trinity as the site of a distorted Christianity where church principles of charity and acceptance are secondary to personal gain and self-perpetuation. Even the cross that Brother Leon wears around his neck is hardly recognizable for what it is. Jerry Renault could even be seen as a Christ figure. Young, alone in his devotion to his ideals, and an inspiration to others, he nearly becomes the leader of a rebellion against religious and political authority. In addition, his principled nature leads him to destruction while authority looks on indifferently.

Still another symbolic extension of theme in The Chocolate War is Cormier’s clever use of character names. Surely it is no coincidence that Obie “obeys” authority; that Archie’s name evokes both “archbishop” and “archfiend,” or Satan, a disgraced archangel; or that Leon’s name suggests both blandness and the ferocity of a lion. The Vigils take power into their own hands like vigilantes and their meetings are religious “vigils” presided over by “Archie.”

This “negative atmosphere” is vital to Cormier’s theme and the nature of his Characters, and adults and adolescents may find the novel far from explosive, given the tendency of recent novels for young adults to explore specific and sensitive sexual and social Themes.

Objections to the novel, including school board attempts at censorship, have centered mostly on the pessimistic philosophy that Cormier seems to espouse. These critics have accused the author of painting a hopeless portrait of society, leading his readers toward depression and apathy, and suggesting that they to abandon any hope of challenging corruption and working for a better society. Indeed, The Chocolate War is a convincing demonstration that literature need not be constructed upon happy endings, heroic climaxes, or the familiar triumph of good over evil. Nor does Cormier lull his readers into believing that the “good guys” and “bad guys” are easily distinguishable. He offers readers a passage into mature literary creation, insisting that only an uncompromising vision of reality prepares young people to resist the evils his novel describes. Cormier’s novel reflects a resolute effort to encourage acts of conscience and personal courage.

2. As the book progresses, Obie seems less and less tolerant of Archie’s behavior. What prevents him from opposing Archie?

3. Both Carter and Obie dislike and fear Archie’s “psychological” tactics. How does Archie control the Vigils without using physical violence?

4. One notable characteristic of Cormier’s style is his use of a shifting point of view; we see the action through the eyes of several Characters. How does this add to our understanding of the story?

5. Goober is one of the most puzzling Characters in the novel. In the same situation, would you have done what he did? Why or why not?

6. Leon and Archie seem to dislike each other even though they cooperate on the candy sale. Can you explain what lies at the bottom of this mutual contempt?

7. What convinces Archie and Carter that Jerry Renault is a serious threat to the Vigils?

8. Considering how important every dollar is to the candy sale, how do you explain Leon’s calmness in the face of Jerry’s refusal to participate?

9. Sending Emile after Jerry Renault does not seem to accomplish much from Archie’s point of view. Why does he decide that the “boxing match-raffle” will be more effective?

10. Based on what we know about Archie’s character, can you explain why he never draws the black marble?

11. The opening chapter of the novel introduces Jerry as he tries out for the football team. What do you think Cormier intends the reader to learn about Jerry from this scene? Does Jerry’s subsequent behavior bear this out?

12. Brother Leon is the only teacher in the novel who is described in the classroom. Does Cormier intend the reader to view him as a typical teacher or does he represent a bad example of a teacher?

13. Chapter 14 deals with a minor character named “Tubs” Caspar. What is the author’s purpose in telling us about this lonely, overweight student?

14. Emile gets away with his brutish behavior because he has discovered something about human nature. What is this vulnerability that allows him to go on unopposed? Is his understanding of people similar to or different from Archie’s?

15. The “hippie” that Jerry meets in the third chapter tells him he is “missing a lot of things in the world.” Later, Jerry realizes the truth of this statement. What is it he thinks he is missing?

2. The Iran-contra political scandal of 1987 demonstrates that the problems of the 1970s may still be part of the American political landscape. Write an essay comparing the Characters in The Chocolate War to the figures in the scandal, or compare the actions and explanations each group used to justify its decisions.

3. Cormier obviously believes that Characters such as Archie and Carter will leave Trinity and become part of other institutions. Choose one character and project him into the future. What will his future be like and what danger, if any, will he represent to society?

4. Imagine an entire society governed by the Vigils. Describe in detail what that society would be like.

5. Jerry Renault’s act of defiance is similar to many that have taken place in history when one person stood up to an entire system. Report on a famous individual whose conscience motivated him or her to act against almost impossible odds. Compare the results of this action with Jerry’s in the novel.

6. Critics have admired Cormier’s use of simile and metaphor in The Chocolate War, particularly because they provide revealing insights into theme and character. Find several of these and explain what we learn from them.

7. Some critics claim that The Chocolate War is an allegory and that each of the Vigil leaders represents a specific part of the establishment in American society. Identify these institutions and explain how each of the Characters embodies their characteristics.