The Chocolate War

Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war. NY: Delacorte. Jerry is just trying to make the football team as a freshman and fit in when he is selected for an assignment from a secret society at his all-boys Catholic school. This secret society refers to themselves as the The Vigils and has control over the school through implementation of fear and intimidation. Jerry’s assignment to refuse selling chocolates in the school fundraiser pits him against the other controlling force of the school, Brother Leon. Jerry’s fate at first rest in the decisions between the Vigils’ assigner and Brother Leon, eventually Jerry takes his fate into his own hands. Intimidation wins the school and Jerry possibly loses his life for this power struggle. I was appalled by this book at first because I wondered where the justice was.  This would be a great book to discuss in class, I even see it in a government class in upper grades discussing freedom of choice and the consequences that can come from that freedom.  I want to believe that Jerry reached the postconventional moral development level of Kohlberg’s theory but I am not sure because at the end he told Roland in his head to just sell the chocolate. He went against what was considered right by the misguided and intimidated school populous and refused to sell the chocolates but after sever bodily harm he wondered if it was worth it.