The Chocolate War (Pages 216-263)

Title: The Chocolate War
Author: Robert Cormier
Pages: 216-263
Chapters: 32-39

SUMMARY: After the harsh beating, Janza was asked by Archie why he involved other kids. According to Janza, he wanted to psychologically hurt Jerry by calling him "Queer" and gang bang him by kids who would beat their grandmothers for quarters. That was very pathetic. Janza worked for Archie because of his black mail picture but Archie divulged that there was no picture. Janza was relieved and proud that he might be recruited to The Vigils. Jerry became invisible and the only friend he had, Goober, was absent. He felt relaxed, as he wasn't bothered by anyone. Nineteen thousand nine hundred fifty boxes of chocolates out of twenty thousand had been sold and the remaining fifty belongs to Jerry. Brother Leon only cared about the result and was looking forward to be the headmaster. Archie sets up a raffle in the school announcing Jerry vs. Janza in the boxing ring. The raffle tickets are all sold out and everyone attended except the Brothers. The raffle shows where Jerry is going to hit and how, same for where Janza will hit Jerry. The fight began and the crowd cheered. Goober was there to see Jerry although he was sick. Janza hit Jerry several times but he lost the bet as Jerry blocked the last punch so Janza knocked Jerry out in anger. Brother Leon had been watching this for the whole time because Archie kept him for The Vigil's protection if the situation gets worse. The Vigils were in the clear as Jerry was sent to the hospital.

QUOTATION: "Of course not. That's why he blew up. If you want to get under a guy's skin, accuse him of being something he isn't. Otherwise, you're only telling him something he knows" (Cormier 222)

REACTION: There you go, one of Archie's genius plans. Archie is real smart in terms of beating people psychologically. He told Janza to call Jerry a "queer," which Jerry was not, so that Jerry would be furious and try to fight Janza. Archie planned this out the whole time. Now it came to my mind that Jerry didn't sell those chocolates so Archie was trying to make him pay for it. First of all, After Archie was challenged by Renault, he sent Janza to beat him up both mentally and physically. Secondly, Jerry was angered so he agreed to fight Janza while Archie took profit of the raffle tickets and added it to the chocolate sale. Thirdly, Archie got Leon in his side so that if Jerry was hurt extremely, Leon will cover for The Vigils because Archie assisted him with the sales. Lastly, Archie reigned supreme simply giving out another message of "Don't mess with Archie Costello." This was a great book, especially for boys because there is a lot of drama and violence that can relate to daily life of teenage students. Mr. Robert Cormier deserves a true Bravo.