Despite his apparent willingness to obey the Vigils' "assignment" of refusing to sell Trinity's chocolates, Renault faces a serious backlash when he continues to refuse to take part in the chocolate sale, causing significant reputation problems for the school headmaster and the Vigils. Throughout the text, Cormier highlights the struggle for power and control among several people in the text (including Brother Leon, Archie, the Vigils, and Renault himself). In the end, Renault unknowingly conforms to the school's social institutions by surrendering to his own violent desires:
".... squinting, he saw Archie in the crowd, a grinning, exultant Archie. A new sickness invaded Jerry, the sickness of knowing what he had become, another animal, another beast, another violent person in a violent world, inflicting damage, not disturbing the universe, but damaging it. He had allowed Archie to do this to him (242)."
In the critical text, Disturbing the Universe, Trites discusses many different interpretations of The Chocolate War, including metaphors for the Vietnam War, the Mafia, and American politics as a whole. Trites mentions a text connection to Golding's Lord of the Flies, which was the immediate association that I personally made while reading The Chocolate War. According to Trites, both texts are dark, adolescent fantasies in which we see that "when adolescents achieve total control, they become totally corrupt (24)."
While I agree with Trites's basic comparison of the two texts, I believe a bit more analysis is necessary when comparing the two. Golding's Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel written about children (all under the age of thirteen), not adolescents, and is a literal representation of the idea that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." Cormier's The Chocolate War, in contrast, is a book written specifically about adolescents, in which the struggle for power is not so absolute. Unlike the characters in Lord of the Flies, the characters in The Chocolate War face social and political institutions, thus making their struggle for personal power very different.
Although Jerry Renault's struggle for power is the focus of this novel, I found that he was not the only adolescent facing the issues of power and control. I believe that Archie's struggle for power was just as significant as Renault's. As a leader of the Vigils, Archie has consistently been a silent pillar of power at Trinity High School for years. Now, with the headmaster sick and Brother Leon seeking control, Archie's desire for recognition begins to corrupt his powerful reputation when students (namely, Renault) start to stand up to him. Archie is forced to face his own struggles with the institutions around him in much the same way as Renault, although they go about it in very different ways.
I happened to catch the film adaptation of The Chocolate War almost immediately after reading the book. The movie made a few compelling changes to the story, significantly at the end. Instead of Janza fighting Renault in the boxing match, Archie is forced by the president of the Vigils to take Janza's place. I found this to be an extremely interesting choice by the filmmakers, as it allowed the viewer to focus even more on Archie's power struggle throughout the course of the story.
I really liked your point that Archie's struggle for power is just as important as Jerrys. It's interesting how Archie's struggle for power becomes almost overlooked in the face of Jerry's. Maybe this is because Jerry's is more unconventional.
ReplyDeleteI thought that you made a very interesting point when you say that Archie's struggle for power was just as prevalent as Jerry's, and I completely agree. In a way, it almost seemed like we read more about Archie trying to keep control of the Vigils than we did of Jerry. I think maybe Cormier was in a way trying to show the struggle of power on the good side and on the bad. Even though the Vigils seemed to control the school, they still weren't without their own flaws.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis of Lord of the Flies versus the Chocolate War. I think they are similar, but in many many different ways. It seems that Lord of the Flies is so direct, whereas The Chocolate War keeps flinging power and powerlessness around between institution, student, organized club, etc. They go back and forth and in the end, is a power ultimately achieved by anyone? Leon and Archie win for now, but who is to say that they will stay "two sides of the same coin" as Trites says? They are likely to continue their struggle, Jerry or no Jerry.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the comparison between Lord of the Flies and The Chocolate War and the idea that without a reliable system of checks and balances, the "societies" will become corrupt. (I say "reliable" because Archie was able to beat the law of averages and draw a white marble every time he tried.) He had no fear, so their system didn't work.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the numerous power struggles by so many characters in this novel - it really is about more than just Jerry.
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