Cover of The Chocolate War
    Novel

    The Chocolate War

    by testsuphomeAdmin
    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier follows Jerry Renault, a high school student who refuses to participate in his school's annual chocolate sale fundraiser. His act of defiance sparks a cruel campaign of bullying and manipulation, leading him to question authority, conformity, and the power of resistance.

    In Chap­ter Twen­ty-Six of “The Choco­late War,” Jer­ry finds him­self unex­pect­ed­ly mak­ing a phone call that spi­rals into an uncom­fort­able and enlight­en­ing encounter. He’s cap­ti­vat­ed by a voice he believes belongs to Ellen Bar­rett, the girl he often sees at the bus stop. His excite­ment quick­ly turns to jeal­ousy when she inquires about a “Dan­ny,” mak­ing Jer­ry feel like an out­sider in the con­ver­sa­tion. Although he’s drawn to her, he fum­bles to explain who he is, only to be met with skep­ti­cism and a hint of mock­ery from her.

    Feel­ing frus­trat­ed and reject­ed, Jer­ry grap­ples with his emo­tions as he wish­es to con­vey his admi­ra­tion but rec­og­nizes the absur­di­ty of call­ing her based sole­ly on a smile. When Ellen express­es annoy­ance and accus­es him of try­ing to prank her, he decides to hang up, the ring­ing in his ears filled with the harsh word “crap,” which shat­ters his ide­al­ized image of her. This encounter leads Jer­ry to reflect on his actions regard­ing the choco­late sale. He acknowl­edges the risk he took by refus­ing to sell them despite the pres­sures from Archie Costel­lo and The Vig­ils, real­iz­ing this defi­ance fills him with a sense of exhil­a­ra­tion.

    Despite the dis­ap­point­ment of the phone call, there’s a lib­er­a­tion in his con­vic­tion. Jer­ry feels buoy­ant, as if he’s burned his bridges and for the first time, he embraces the chaos of his choic­es. Upon return­ing home, he seeks solace in the kitchen with ice cream, affirm­ing his name and stance against sell­ing choco­lates aloud to the emp­ty apart­ment. His dec­la­ra­tion res­onates deeply with­in him, sym­bol­iz­ing a new­found strength and resolve amid his strug­gles and the tur­moil sur­round­ing him, encap­su­lat­ing a piv­otal moment of self-asser­tion.

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