The Chocolate War Many people often meet different characters in literature and in life that they admire or despise. They conclude if those characters are good or evil and at the same time they reflect on the choices and responsibilities that those characters have. From The Chocolate War I admire Roland Goubert or The Goober based on his actions. I despise Archie Costello (The Assigner of The Vigils) because of the choices that he made and also because of his actions.
I admire Roland Goubert (The Goober) the most of all the characters within this book because he is honest, loving, and a loyal friend to Jerry. In the book when Jerry was refusing to sell the chocolates, Goober felt many feelings that Jerry was feeling. For
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Brother Leon won’t let you get away with it. “ By the end of the book Goober went to the rally when he was sick and tried to see if he could help Jerry possibly before it had begun or after it was over because he knew that he had no control of the unfolding events at the present time. At the very end of the book, after Jerry got beat up by Emile Janza, Goober helped Jerry and told him, “ Everything will be alright…” That was my idea of “good”, hole-hearted, honest, loyal, polite, and most of all a person who helps people when they are in need of help. Goober displayed those traits within the choices and responsibilities that he had throughout the book. Those are the qualities that I found very appealing and admirable. I admire him to the fullest extent and I would probably do the same thing if I were in hiss position.
I despise Archie Costello (The Assigner) the most because he was a part of The Vigils and also because he was evil. My idea of “evil” is not feeling guilt when that person should feel guilt, being cruel to people and other things, and most of all a person who has pleasure when inflicting pain on someone or something, to be specific…a sadistic person. Basically Archie was the biggest evil that there was according to my standards. For example when Brother Jacques asked, “ Why did you do it to him, Archie? “ Archie replied bitterly and cruelly, “ I don’t know what you are talking about. “ That expressed
If the company we outsource with has some sort of issue with its equipment or is running behind schedule it will delay our orders and reflect poorly upon our company. If we choose not to do anything we will continue running at inefficient levels costing us more and more money as time goes on.
Robert Cormier wanted the characters be different, he did not make them how others wanted, being socially acceptable, he wrote the book how he thought it should have went in his mind, and doing so he gave the readers some new to read not just the everyday novel. Cormier gives the reader many examples of figurative language to express the real meaning of the story for example, “Caroni watched the chalk in Brother Leon’s hands, the way the teacher pressed it, rolled it, his fingers like the legs of spiders with a victim in their clutch.” (90) In this quote Cormier gives a similar to exaggerate about how Brother Leon was holding the chalk in his hands. It sends a powerful message to the reader that Brother Leon is a horrible man, who had no mercy and he is seen by others as a powerful administrator in the school using quid-pro-quo in his own evil type of way. Cormier also uses more figurative language to give a specific emotion that Cormier was trying to express throughout his novel, that not every time someone disturbs the universe something good comes out of it. “What happened with Renault was bad enough, but there was violence in the air.”(209) This quote is the the example that even though Renault did disturb the universe and did try to stop the chocolate sale, he failed and something bad happened to him for trying. In the end Jerry's attempts to stop the chocolate sales failed, and still there was still violence in the air meaning the enemy he tried to defeat was angry, but still undefeated. And many readers dislike Cormiers way to end the book in a way that the hero does not defeat the villain(s). Like Richard Peck said ”The young will understand the outcome. They won’t like it but they’ll understand.” (10) And this is exactly what Cormier had in mind when he was writing the book, that the readers wouldn’t like the ending, but
Like Water for Chocolate is Laura Esquivel’s original romantic love story and is often dubs as the Mexican Romeo and Juliet. In just 246 pages, Esquivel creates a breathtaking work of art, strategically incorporating love, desire, nurture, and feminism. This novel is famously known for its magical realism, a device Esquivel uses in order to justify the perception of the novel and to make extraordinary concepts seem normal. In other words, it is the glue that holds the book together. The novel’s magical realism, helps define lust by incorporating the element of fire. By adding magical elements into the day-to-day life, readers can critically analyze the characters and thus understand their thoughts and actions.
Jerry, despite his relative decency, is victimized by the power structure of the school as well as his peers (Bagnall). “Choosing to disturb the universe means that Jerry himself is thrown into chaos” (Junko). His refusal to conform makes him the prime target of both the Vigils and the school officials, despite admiration from his peers. Cormier makes it clear that moral individuals can not survive unaided in a corrupt, oppressive system (Harris et al.). Jerry, while standing up for what he believes is right, is constantly torn down and abused by Archie’s goons. No one, not even his best friend Goober, came to his rescue to combat his oppressors. Arguably, “the reason Jerry was not saved was because he stood alone” (Harris et al.). Jerry stood alone in refusing to take the chocolates, his abuse by the Vigils, and his eventual physical and mental destruction by Janza. In fact, his destruction makes him into a martyr. His surrender in the end makes him an even more realistic hero and shows that it takes more people to fight powerful figures (Peck). Cormier challenges the perception of the modern “Superman” figure and replaces him with an “Average Joe”: a jack of all trades but master at none. Despite his defeat, Jerry’s legacy will live beyond him, whether publicly celebrated or privately discussed by Trinity students (Siegler). Jerry’s battle could have been won if his peers acted against the power structures as
In the article "How Candy Conquered America by Lauren Tarshis" and the article “This Cupcake Is Trying to Hurt You by Kristin Lewis" they both talk about candy and how it became so popular and how it is unhealthy. In the first article it says "They removed the chemical flavorings and colors. Big mistake! Loyal customers were furious. sales dropped 35 percent, and the company decided to return to the original formula." (Tarshis 25). In the second article it says "New studies have linked high-sugar diets to a host of other terrifying diseases too--Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and stroke. Sugar may also contribute to depression, tiredness, and learning and memory issues (not so great on the day of a big test).”
Since the rise of storytelling, one of the most important themes has been the conflict between good and evil. Often, a person’s role in society helped the audience understand what side they were on. Princes, kings, knights, these were the “good” characters. Tax collectors, witches, and other villains were quite obviously evil. In modern times, we consider law enforcement officers to be on the side of good. However, whenever a character who clearly belongs to one side or the other makes an appearance, we expect them to do something. Witches don’t just pass through town, they throw fireballs and put curses on people. Knights don’t simply gallop by, they stop and rescue damsels in distress. If a character who clearly belongs to one side or the other appears and fails to advance their side’s
A soul in distress is always looking for a mean to escape through a difficult situation. In the story Like Water For Chocolate, Tita De La Garza who suffered like no other, isn’t the exception. This young woman since birth was instilled with a very deep love for cooking. When the people who she loved most betrayed her, cooking eased her pain. All of the intense emotions that she felt while preparing food, were unknowingly added to the recipes. The author, Laura Esquivel through the use of symbolism, she demonstrates that the role of food in the story isn’t there just to sustain life, it also transmits strong emotions such as desire, sorrow and healing felt by the
John Abbott a lawyer, statesman, and prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892 once said “Every man's ability may be strengthened or increased by culture.” (http://en.proverbia.net). This shows that every person’s personality is different because of their culture with examples like ‘My Favorite Chaperone’ by Jean Okimoto , and ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier. Stories also explore what happens to culture when it attempts perfection and fails such as ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry. ‘My Favorite Chaperone’ explains how cultural differences create conflict in families. ‘The Chocolate War’ is a story about how school settings also have a culture that influences how students and faculty treat each other. The novel ‘The Giver’ gives an example of a dystopian society that tries equality and fails. In a compare and contrast of these texts, all the cultures determined what are the acceptable norms, the social and the degree of of punishment for breaking the standard which mirrors our cultures.
There are many instances throughout the book where good people turned bad. The first example is when
I am sure we have all seen or heard about taffy. What I would think would come to mind to most people when I would say something regarding taffy might be something concerning saltwater taffy. I love saltwater taffy. It seems that it is not in great supply around here. The only place I know of is somewhere like the cracker barrel. Needless to say I never go to cracker barrel, and it is a little more than I feel comfortable spending on candy. So I find myself resorting to a childhood favorite, laffy taffy. It is sold everywhere, and it is very inexpensive. I really started to like it when I played baseball as a kid. After the game I would always try to pump mom or dad for a few cents to stock up. It never made it home. I would somehow eat my entire entire stockpile. Whoever came up with the idea of putting jokes inside the wrapper is a very rich man. I could not help but to try to unwrap one more. The way the jokes where printed on the wrapper was very smart too. They would put one joke half way on the wrapper so it made me want to know the end of the joke, genius really.
Founded in 2000, Cocoa Delights is one of the youngest gourmet chocolate manufacturers in the industry. However we do not view our youth as a weakness, on the contrary, our youth is associated with our two most valued attributes: creativity and innovation.
Jerry Renault, the protagonist, performs an allegorical stand contradicting the immoral academic conventions at his high school by refusing to sell chocolates for the school’s fundraiser. He endures a great deal of bodily and psychological pain from his peers, but remains true to himself. Archie Costello, the antagonist, is the source of maliciousness and Jerry’s troubles at school. Archie appears authoritative yet is concerned with what others think of him. He is the antithesis of Jerry, who is genuine and acts on his beliefs.
One of the biggest difficulty of people being an individual rather than actually judged it’s the fear of judgement. Most people assmus that they’re going to be judge, going back and though in their heads not letting themself be or do what they want. Unlike Jerry he said “no” even though his was done with the Vigils assignment without thinking, and then quickly rejected it. Jerry couldn't understand why said “no” again having a inner battle with himself, saying “ Why did you do that? I don’t know. Have you gone crazy? (cormier page 119)”. Jerry wasn’t the only one who’s scared of judgement Goober also wonder if he’s doing the right thing. He want to be there for Jerry but he doesn't want to become a victim too. Goober and Jerry were both scared
I think Mr. Vandamn because he was always not happy about things. And because he was not the best person to keep a secret with. Mr.Vandamn was like sometimes the person to be the outlook person.
Chocolate became “a respected scholarly subject” only in recent decades suffering from “puritanical prohibitions” of discussing food or writing about it that were recognized standards of behavior in the Western world. The reviewed book The True History of Chocolate is a valuable addition to what the public knows or, rather, does not know about chocolate, with an interesting historical background that makes an entertaining and useful reading and extends one’s knowledge of things we use daily, sometimes without realizing their long history of evolution and multiple meanings.