The Chocolate War - Plot

Plot

Jerry Renault is a self-determined and solitary first-year student at a preparatory, all-boys, Catholic high school called Trinity. Jerry occasionally copes with sexual frustration, depressive feelings, and basic existential questions, some of which stem from the recent death of his mother and the consequential emptiness he observes in his father's new life as a widower. Though thin, Jerry is quickly recruited onto the football team where he meets "The Goober," a fellow freshman and newfound friend at the school.

Archie Costello, an intelligent, controlling, and apparently amoral older student selects Jerry to be a new member of The Vigils, the school's influential secret society of student pranksters, who carry out "assignments" that range from ridiculous to cruel. The existence of the Vigils is known by Trinity faculty but neither officially recognized nor openly acknowledged. Though The Vigils' president is nominally the school's star boxer and football player, John Carter, The Vigils are run de facto by Archie, whose title is the "Assigner" and who personally crafts each of the group's often elaborate pranks, which the other members of The Vigils unquestioningly carry out.

When the school's headmaster becomes ill, his vice-principal, Brother Leon, assumes the position of acting headmaster. Leon, however, quickly overextends his rising ambition by committing the students to selling twice as many chocolates at twice the price in the annual school-wide chocolate fundraising event than last year. To accomplish this goal, Leon quietly reaches out to Archie, hinting at his desire that The Vigils will use their influence among the student body to increase this year's chocolate sales. Archie is seduced by the thought of having Leon's implicit support for The Vigils and, recognizing the power play in his favor, agrees. However, as if reveling in the power he now secretly wields over Leon, Archie assigns Jerry to refuse to sell any chocolate for ten days, expecting to provide a laugh for his fellow students and a humiliating scene for Leon. Jerry carries out the prank and it indeed shocks Brother Leon during his daily roll call, which includes an assessment of individuals' fundraising progress.

Surprising everyone, though, Jerry persists in his refusal to sell chocolates even after the ten days have passed, thus estranging himself from the Vigils and their demands. Although Jerry himself cannot justify these actions at first, he persists each following day in his outright refusal, ultimately based on some personal rejection of the school's corrupt culture in which students and teachers alike condone manipulative people like The Vigils. Archie urges the rest of The Vigils to thwart Jerry's display of non-conformity, initially encouraging non-violent action. Meanwhile, Jerry ponders the meaning of a quotation on the poster inside his locker: "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Jerry's refusal to cooperate, at first, is seen by many classmates as heroic and soon the chocolate sales throughout the school plummet as fellow students begin to celebrate and align with Jerry's resistance to the fundraising effort. Both Brother Leon and The Vigils are angered by Jerry's noncompliance, which threatens their ability to direct the student body toward their own self-serving goals. As a result, Brother Leon presses Archie to have The Vigils put their full force behind the chocolate sale, and in doing so set Jerry up as an enemy to be alienated and bullied by the rest of the student body. Because of this, the chocolate sales begin to skyrocket and the tide is now turned: Jerry soon becomes an outcast, facing harassment by his peers, isolation in the hallways, prank calls at home, and the vandalism of his locker and possessions. Only The Goober remains a friend to Jerry and even supportive of his resistance, though he does little to actively protect him. Ultimately, Archie enlists the school bully Emile Janza to ambush Jerry just outside the school. Jerry maintains his defiance even in the aftermath of the violent beating he receives.

At the end of the novel, Archie concocts a final event for the chocolate sale: a boxing match at night on the field between Jerry and Emile, promising that whoever is the winner of the fight will also win back his dignity. The match is watched by the all the school's students, each of whom selects which blows will be laid by the two combatants through a randomized lottery system. The match is only halted when a teacher kills the electrical power on the field, throwing the scene into darkness and disarray, but not before Jerry is brutally injured by Emile. Floating in and out of consciousness, Jerry says to The Goober, now his only remaining companion at school, that there was no way to win and that he should have just gone along with what everyone wanted him to do. Jerry concedes that it is best, after all, not to "disturb the universe." Though Archie is caught as the mastermind of the match and confronted, Brother Leon intervenes on Archie's behalf and in private praises his efforts that led to unprecedented results in the chocolate sale. Leon implies to Archie that, next year, if Leon is officially made the new headmaster, he will work to continue to preserve Archie's power.