Michael Jiang

English 11 HN, Pd. 2

Mondloch
January 10, 2014
The Chocolate Wars Effect on the Literary Canon
Robert Cormiers The Chocolate War gives readers a dark tale that leaves them on the edge of
their seats. Ever since its debut in 1974, it has angered and shocked parents, transfixed students, and
has been banned in many schools throughout the nation.
Robert Cormier was born on January 17, 1925 in Leominster, Maryland and died on November 2,
2000 due to complications from a blood clot in Boston, Maryland. Young Adult Banned Books tells us
that Cormier was acclaimed for his powerful and disturbing novels for young adult readers (1). He has
written many novels for young adults including the sequel to The Chocolate War (Beyond the Chocolate
War, 1985).
The Chocolate War was published by Pantheon in New York, New York in 1974. The novel is
about a high school freshman named Jerry Renault and his struggle with the oppressive teachers and
students at Trinity, an all-boys Catholic school. This, however, does not bode well for Jerry, as he is the
only one standing up against this evil. To create the novel, Cormier drew upon his own experiences in
high-school, and based the plot upon a true-life experience that happened to his son (his son was the
only student to refuse to participate in a fund raiser, which led Cormier to think about peer-pressure
and such themes as manipulation). During this time period, these were relatively new themes, and thus,
The Chocolate War won numerous awards: Outstanding book of the year awards (NY Times), 1974;
Best Book for Young Adults (American Library Association), 1974; Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1979;
Best of the Best Books, 1970-1983 (American Library Association); Margaret A. Edwards Award
(American Library Association), 1991. The Chocolate War was released as a movie by Management
Company Entertainment Group in 1989 and was adopted as an audio book in 1993. The Chocolate War,
by Robert Cormier, is a significant member of the literary canon because of what it has contributed
to the talk on book censorship; its themes; and for its style of writing.

TOPIC ASSERTIONS
1. Due to its dark tone and rather inappropriate material, The Chocolate War had been challenged,
censored, and banned in many different schools.
2. While the Chocolate War does have some inappropriate material, one cannot ignore its powerful
thematic material.
3. Cormiers style of writing is also important to the Chocolate Wars contribution to the literary cannon
because of how unique it is.