The Chocolate War

Emotional destruction, brutal sport fields and blurry vision are just some of the moments that sum up the first four paragraphs of acclaimed novel, The Chocolate War. This novel is a basic story, however usage of techniques such as metaphors, similes and verbs have changed my outlook on the book. I now see a complex, dramatic piece of literature.

There are many themes and ideas displayed in these passages which challenge a variety of thought. Firstly, this quote looks at sport being compared to that of war.

“As he turned to take the ball, a dam burst against the side of his head and a hand grenade shattered his stomach.”

This is a very expressive excerpt focusing at some specific points that you could compare to sport. Robert Cormier has used verbs and metaphors suitably that carry a great deal of suspense. Grenades and dams being compared to other players just demonstrate how effective techniques are when used correctly. Jerry carries so many gripping emotions and we can only really tap into these with the use of a third-person speaker. This works brilliantly as we see Jerry in great deals of pain and depression. I love the use of Burst and Shattered in the text because theses are very powerful verbs and really grip peoples viewing. This extract is a great starter to a novel with dramatic sequences that poise readers with many emotions and opinions. War and Pain are key elements that made me connect to the text because I can position myself to a setting similar to that in the text. Jerry’s pain is so serial that is connects you on an emotional level and constructs a gripping barrier.

We have seen downfall in the previous quote, now how about a rise, in emotions? I have selected a passage that demonstrates we are not always glum and angry.

“Rising to his feet, he saw the field through the drifting gauze but held on until everything set into place, like lenses focusing making the world sharp again, with edges.”

This is a very interesting quote because I really felt for Jerry because with the use of metaphors and verbs, I can feel Jerry’s pain and turmoil. However, he feels brave and heroic after taking a lot of blows; he still rises to his feet and defends. I didn’t understand the need for the last two words in the sentence. Why do we need to know he sees the world “in edges”? It’s just dragging the sentence on that little bit longer. The lenses seem symbolic to me because he knows sees the world at a different view from the ground. Sport stories aren’t all glitz and glamour, there is pain and destruction.

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