Jerry Renault In The Chocolate War

A person's individuality makes life more fascinating. Jerry Renault, in the novel The Chocolate War, is a high school freshman trying to fit in Holy trinity high school that has an annual chocolate sale that everyone participates in. Jerry decides to not sell the chocolates which allows for him to express his individuality because he is breaking a tradition of every student in Holy Trinity. His decision is influenced by the bullying and abuse of the Vigils and the monotonous routine of his father. However, his decision is mainly influenced by a random encounter with a hippie on the street.

Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates because of the harass and abuse from the Vigils. For instance, The Goober, a close friend of Jerry’s is forced to

Throughout the novel, there is a repetition of the fact that everyone is following a fixed and perpetual schedule. For example, Jerry asks his father about his day in the beginning of the novel, only to get a reply saying that everyday of his father’s life was the same and monotonous. Jerry then thinks that “he hated to think of his own life...that way, a long succession of days and nights that were fine, fine-not good, not bad, not great, not lousy, not exciting, not anything.” This demonstrates that Jerry wants change because he is concerned and fears that his life is going to follow the same daily routine. Another example of Jerry wanting change in his life is his locker poster that reads “Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?” The more Jerry looks at the poster, the more he understands the meaning, he claims “Yes, I do, I do” to the question. Jerry understands the meaning behind the man on the beach alone and not afraid, making himself known in the universe. This shows that Jerry himself also wants to disturb the universe by standing alone and being different, and making himself known in the school by refusing to sell the chocolates. Therefore, Jerry does not sell the chocolates because he wants a change from the daily monotonous schedule that he follows every single