Point of View

The Chocolate War is written from the third-person omniscient point of view. Generally, each chapter is in one person’s perspective but there are a few exceptions. There are a few montage-type chapters that show collectively what different boys are thinking about the chocolate sale. Cormier does this to show the school’s feelings outside of Jerry and The Vigils.

Most of the chapters are from the perspective of Jerry, The Goober, or Archie. The effect of Cormier switching viewpoints allows for the readers to sympathize with different characters, even Archie. But, Cormier never allows Brother Leon’s viewpoint suggesting that he is not a character with whom one can be capable of sympathizing.

Setting

The Chocolate War is set in the 1970’s in a small Massachusetts town at a Catholic boys’ high school. Trinity high school is a private school. However, it does not...