58 pages • 1 hour read
Robert CormierA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The decade of the 1970s was a period of significant social and political upheaval in the United States. The Chocolate War raises questions about authority, rebellion, and the individual’s role in society, which are reflective of 1970s thought. The inciting incidents for such questions occurred in the 1960s and grew during the next decade: the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, and the Watergate scandal tarnished many Americans’ trust in their government. Activists embraced social justice, sexual freedom, and workplace equality causes. The concept of counterculture prompted young people to reconsider their roles and responsibilities to society. Personal liberation and rebellion against authority—including government, religion, and other cultural institutions—were key themes of the 1970s as young Americans rejected the values of previous generations and sought to redefine themselves.
This search for a new national identity is symbolized by the teens in the novel, especially Jerry Renault. Jerry and the other boys are in turmoil as they attempt to define their own identities amid conflicting expectations of parents, teachers, and peers in a changing cultural landscape. Cormier makes the tension between generational traditions and 1970s counterculture explicit in a brief interaction between Jerry and a young “hippie” at the bus stop when Jerry feels jealous of the youth’s carefree sloppiness in contrast with his own Trinity-dress-code shirt and tie.
By Robert Cormier
After The First Death
Robert Cormier
Beyond the Chocolate War
Robert Cormier
Heroes
Robert Cormier
I Am the Cheese
Robert Cormier
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
Robert Cormier
The Rag and Bone Shop
Robert Cormier
Tunes for Bears to Dance To
Robert Cormier
We All Fall Down
Robert Cormier
Banned Books Week
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
Education
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
YA & Middle-Grade Books on Bullying
View Collection